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James Mullinger shares his experience working with Canada’s oldest independent publisher

This much is true: as far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a writer.

This partly stemmed from my love of literature from a very young age. I was a shy kid at school. I struggled academically and athletically and I suffered from social anxiety. I was afraid to speak to other children in my class through fear of rejection or worse, so I was never happier than when I was buried in a book. Libraries were my solace from bullies and from the world and to this day, they are the places I am at my happiest. My only good school reports as a child praised my “lively imagination” and the only thing I was comfortable with was writing stories. I longed to tell them verbally, but this was not yet something I could bring myself to do.

I think what enticed me most was the idea of creating something that people might enjoy in a solitary environment. I could create without having to talk to anyone. In later years, I befriended authors who I admired and idolized such as Alan Hollinghirst (author of the Booker-prize winning The Line Of Beauty) and I was utterly fascinated by his process. Unlike, say, Stephen King or Danielle Steel who pride themselves on churning out thousands of words a day, Hollinghurst would describe to me how he would sit for eight hours and labour over getting twenty or thirty words just right. And it shows both in the quality of his work and the irregularity of his output (he tends to publish a book every seven years at most).

So, it is interesting that many years later, it was my career in stand-up comedy that fed me the opportunity to write my first book. It was in 2019 that I approached Goose Lane Editions with an idea for a photography book.

As an avid reader and the editor of a magazine that occasionally reviewed books, I was of course a huge fan of Goose Lane Editions and knew that they were proudly Canada’s oldest independent book publisher. Many of their books have taken (and continue to take) pride of place on my coffee table (Social Studies by James Wilson, The Lost City: Ian MacEachern’s Photographs of Saint John by John Leroux), so I desperately wanted to work with them. I did not approach any other publishers because I knew Goose Lane were the holy grail.

I also knew that their tomes have been shortlisted for globally renowned prizes, including the Scotiabank Giller Prize, and have won several Governor-General’s awards, Commonwealth prizes (both the Prize for Best First Book and the Prize for Canada and Europe), and more than one Canadian Museums Association Award.

I nervously went in to meet Susanne Alexander, Julie Scriver (who have both been at the helm of Goose Lane for 35 of its 70 years), and their esteemed editor Alan Sheppard at 500 Beaverbrook Court, a traditional red-brick office tower near the heart of downtown Fredericton.

When Susanne suggested that rather than curate a photography book, I should write a book telling my own story, I didn’t see it in myself. It took Susanne and her team to see my potential and convince me of it. It was a dream come true of course, but self-loathing is my default setting, so it was hard for me to accept.

As Canada’s oldest independent, privately held publisher, they told me of their public mission and why I should brush away any fears and get to work: “Sharing stories that challenge, startle and enhance our ability to be surprised and inspired.”

They encouraged me to write, and their kindness and belief led me straight to the public library in Quispamsis where I started writing about my difficult childhood, excessive teenage years, a career in London media, and journey to Atlantic Canada. It was, at first, a stream of consciousness in the vein of my hero Virginia Woolf but without any of her genius.

Susanne then paired me up with an editor who I was profoundly excited to realise was also one of my favourite poets, James Langer. Langer was the editor at Breakwater Books in Newfoundland and Labrador for many years but most excitingly for me, he was the author of the collection of poetry Gun Dogs that also sits on proudly on my shelf of favourite books. Langer proved a supremely wise editor and we are now joyfully working together on my second memoir, about my late-in-life ADHD diagnosis.

Goose Lane employs dozens of freelancers and 11 full- and part-time staff and Scriver and Alexander describe the Goose Lane team as “creative, committed, engaged, and innovative. They are all deeply interested and passionate about the enterprise of bringing stories to readers,” Alexander told me.

Setting Goose Lane apart from some of its contemporaries is the closeness of its team. “We value the diversity of strengths and perspectives on our team,” says Scriver. “Everyone brings their own thoughts and experiences when we discuss prospective projects.”

Crucially though, it is their independence. They make the choices. There is nothing political about their decisions, and they don’t filter the ideas through market research or a focus group (the death knell for quality literature). They know what they are doing, and they make the decisions based on quality. Additionally, they know how to promote. I am not a well-known comedian and have only a very small (but loyal) following. Thanks to Goose Lane and their marketing team (BB and Jeff), my first book became a national bestseller and has just gone into its second print run.

And as such, working with them is an absolute dream for an author.

I have done a lot of fun things in my stand-up career, but nothing compared to the excitement of writing a book, sharing my innermost secrets and insecurities, and then meeting like-minded people who struggle the same way I do. I would never have had the confidence to do this without Goose Lane and that is why their fierce independence is so crucial in the field of literature, not just within the region but across Canada.

In short, Goose Lane Editions has cemented its place in Canadian publishing history. They may be proudly based in Fredericton, New Brunswick (and they do an incredible job showcasing East Coast writers around the world thanks to their incredible reputation and reach), but they are equally vital for writers internationally. A great idea is a great idea, and they are not handcuffed by private investors, politicians, or billionaire owners.

Here’s to another 70 years of independence, victory,  celebration, and unhindered creativity. And beyond!

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