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Halifax’s Andy Verboom is the new publisher of Insomniac Press

Insomniac Press has announced a new editorial board and mandate to resist oppression. The revamped publisher now has a strong East Coast connection, with editors Annick MacAskill and Kailee Wakeman residing in Halifax, as does publisher Andy Verboom. The latter generously took the time to discuss with us the new mandate and approach to publishing:

Atlantic Books Today: Could you start by telling our readers a bit about yourself and you became involved with Insomniac?

Andy Verboom: I know the press founder from my time in London, ON for five or six years. I went there for a PhD, which didn’t pan out, but the literary community was going through a kind of renaissance with a lot of activity, new writers, old and young. It was a lot of meeting new people.

I met Mike O’Connor, the founding publisher of Insomniac, through a group of writers I had a workshop with there. Mike, late last year, announced he was looking to bring others on board. I was frankly the only one who had the time to take on the project. Especially because the opportunity came through back channels, knowing people on the ground, I wanted to make sure I didn’t put together a group of just people I knew. The only reason to do it was to make sure it wasn’t another old boys club.

Mike was the publisher for almost three decades. He’s staying on as my mentor until he can transfer—he’s still very active in books, but wanted to move away from traditional publishing.

ABT: It’s exciting that Imsomniac is focusing so much on social justice and equity of representation—what inspired that?

AV: It’s how we’ll operate. It has really been about convincing incredibly talented authors and editors who are all already community organizers to trust me enough to come together. They steer the ship. I have committed to doing most of the rowing.

I don’t think I could replicate the success of the way the board has already gelled together. I don’t know if it was luck, or all to do with these editors and how ready they were to do this work. I just reached out to people whose political stances I trusted more than my own, including a couple of absolutely cold calls.

ABT: You’ve stated that writer safety is of paramount importance to Insomniac. Why is that so important to you? What does writer safety look like?

AV: Writer safety isn’t really an issue for me personally because as a writer I’m so multiply privileged—race, gender, orientation. So many writers are at a real risk of their experience with publishing doing damage to them, and to their writing.

The board discusses all external editors before working with them. We’re trying to start from a very safe place. Trying to develop practices to stay safe through the process. We don’t want submitting to us to be a risk of becoming stuck with an editor who isn’t going to be good for you or your book.

The author is given a choice of which editor they want to work with, an in-house or external editor. Somebody might have a dream editor and there is just no way we can get them. But we work with the authors to develop a short list of editors they’d like to explore.

After we’ve paired them up with an editor they think is a perfect match, we’ve got an additional shadow editing process with an in-house editor staying current with the exchange [between writer and editor] through cc’s on email, to monitor the situation, to reach out to the author if they feel the editor has crossed any sort of line.

In the worst-case scenario the shadow editor could come on as the editor. The three external editors we’re working with this fall–one brought to us a posthumous collection of poetry, which involved bringing in family members. In the other two cases, the editors were totally on board, and everyone was fine with the idea.

The shadow editor can be relatively impartial. I’m trying to remove as much of the possibility of me screwing up as possible. We’re trying to allow the editorial relationships to flourish. The goal is not to meddle. The shadow editor doesn’t offer feedback unless asked.

ABT: Insomniac now has a strong Atlantic Canada connection, with a publisher and two members of your editorial board—Annick MacAskill and Kailee Wakeman– based in Halifax. Was this a planned initiative to broaden the publisher’s reach, creating a more nationwide network of leadership? Or was that more a case of that’s where the talent happened to be?

AV: Despite my best efforts to cast a wide net, I trust Kailee and Annick’s judgement as readers and editor,s as people aware of their own privilege. I started here and worked my way back to London.

We did have two other editors join the board earlier on who couldn’t stay on, from New Brunswick and British Columbia. We were looking for an even greater geographical spread.

But the board isn’t fixed at six. We’ll be looking for at least one more. I want editors to feel ownership over the press. I’ll be looking to distribute ownership. Having an editorial board of this size guarantees a lot of institutional memory, even if we have two new board members coming in a year.

