I'm so pleased to share this quick Q&A I conducted with Kitty Lewis, the General Manager of Brick Books. Since they're celebrating a great milestone this year, I thought it would be great to see what's new and exciting with this well-loved Canadian publishing house.
Hi Kitty. First off, I’d like to congratulate Brick Books. This year is the 35th anniversary… how are you celebrating?
We've had a few celebrations in conjunction with author readings - with cake and door prizes - in our home town of London, Ontario as well as Edmonton, Whitehorse and Vancouver. A further event with author readings, cake and door prizes will take place in Toronto in October.
You’ve no doubt witnessed and been a part of a variety of shifts in publishing over the years. What do you think is the most exciting thing happening in publishing right now?
The internet has made a big difference for us in terms of people being able to find our books. We are also looki
ng into creating e-books with our titles to get a broader range for our authors' work.
We've had a few celebrations in conjunction with author readings - with cake and door prizes - in our home town of London, Ontario as well as Edmonton, Whitehorse and Vancouver. A further event with author readings, cake and door prizes will take place in Toronto in October.
You’ve no doubt witnessed and been a part of a variety of shifts in publishing over the years. What do you think is the most exciting thing happening in publishing right now?
The internet has made a big difference for us in terms of people being able to find our books. We are also looki
ng into creating e-books with our titles to get a broader range for our authors' work. How has the use of social media changed how you interact with readers?
We have had a Facebook presence for 2 years and Twitter since last fall. It's another way to reach interested readers and fans of our publishing house.
Brick Books is known for an incredible touring schedule and yet there are those who say the ‘author tour’ is dead. Why do you think it’s important for your authors to travel for book tours?
I feel it is important for our authors to travel to read from their book. For us at Brick Books, it's a chance to get the work out there and let people hear the authors read from their books - this makes a big difference.
Looking at the Brick Books publishing schedule ahead, what are you most excited about?
We are excited about all our books - our spring books are in print - a first book by Antony Di Nardo of Toronto - Alien, Correspondent, much of which is set in Beirut where he has been teaching for the past 3 years - a second book by Eve Joseph of Victoria - The Secret Signature of Things; third books by Lorri Neilsen Glenn of Halifax and their second poet laureate - Lost Gospels - and by Steve McOrmond of Toronto - The Good News About Armageddon. Our fall books include a f
irst book by Nico Rogers of Toronto, formerly of Edmonton - The Fetch, based on his research on his roots in Newfoundland; another first book - That Other Beauty by Karen Enns of Victoria, and a third poetry collection by Julia McCarthy of Upper Kennetcook - Return From Erebus.*****
To see all of Brick Book's offerings, visit their website at http://www.brickbooks.ca/. Visit this link specifically to take advantage of the annual subscription offer to guarantee yourself a year of great literature.
