Secrets of literary Publishing: Why we make books, and how to survive and thrive in Today's marketplace

Stan Dragland's appearance presented with support from Tree Reading Series and the The Writers' Union of Canada.

Raincoast Books, home of Harry Potter in Canada, has shut down its domestic publishing program. Books coverage in newspapers from coast to coast is shrinking. Canada’s big box monopoly decided to not to order any poetry last fall. A recent poll found that a third of Canadians didn’t read a single book for pleasure last year and the stronger Canadian dollar is eating into already slim profit margins. Many are asking what the future holds, and yet, Canada’s literary presses continue to seek out new voices and work to promote great writing. Why? How? What draws them to a manuscript?

Join our distinguished panel of writers who publish—Brick Books co-founder Stan Dragland, Pedlar Press founder and publisher Beth Follett and Quattro co-founder Allen Briesmaster—for an in-depth discussion on the industry today and the relationship between their writing lives and their publishing lives.

You can read Ursula K. Le Guin's essay Staying Awake, which Beth Follet references, here.

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