ABT: How are you expecting all of this to manifest into specific book projects? What can readers expect from Insomniac going forward?

AV: Mike O’Connor found some really important niches, a lot of gay and lesbian genre niche. As well as Black Canadian studies.

We’re hoping that instead of having niches, to have a full catalogue that is a little more difficult to break into niches. We want to be a welcoming place for inter-sectional folks.

The books will be political. We’re publishing some books by white men this fall, but they’re explicitly political texts, exploring masculinity or ecological texts. Not necessarily manifestos, but trying to work against varying forms of oppression.

We are also going to move away from more traditional forms of distribution, away form big chain stores and Amazon into a more cottage industry form of distribution. A greater number of small print runs, targeting independent bookstores. And we’re trying to move away from a more typical capitalistic model, into shared ownership.

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On Friday, April 22 the publishing world lost Joe Blades of Fredericton, the former publisher of Broken Jaw Press.

“Joe fell into the mode of a true small-press enthusiast,” said Susanne Alexander, publisher at Goose Lane Editions. “As a writer, publisher and broadcaster, he was committed to the written word.”

Colleagues remember Joe as eccentric, amiable, well read, well travelled and a joy to be around.

He served as former president of the Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association, one of many leadership roles he held in the arts community over the years.

Joe’s friend, Ottawa poet and novelist Rob Mclennan, noted on his blog that Blades was a hands-on mentor who took pains to acclimate him to New Brunswick’s literary landscape. “It is striking for me to realize that Joe was an early mentor to me and my activity—even acting at times as an older brother—in a hands-on way that so many others I would consider mentors and supporters during those early days of my writing life simply didn’t…”

Mclennan’s post is a beautiful and personal tribute, noting elements of the man most wouldn’t know: “There were things about Joe that were constant: his expansive notebook, where phone numbers, emails, appointments and first drafts of poems were collected…He collected ‘lost dog’ posters he pulled from telephone poles.”

This past week he was memorialized via social media by many writers from across Canada:

 

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Pottersfield Press is again looking for submissions from writers who can provide a manuscript of 30,000 to 150,000 words in any of the following categories: history, memoir, autobiography, biography, literary journalism, political or social commentary, travel writing or virtually any existing or new category that uses the nonfiction medium to tell a story or put forward an idea.

In April of 2018, the winners of the first competition were announced. Lesley Buxton of Penticton, BC won first prize for One Strong Girl: Surviving the Unimaginable – A Mother’s Memoir. Reader’s Digest published an extended excerpt from One Strong Girl in its February 2019 edition of the magazine. Suzanne Stewart of Antigonish, NS won second prize for The Tides of Time: A Nova Scotia Book of Seasons. Three other authors who submitted to the prize have also had their manuscripts accepted for publication.

The First Prize winner will receive a contract for the publication of the winning book along with a $1,500 advance on 10 percent royalty for all sales. The Second Prize winner will also see the publication of the book and a $1,000 advance on 10 percent royalties.

Deadline is March 31, 2019. Submit your manuscript electronically as a double spaced basic Word document to pottersfieldcreative@gmail.com and include on the title page your name, address and email address. Entry fee is $25 (includes HST) and can be paid by Interac Transfer (also to pottersfieldcreative@gmail.com) or by cheque made out to Pottersfield Press mailed to 248 Leslie Rd. East Lawrencetown, NS  B2Z 1T4 Canada  after the manuscript has been submitted by email.

Pottersfield Press is celebrating its 40th Anniversary in 2019 and has published over 200 books by some of Canada’s finest writers. More information about our titles can be found at pottersfieldpress.com.

 

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Looking for a publishing contract?

For the second year, Pottersfield Press is looking for submissions from writers who can provide a manuscript of 30,000 to 150,000 words in any of the following categories: history, memoir, autobiography, biography, literary journalism, political or social commentary, travel writing or virtually any existing or new category that uses the non-fiction medium to tell a story or put forward an idea.

