Patrick deWitt was born on Vancouver Island in 1975. He has also lived in California, Washington, and Oregon, where he currently lives with his wife and son. He is the author of two novels, Ablutions and The Sisters Brothers, which won Canada’s Governor General’s Literary Award for fiction. Here’s how the jury described it: “Brothers Eli and Charlie Sisters are at the centre of this “great greedy heart” of a book. A rollicking tale of hired guns, faithful horses and alchemy. The ingenious prose of Patrick DeWitt conveys a dark and gentle touch.”

I met with Patrick in Ottawa to discuss his award-winning novel. Listen as we talk, among other things, about mannered language, the Coen Brothers, Charles Portis, horses, psychopaths, masturbation, arts funding and being Canadian.

* Update: The Sisters Brothers has recently been made into a movie directed by Jacques Audiard and starring John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix. Patrick’s latest novel is French Exit.