George Nelson’s book How to See: Visual Adventures in a World God Never Made (originally published in 1977 and re-published by Phaidon in 2017) deserves the fine reviews it has received. It’s a very special book that I will read and consult regularly.
I was delighted to participate in the Parkland Regional Library Conference – Where Magic Happens, held on September 26, 2016 at the Memorial Centre in Lacombe, Alberta. I discussed book publishing in Alberta with the librarians who attended my session as well as the history, the present, and the future of book publishing in Alberta.
These notes (which include links and supplementary material) may be helpful to those who attended my session – and interesting to others who were not at this conference.
Culture is conversation. Writing, reading, editing, printing, distributing, cataloguing, reviewing, can be fuel for that conversation, ways of keeping it lively. It could even be said that to publish a book is to insert it into the middle of a conversation, that to establish a publishing house, bookstore or library is to start a conversation – a conversation that springs, as it should, from local debate, but that opens up, as it should to all places and times.
Zaid’s idea of inserting a book into a conversation created interest in our group. Publishers, authors, booksellers, librarians and readers recommend and promote books to their audiences and friends. We do our best to choose books which will be successful in meeting the needs of readers and we insert those books into as many conversations as possible.
The world is made of stories, not atoms. Books and other art forms help us to create and sustain those stories. We not only tell stories – we are stories. Librarians help us to find the stories that have been published, and they encourage writers and publishers to tell us more about our culture and our environment.
The Book Publishers Association of Alberta was created in 1975, with five founding members. The Association is a broadly-based professional organization representing and providing services and support for 28 book publishers in Alberta. The BPAA serves as an information source for its members, authors, and the public, and provides joint projects, programs and opportunities to assist publishers with book promotion, and professional development, helping them to thrive and adapt in a highly competitive industry.
The BPAA was one of the exhibitors at the conference, displaying and discussing books from their publishers, including those which won awards at the recent BPAA Book Publishing Awards gala.
While most of us continue to think of books as conventional paper products an increasing number of readers are using e-books in addition to paperbacks and hard-cover books. People who travel extensively may prefer to read books on their iPads, and students may prefer to do the same. Readers want the opportunity to choose the formats and products that best meet their needs.
We discussed how e-books can be used to promote and inform, and how some publishers have created enhanced e-books and apps to provide a different types of reading and learning experiences.
The BPAA is currently aggregating the collection of e-books that have been published by their members, with the goal of making them available to all Albertans through the library systems. There will be approximately 1200 titles in the collection. The project also includes the acquisition of new e-book titles as they become available as ongoing additions to the collections. The goal is to have the collection available through libraries in October.
Some printers now provide short print runs for individuals, groups and small publishers, coupled, in some cases, with marketing and promotion services. On Demand Books has produced the Espresso Book Machine which prints a conventional book in several minutes. Espresso Book Machines are located in a number of Canadian institutions and private bookstores including the Toronto Public Library, the Edmonton Public Library, McNally Robinson (Winnipeg), Simon Fraser University, University of Toronto Bookstore, University of Prince Albert University Bookstore, and the University of Victoria Bookstore.
Alternative Futures For What We Currently Call Publishing – An exciting exploration of the future of publishing, produced by the BPAA in 2012, featuring chapters by Todd Anderson, Mark Leslie Lefebvre, Jessica Legacy, Donna Livingstone, Jerome Martin, Paul Martin, and Kirby Wright. This is a free e-book, available on the BPAA site.
Golden Prairie – Jerome Martin. 2007. This is a free e-book, with text, audio, and photographs. Spotted Cow Press.
London – Jerome Martin. 2009. This is a free e-book, with text, audio, and photographs. Spotted Cow Press.
To The Horizon and Beyond: Student Ministers in Golden Prairie, Saskatchewan, 1929 – 1975 – Jerome Martin. 1990. Spotted Cow Press.
Looking at Ansel Adams: The Photographs and the Man – iTunes app.