In April of 2018, the winners of the first competition were announced:

Lesley Buxton of Penticton, BC for One Strong Girl: Surviving the Unimaginable – A Mother’s Memoir and Suzanne Stewart of Antigonish, NS for The Tides of Time: A Nova Scotia Book of Seasons. Both books are in production for publication this fall. Three other authors who submitted to the prize have also had their manuscripts accepted for publication.

The First Prize winner will receive a contract for the publication of the winning book along with a $1,500 advance on 10 percent royalty for all sales. The Second Prize winner will also see the publication of the book and a $1,000 advance on 10 percent royalties.

The deadline is March 31, 2019 but early submissions are encouraged.

Submit manuscripts electronically as a double-spaced basic Word document to pottersfieldcreative@gmail.com and include on the title page your name, address and email address.

The entry fee is $25 (includes HST) and can be paid by Interac Transfer to pottersfieldcreative@gmail.com, or by cheque to Pottersfield Press, mailed to 248 Leslie Road, East Lawrencetown, NS, B2Z 1T4, Canada, after the manuscript has been submitted by email.

Pottersfield Press will be celebrating its 40th Anniversary in 2019 and has published more than 200 books by some of Canada’s finest writers. More information about our titles can be found at pottersfieldpress.com.

Pottersfield Press has published such distinguished nonfiction authors as Harold Horwood, Thomas Raddall, Joan Baxter, Neil Peart, Jon Tattrie, Steven Laffoley, Lindsay Ruck, Jim Lotz, Claire Mowat, Harry Thurston and many others. In an effort to further enhance its creative nonfiction publishing program, it created an annual Pottersfield Prize for Creative Nonfiction.

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Last week, the Canadian Museums Association (CMA) honours the achievements of museum professionals at its 2018 national conference in Vancouver, BC. A total of 22 awards were presented during a special awards ceremony, held at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel, on Thursday April 12. Among the award recipients in the Outstanding Achievement category was Heather Igloliorte’s SakKijâjuk: Art and Craft from Nunatsiavut, jointly published by Goose Lane Editions and the Rooms Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador, winning the award in the education category. SakKijâjuk is available in English, French, and Inuktitut.

Chaired by David Silcox, these awards recognize exceptional museum projects. This year, 12 Awards of Outstanding Achievement were presented.

The Canadian Museums Association is the national organization for the advancement of Canada’s museum community. The CMA works for the recognition, growth and stability of the sector. Canada’s 2,600 museums and related institutions preserve our collective memory, shape our national identity and promote tolerance and understanding.

For countless generations, the artists and craftspeople of Nunatsiavut, an Inuit region of Labrador, have produced work that is distinctive within the world of Canadian and circumpolar Inuit art. Yet for decades, the Labrador Inuit were excluded from this canon. SakKijâjuk—”to be visible” in the Nunatsiavut dialect of Inuktitut—is the first major publication on the distinctive and innovative work of the contemporary artists and craftspeople of this region.

The coastal people of Nunatsiavut have always lived above and below the tree line. As a result, Inuit artists and craftspeople of the region have had access to a diverse range of Arctic and Subarctic flora and fauna from which they have produced a stunningly diverse range of work.

In this magnificent book and the accompanying exhibition, writer-curator Heather Igloliorte seeks to cast a light on the artistic practice of Nunatsiavut, bringing together for the first time the work of 47 Nunatsiavummiut artists and artisans. Igloliorte (Inuit, Nunatsiavut Territory of Labrador) is an assistant professor and Research Chair in Indigenous Art History and Community Engagement at Concordia University in Montreal. Her research interests centre on Inuit and other Native North American visual and material culture, circumpolar art studies, performance and media art, the global exhibition of Indigenous arts and culture, and issues of colonization, sovereignty, resistance and resilience. In this collection, innovative drawings, paintings, photographs and sculpture are presented beside more traditional work employing wood, fur, hide, stone and seagrass. The work of Elders and artistic forerunners is presented beside that of a new generation of artists.

