Jenn Thornhill Verma has been interviewed for a variety of news programs nationally and in Atlantic Canada, mostly in relation to her book. In the health field, Jenn regularly presents at national and international events/conferences as well as to graduate-level programs (e.g., McMaster University Degroote School of Business and University of Toronto’s Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation).
For inquiries related to Jenn’s book, Cod Collapse, please contact:
Atlantic publicist: Kate Watson (kwatson@nimbus.ca)
National publicist: Karen McMullin (kmcmullin@nimbus.ca)
See a summary of words of praise for Jenn Thornhill Verma’s first book, Cod Collapse: The Rise and Fall of Saltwater Cowboys.
Jenn also delivers classroom engagements, for example, K-12 (Last Fish, First Boat; Classroom Edition); and university (Cultural landscapes) – contact Jenn. for more details.
RECENT NEWS MEDIA (Includes interviews and book reviews since 2018)
| 2022, December | How fish react to warming ocean is part of new climate risk scorecard. December 13, 2022. CBC The Broadcast. |
| 2022, December | The Independent at COP-15: The Indy gets together to talk about COP-15 and what it means for Newfoundland and Labrador. December 2022. The Independent, Seasplainer. |
| 2022, September | Episode 78 – Cod Collapse with Jenn Thornhill Verma In this episode Mark and Curtis are joined by Jenn Thornhill Verma author of the book Cod Collapse. Jenn describes the uniqueness of Canada’s Grand Banks, the history of the Newfoundland Labrador cod fishery, the cod moratorium put in place in 1992, the impacts of the 200 mile limit, the social costs of the lost cod fishery, scientific models, discounting knowledge of the inshore fishers, lessons learned, whether history is repeating itself, evidence-based decision making, fisheries management via the adjacency concept, state of the cod stock recovery, community wharfs, oil rigs, resettlement, what Canadians can do to help fisheries, cultures whose identify is a fish, power of municipal laws, nature as a legal person, who was held accountable for the cod collapse and the meaning of Jenn’s words when she wrote – Life as it once was is gone, but what remains is what inspires. |
| 2022, July | Why NL fishermen are landing their shrimp out of province. July 25, 2022, CBC NL Crosstalk with Adam Walsh. |
| 2022, July | How the cod moratorium rocked N.L. and what can be done to recover from it three decades. July 2, 2022. CBC radio’s The Current. Three decades after the federal government banned cod fishing, communities and residents are still dealing with the impacts. On July 2, 1992, the federal government banned cod fishing, creating the biggest layoff in Canadian history. More than 30,000 jobs were gone. Gary and Eveline Monks, residents of King’s Cove, N.L., tell guest host Rosemary Barton how the moratorium affected their community. Then, 98-year-old Gus Etchegary worked in the Newfoundland and Labrador fishery for 50 years. Three decades after the cod moratorium, he explains what the government got wrong. And investigative journalist and author Jennifer Verma talks about the science and politics that led to the cod collapse, and what needs to be done to recover from it. |
| 2022, July | Impacts of the moratorium three decades later. July 21, 2022. CBC NL Crosstalk with Adam Walsh. This month marks a solemn anniversary in Newfoundland and Labrador. 30 years since the cod moratorium. An event that put 30,000 people out of work and changed the course of this province’s history. Today we look at impacts, where we are now, and what’s to come for the fishery. |
| 2022, June | Sometimes you just need the right light to attract people to your artwork.. Visual artist Jenn Thornhill Verma, who was born and raised in Corner Brook is displaying her scenes of Labrador…at a lighthouse CBC Newfoundland Morning Jenn Thornhill Verma’s new art exhibit opened to the public recently, at the Point Amour Lighthouse in Southern Labrador. The writer and artist was born and raised in Corner Brook and says her subject matter often revolves around Newfoundland and Labrador. Inspiration struck her last September, when she visited the L’Anse-Amour area. Thornhill-Verma took in the beautiful scenery – and learned about a family connection. Also featured on CBC Labrador Morning – Point Amour Lighthouse art exhibit |