Jack Kerouac’s On the Road (A Penguin Books Amplified Edition)
We arrived in Brantford this afternoon and spent several hours photographing and learning about the early history of Brantford (Brant's Ford) from S. Minsos, the author of Squire Davis and the Crazy River (to be published this fall by Spotted Cow Press).
The Mohawk Chapel, was built in 1785 and given to the Mohawk people led by Chief Joseph Brant. Brant's tomb and a boulder with a plaque honouring the poet E. Pauline Johnson are located adjacent to the chapel.
The photography and (my) learning continues tomorrow. Please drop by: same time, same place.
On Thursday, November 15, 2007, Spotted Cow Press launched Joyce Harries' first book of poetry – Twice in a Blue Moon: Poems by Joyce Harries – at the University of Alberta Bookstore in Edmonton. It's a fine volume of verse and Joyce presented it well. Friends and fellow poets came to hear her read and to provide support for this significant event (click here to download a sample of Joyce's poetry from the book ).
There were others in the crowd who came not only to hear Joyce read but to see the new Espresso Book Machine work. Joyce's book was the first trade book produced by the machine. Todd Anderson, Director of the award-winning University of Alberta Bookstore, discussed the machine and how he had decided that he would try to buy a machine after he and Jerome heard Jason Epstein of OnDemand Books discuss the Espresso Book Machine at the Fourth International Conference on the Book in Boston in October, 2006.
There are four Espresso Book Machines in the world at the moment: in addition to this machine there are units operating at the Library at Alexandria in Egypt, the World Bank and the New York Public Library.
Jerome Martin, Publisher at Spotted Cow Press, introduced Todd, who welcomed guests to the Bookstore. Jerome then introduced Joyce who read poems from the different sections in the book. The crowd enjoyed the reading so much that they asked her to read more – and she did.
While Joyce signed books Todd Anderson demonstrated the Espresso Book Machine to a large crowd, including several Alberta publishers. There were cheers and applause when the crowd saw the first book drop from the machine.
The Espresso Book Machine will allow publishers, writers, poets, academics, family historians and others to create and produce small runs on-demand. The unit cost of running one book is the same as that of running 63 or 630 books. It's fast and easy. And it's fun to watch.
Photo Credits: Peter Johnston
A year ago (October, 2006) Todd Anderson, Director of the University of Alberta Bookstore, and I travelled to Boston to present a paper at The Fourth International Conference of the Book. Our paper, Competing With Free, discussed the trend towards using websites instead of textbooks in classes. Our paper surprised some of the people who attended our session, but what was most impressive about the conference was the presentation given by Jason Epstein. Epstein, a veteran of the book industry who also has a clear vision of a new future for it, is one of the people responsible for the development of OnDemand Books and the Espresso Book Machine. He talked about how the Espresso could produce a book, bound and trimmed, in as little as a minute, and how this technology can change the publishing industry.
Todd chatted with Jason after the presentation, and, as a result of that conversation, decided to buy an Espresso Book Machine for the University of Alberta Book Store. Todd's a man of vision and action: and today, one year and one week after hearing the story of this unique machine he saw the first books produced by the Espresso at the University of Alberta Bookstore. He and his staff were delighted with the results.
We at Spotted Cow Press are also very pleased that this machine – the most advanced Espresso unit manufactured thus far – is located at the U of A Bookstore. We are launching Twice in a Blue Moon: Poems by Joyce Harries on November 15, 2007, 7:00 PM at the Bookstore; books will be produced by the Espresso Book Machine during the launch. If you would like to attend please go to the Blue Moon page, download an invitation and notify us if you're coming so that we can make a name tag for you.
Joyce, an Edmonton poet and writer, will be reading from her book. She's very excited about seeing her book produced on site – the first trade book printed by the bookstore's Espresso machine.
I'll be writing more about the Espresso Book Machine and its potential. In the meantime, congratulations to Todd Anderson and the U of A Bookstore for seeing the potential of bringing this machine, the only one in Canada and one of just a few in the world, to Edmonton.
The results: books, and a very happy Todd Anderson
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