Published to coincide with the first-ever national touring exhibition of Inuit art from Nunatsiavut, organized by The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery of St. John’s and scheduled to be shown at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, and the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, SakKijâjuk examines the long history of artistic production in Nunatsiavut. Focusing on the post-Confederation era and highlighting many new critical forms of contemporary art and craft production, the volume is divided into four major sections (Elders, Trailblazers, Fire Keepers and the Next Generation), spanning four generations of artistic practice. Featuring more than 80 large-scale reproductions, the book features work from major public and private collections, as well as a number of exciting new works never before seen in print.

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Award-winning author Donna Morrissey will be at Halifax City Hall on Monday, March 26 at 1:00 pm for a press conference revealing the nominees for this year’s Atlantic Book Awards. Morrissey is a three-time winner of the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award. Also in attendance will be Aaron Williams, Carol Bruneau, Don Aker, Quentin Casey, Lesley Choyce, Joan Baxter, Brian Tennyson and Angela Doak.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Atlantic Book Awards, which have taken place in all four Atlantic Provinces. New this year, the board of the ABAs is pleased to announce that the three awards provided by the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia will be given at this year’s Atlantic Book Awards Gala. Those awards are the Thomas Raddall ($25,000), the JM Abraham Poetry Award ($2,000) and the Evelyn Richardson Non-Fiction Award ($2,000).

The 2018 Atlantic Book Awards & Festival takes place May 2 to 10, with shortlisted authors and illustrators featured in events throughout the Atlantic Provinces. The festival culminates on May 10 in the gala at Paul O’Regan Hall at the Halifax Central Library, where the recipients of 13 different book awards and the ABAs Pioneer Award will be revealed.

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Formac Publishing has launched Write to Win! a competition for Atlantic Canadian writers of literary fiction and non-fiction.

In addition to a publication offer and $1,500 cash prize, submissions are read by some of Nova Scotia’s finest authors, George Elliott Clarke, Sheree Fitch and Wanda Lauren Taylor.

Alongside the competition local universities are hosting a series of Publishing 101 sessions to help make the journey more understandable. Write to Win! serves as an easy and targeted way to guarantee a completed manuscript is read and considered by a publisher, while Publishing 101 sessions answer any questions that come up along the road to submission.

Formac Publishing looked at Canadian authors of YA novels and noticed a narrow demographic: young writers. A fresh voice is found in their writing that cannot be easily mimicked by the older generation of novelists. Youthful readers look for a voice akin to their own and with fast-changing colloquialisms and culture, young writers have a familiar ease to their style for their similarly aged readers.

Despite having diverse and genuine experiences to write about, many aspiring authors feel intimidated by publishing. Unfamiliarity leads them to seek out acquisition editors for details on the process before feeling comfortable enough to consider submitting their works.

Judge Wanda Lauren Taylor has plans to visit local universities and share her insights with creative writing groups, English societies and others with interest in order to counteract this phenomenon. These hour-long sessions will give attendees the answers to their questions about how to go from an idea to a published book.

The aim is for anyone ages 18 to 30 from various disciplines and walks of life to attend the sessions and submit their works. Confirmed sessions are scheduled at Saint Mary’s University on March 28, 7:00-8:00 pm in Atrium 101, and at Dalhousie University, March 29, 4:00-5:30 pm in C240 of the Life Sciences Centre (LSC).

For more details visit formac.ca/writetowin or email writetowin@formac.ca.

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Jen Powley and her partner, Tom Elliott, with Abe the Cat. Photos courtesy of Snickerdoodle Photography

 

According to my rough calculations, about 249,000 people in Atlantic Canada have disabilities, myself included. The number of authors with disabilities of varying kinds is beyond my calculations, but the publishing industry should ask whether disability issues are adequately covered in their books. Though no publisher in Atlantic Canada deals specifically with disability issues, for many it could be part of their mandate.