| 2021, October | Further reading podcast. S2E1. On today’s show, we talk to Jenn Thornhill Verma. Jenn is a journalist and graduate of the King’s Creative Nonfiction MFA. Her recent book, Cod Collapse: The Rise and Fall of Newfoundland’s Saltwater Cowboys was published by Nimbus in 2019, and was listed as one of the best Canadian Nonfiction Books of that year by The Hill. Fuelling her writing on nature, the environment and the fishing industry of the Atlantic provinces is her extensive scientific background: she also holds a Master’s of Science in Medicine from Memorial University. Jenn has written for many major publications including The Globe and Mail, Reader’s Digest, The Independent, and Salt Scapes, and was a silver finalist for Best Profile Article in both 2019 and 2020 at the Atlantic Journalism Awards. If that weren’t enough, she has also worked in film and as a healthcare executive. And she is a landscape painter – for which she has also won awards. Amidst all of this, she made time to talk to us here at Further Reading, to discuss craft, writing about home, and putting years of research into book form. |
| 2021, June | Moving to incorporate more climate data to assess fish stocks; SEA-NL officially launches a membership drive. CBC’s The Broadcast. |
| 2021, Feb | Last Fish, First Boat (film release) A story of resilience; animated film aims to teach youth about northern cod moratorium (Feb 19, 2021). Saltwire News. Animated short, Last Fish, First Boat, a cautionary tale about cod moratorium (Feb 22, 2021). NTV news. St. John’s Morning Show. (Feb 22, 2021). CBC NL (radio). |
| 2021, Jan | Weekend AM, CBC Radio One’s morning show across Newfoundland and Labrador, to discuss Snowmageddon (no recording available) |
| 2020, Aug-Sep | CBC news reporter Prajwala Dixit talks to Gene Maloney and Last Fish, First Boat collaborators Kat Frick Miller and Jenn Thornhill Verma: Here and Now (CBC NL TV) The Broadcast (CBC NL radio) Online (CBC NL) |
| 2020, May 1 | Conversations in Quarantine: Jenn Thornhill Verma, Maisonneuve Magazine |
| 2020, Feb | Newfoundland Quarterly Author Q&A The Telegram / Saltwire Network review of Cod Collapse “Author blends family memoir with hefty review of Newfoundland’s cod collapse” by Joan Sullivan |
| 2020, Jan 20 | Great Canadian Longform conversation on longform writing |
| 2020, Jan 11 | The Independent (NL) excerpt of Cod Collapse |
| 2019, Dec 22 | VOCM’s Sunday Drive |
| 2019, Dec 16 | The Hill Times names Cod Collapse to List of 100 Best Non-fiction Canadian Books in 2019 |
| 2019, Dec 10 | CBC NL radio’s The Broadcast |
| 2019, Nov 20 | CBC NS radio’s Mainstreet Halifax segment (no recording available) |
| 2019, Nov 12 | VOCM Morning radio segment (no recording available) |
| 2019, Nov 11 | Saltwire Network news story, “Corner Brook native launches new book on cod moratorium” |
| 2019, Nov 4 | BookMe! Podcast (Season 3, Episode 1) |
| 2019, Nov 1 | Atlantic Books Today review of Cod Collapse “The collective trauma of the great cod collapse” by Jeffrey Hutchings |
| 2019, Oct 31 | Canadian Geographic excerpt of Cod Collapse. |
| 2019, Aug 29 | CBC Ottawa Morning discussion of international award-winning musical, Come From Away. |
| 2019, Aug 3 | CBC NL news story, “Buried report offers insight on why expats leave N.L. — and why they’d return.” |
| 2019, Jul 23 | CBC NL On The Go (no recording available) |
| 2019, Jun 16 | VOCM Sunday Drive (segment begins 15:53) |
| 2019, Jan 8 | CBC NL radio’s The Broadcast (segment begins 12:57) |
| 2019, Jan 20 | VOCM’s Sunday Drive (segment begins 16.33) |
| 2018, Aug 8 | The Telegram news story, “Corner Brook native writing about the struggles and successes of Newfoundlanders after the cod moratorium.” |
| 2018, Jul 20 | University of King’s College news story, “I’m new to this world… it helps to work someone who’s not!” |
Jenn Thornhill Verma 