When the little book company Brindle & Glass responded to my request for a complimentary copy of Julie Paul's new short-story collection, "The Pull of the Moon," I expected a no. After targeting Coach House Books for "The Butcher" and receiving a "we only do that for real media peoples," as well as loud silence from several other publishers I contacted, my hopes were not high.
I get that small publishers don't have time, money, or resources to ship off copies to nobodies. However, to my surprise, B&G responded with an astounding yes, they would love to assist with my non-profit essay for school. The hand-addressed package included a mint copy of the book, a recent press release to "help me out," along with a hand-written note. Furthermore, they expressed interest in reading my piece once completed. My piece - a small-town college kid, nothing close to real media. But the publishers in Brindle & Glass saw something in me the others didn't - potential.
This is the kind of encouragement we need to foster new writers, publishers, media reps, and little book companies. Does anyone else remember the preliminary goal? Literature, and getting that literature out into the world, whether that means shipping off complimentary copies to sit on bookshelves in coffee shops or placing a downloadable PDF on the web. We need to support each other, by reading Canadian's works, and writing for these publishers. With inspiration still steaming off B&G's yes, I can envision a bigger and better creative writing scene in Canada then ever before.
I get that small publishers don't have time, money, or resources to ship off copies to nobodies. However, to my surprise, B&G responded with an astounding yes, they would love to assist with my non-profit essay for school. The hand-addressed package included a mint copy of the book, a recent press release to "help me out," along with a hand-written note. Furthermore, they expressed interest in reading my piece once completed. My piece - a small-town college kid, nothing close to real media. But the publishers in Brindle & Glass saw something in me the others didn't - potential.
This is the kind of encouragement we need to foster new writers, publishers, media reps, and little book companies. Does anyone else remember the preliminary goal? Literature, and getting that literature out into the world, whether that means shipping off complimentary copies to sit on bookshelves in coffee shops or placing a downloadable PDF on the web. We need to support each other, by reading Canadian's works, and writing for these publishers. With inspiration still steaming off B&G's yes, I can envision a bigger and better creative writing scene in Canada then ever before.