None of Pedlar Press’s titles deal directly with disability issues but Beth Follett, owner and publisher, says: “Many of Pedlar’s fiction and poetry titles address mental and physical disabilities, however indirectly, by having a character struggle with a hegemonic and able point of view. I think at this time in Western history, any book that asks a reader to consider the struggles of others, that challenges egocentrism, that addresses social causes of hardship, is important and relevant.” She feels Pedlar adequately addresses disabilities.

The state of disability issues today, as represented in Atlantic Canadian books, is now covered by my book, Just Jen, a new publication by Roseway Publishing, and by Hot, Wet and Shaking by Kaleigh Trace, published in 2014 by Invisible Publishing (which has since relocated to Ontario). Hot, Wet and Shaking, which won the 2015 Evelyn Richardson Non-fiction Award, is set in Halifax. Both deal with the reality of living with a disability but still having the desires that the media tends to restrict to the able-bodied. Hot, Wet and Shaking was an inspiration for me. It gave me the courage to include information about my sex life in Just Jen.

Powley and her mother in Halifax Public Gardens

Roseway publisher Beverley Rach says, “Roseway Publishing’s mandate is to publish literary works related to social injustices and the struggles involved in making the world a better place. We are particularly interested in publishing voices that traditionally have not had access to publishing.”

Invisible Publishing approached Kaleigh Trace–through then director Robbie MacGregor–to write Hot, Wet and Shaking after seeing her blog “Fucking Facts.” The book includes details of her journey in becoming herself. Trace describes herself as “a tough-as-fuck woman with a disability.” Hers was not the first book on sex and disability in Canada, but it was the first in Atlantic Canada. Trace feels more vulnerable now about the book, which includes explicit details on her thoughts and insights, than she did in 2014.

“I think the vulnerability I feel now around the book is about aging and being a different person now than I was as a relatively brazen 27-year-old,” she says. Addressing why the public doesn’t see disabled persons as sexual, Trace comments that “systemic ableism has done an effective job at making [people with disabilities] less visible to the world in general. Coupled with that, beauty standards very rigidly uphold a white, able-bodied and thin portrayal of desirability.”

Trace thinks that the visible fallibility of disabled bodies–that they fall, that they limp, that their physical form is weak–reminds people of their own mortality. “I think [this] subsequently makes people uncomfortable.”

Publishers, rather than taking on a project about a disability, may pass a book proposal to a publisher they feel is more appropriate. Whitney Moran, senior editor with Nimbus Publishing, says, “We in the Atlantic Publishing industry are a tight-knit group, and sometimes if a project comes along that we see as a good fit for one of our peers, we pass that information along either to the publisher or to the submitting author.”

That is what happened with my initial submission of Just Jen. Nimbus turned it down, suggesting I go to Roseway. They were right. Roseway chose to publish my memoir, which hit bookstores May 1.

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The Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP), of which the Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association (APMA) is an affiliate member, and of which many of our members are full members, has released a strong statement of support for principles of equity, diversity, tolerance and inclusion. It has done so in light of recent Islamophobic events in the United States and in Canada. The APMA and its publications, including Atlantic Books Today, proudly endorses and supports this statement from the ACP:

In light of recent events in both Canada and the United States, the Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP) affirms its commitment to the principles of equity, diversity, tolerance, and inclusion. These principles underpin the institutions that encourage participatory democracy and community life, and must be upheld by government and policy makers to ensure justice and respect for all.

Collectively we employ staff and publish authors and illustrators from all backgrounds, and from all around the world. We work to bring Canada’s best books and authors to the world, and to bring the world’s best to Canada. We believe that freedom of expression, one of our core values, suffers when legal movement of individuals across borders for legal purposes is arbitrarily constrained, in addition to the human suffering and other damage caused by such constraints. Together we all feel the chill brought on by the examples of intolerance that we have witnessed recently.

We believe that all people have the right to be treated equally, and with respect. To single out a person or a group of people for prejudicial treatment based on race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, immigration status, or birthplace, is wrong.  The disruption, uncertainty and fear brought about by prejudicial acts and policies is of great concern to us, and we condemn such abuses of power as threats to the principles of fairness and justice for all.

We stand in support of those who have been victimized by these acts, both at home and internationally.

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Pauline DakinAn MFA in creative nonfiction helped Pauline Dakin publish Run, Hide, Repeat: A Memoir, about a childhood of extreme secrecy

June has turned our thoughts to graduation, the last rite of spring and harbinger of patios, cottages and beaches – all great places to read books. To celebrate, we are feting three recent graduates of King’s College’s new Master of Fine Arts in Creative Nonfiction, each of whom has scored a book deal. The program is designed to help writers turn good ideas into completed books, and connect them with agents and publishers who can take said book to a wider audience. The program, now in its second year, has so far resulted in at least six book deals.

Today we chat with Pauline Dakin, who has written a memoir about a most unusual childhood growing up on the run from the mafia, which will be published by Penguin Canada is in September 2017.

Pauline, what were you up to when you decided to apply to the MFA program at King’s? Why did it appeal to you at this point in your career?

I was on my way home from doing a fellowship with the MIT/Knight Science Journalism program in Boston when the email from King’s landed, announcing the new MFA in creative nonfiction. At the time I was a health reporter for CBC National News, and I was always interested in fellowships and other learning opportunities. But this would be a much bigger commitment.

I had recently done a multimedia series for CBC on the mental, physical and emotional impacts of technology and social media on kids. I thought it would be a great topic for a book. Writing a book seemed like a natural progression for a long-time reporter, and I was looking for a challenge. Although I had no idea how much of a challenge it would be, or how rewarding.

Did you already have this project in mind when you entered the program or was it an idea that came up during study or workshops?

My book topic changed during the program, I think partly because there was an atmosphere of remarkable sharing and support among my classmates and professors. It was a safe place to explore a challenging and compelling personal story.

Why was this particular book the one you wanted to write?

Ultimately I decided to write about my family because the time finally felt right to sift through some difficult events I had tried to forget, but which continued to plague me. Both my parents and some other key characters were dead, my children nearly grown and I had some distance — time wise and emotionally — from what had happened.

Essentially, I grew up in an atmosphere of extreme secrecy and palpable fear without knowing why. Twice my mother, brother and I disappeared, leaving everyone we knew behind without saying goodbye and moving thousands of kilometres away. When I was in my early twenties I was told the reason for all our strange behaviour was that we were on the run from the mafia, and that my mother was getting ready to disappear again, into protective custody. That never happened, because she was the victim of a terrible betrayal.

It’s a difficult story to tell and to understand, and I thought that imposing a narrative structure on it might help me to put it to rest and provide a thoughtful way of telling my children about it.

A lot of writers are now going to school specifically to hone and develop their craft. What, based on your experience, are they getting from writing programs that they can’t get elsewhere?

For me, the MFA gave me the structure and discipline (deadlines!) to write my book. It also offered both group and one-on-one critiquing of my work. We were paired with mentors, published writers who provided invaluable feedback and suggestions.

Writing can be a very isolating process but it was less so because of the strong community of my class, teachers and mentors. It was a transformational experience, and a year after graduating many of us still stay in touch and are supporting and celebrating each other’s successes.

Do you have another book planned or in the works yet?

I have some book ideas and themes I’d like to explore. But I have to complete this one first! And after 23 years at CBC I’m starting a new job this fall, as a professor of journalism at the University of King’s College. I’m going to catch my breath and spend some time working on lectures and teaching skills before I launch into the next book project.

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Heather BryanThe road to the world of publishing for Heather Bryan of Nimbus

Heather Bryan, co-owner of Nimbus Publishing, Atlantic Canada’s largest publisher, notes that the publishing world is changing with the societal tide. And the influence of women in the industry is growing.

“It used to be that even though the larger publishing companies employed a lot of women, the top tier jobs were typically filled by men but I think this is changing industry-wide,” she says.

Bryan adds that in her own experience, women have had a tremendously positive impact on Nimbus. “If it hadn’t been for the influence of women staff at Nimbus, we wouldn’t have started to publish children’s books, which now accounts for 29 percent of our sales, or our successful fiction imprint, Vagrant Press.”

Bryan’s influence has also grown over the years. Her journey started long before Nimbus. Her first foray into the world of print took place after she graduated from Sheridan College in 1988.

“My first job out of college was at a local lifestyles magazine in town, called What’s Up, Niagara?” Bryan recalls.

It was largely the same type of job at that local magazine in St. Catherine’s, Ontario that she is now doing at Nimbus. “Although I was fresh out of school, and so I didn’t know what I was doing,” she laughs.

Marriage and her new husband’s professional relocation brought her to Halifax in 1989, where work for magazines in the city continued to shape Bryan’s career for another decade. It was then that her dream job opportunity surfaced.

“Books were always my dream. I’ve always been a book person,” she says. “A colleague told me that they had an opening for a production manager at Nimbus and said, ‘it’d be perfect for you.’ So on a whim I said, ‘Okay, fine.’”

She went straight to Nimbus, talked with the manager, and was hired that same day in 1999.

Bryan immediately took to the world of book production that was devoid of the fast-paced deadlines and the constant stress of magazine work. She loved it. “I would do this job for free,” she often told her boss.

She is still happily doing exactly what she’s been doing all along: overseeing the production of a book from its manuscript beginning to its published end.

“It just couldn’t be more perfect for me, being a book person to start with, and being able to do what I already knew how to do – but now in books instead,” she says.

In 2012, the chance arose to purchase the company from then-owner John Marshall, with her colleague Terrilee Bulger, who works as the general manager of Nimbus and owns Prince Edward Island publisher Acorn Press.

“John wanted to keep the company in the hands of people who were instrumental behind it doing well. So he offered it to us first. And Terrilee and I couldn’t see anyone else owning it, so we decided to take it over.”

Although she’s an owner, Bryan still finds the same joy in the details of the job. She loves those details, whether it’s in proofing, design or layout.

“This suits my personality very well,” she says. “There’s a lot of moving pieces, and everybody in the office does their bit. But essentially it comes down to me to get it out the door and to the printer. I’m a perfectionist when it comes right down to it.”

Bryan also remains excited by the focus on the Atlantic region. “Regional publishers nurture new writers and take the initial risk on books that might not be published otherwise,” she explains. As an extension of her enthusiasm for local publishing, she also serves as president of the Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association.

“We feel that we are very much part of our community and strive to keep Nova Scotian heritage and culture alive. It is part of our mandate to publish books that may not end up being commercially successful because the stories need to be told.”

And even though she doesn’t “do this job for free,” Bryan continues to look forward to each new turn of the road. “Publishing never gets dull or routine for me,” she says. “I’m learning new things all the time and everyday is different and challenging.”

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Photo by Joseph Muise
Photo by Joseph Muise

Ever wondered how a story becomes a book?

Come on down to The Word on the Street Halifax on Sept. 17 to find out

This year’s The Word on the Street Halifax Book and Magazine festival on Saturday, September 17 will feature special events by the Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association (APMA) and Atlantic Books Today that will highlight how a book gets published, from start to finish.

Pitch the Publisher is our flagship event. It offers budding authors 5 minutes to pitch their book idea to a panel of Atlantic Canadian publishers. Ideas pitched at this event have been turned into books, including Hand Drawn Halifax by Emma Fitzgerald.

Want to participate? Simply email cguy@atlanticpublishers.ca or call 902 420 0711. We’ll ask your name, contact info and a short (no more than 100 words please) blurb about your book idea. There are only 15 spots, so apply early.

New this year is the Blue Pencil Café. Twelve authors will receive a 15-minute face-to-face consultation with a professional editor. To register submit 3 pages, double-spaced and in 12 point font, for review by Sept. 13 to cguy@atlanticpublishers.ca. Those selected will be notified on Sept. 14.

Learn more about Pitch the Publisher and the Blue Pencil Cafe: