the ottawa small press book fair : home edition #25 : Bywords.ca

Bywords.ca, established in 2003, publishes poetry online monthly by current and former Ottawa residents, students and workers. The site also includes a calendar of literary, spoken word, storytelling and nonfiction events taking place in the National Capital Region, news of book and chapbook publications, workshops, festivals, workshops, contests, calls for submission, a guide for organizers on accessible venues, and other guides for those who wish to do readings in Ottawa and those who wish to take creative writing classes and workshops.

Amanda Earl is the managing editor of Bywords.ca and the fallen angel of AngelHousePress. She’s a writer, visual poet, editor and publisher. More information is available at AmandaEarl.com or connect with Amanda on Twitter @KikiFolle.

Q: Tell me about your press. How long have you been publishing, and what got you started?

Bywords.ca began in 2003, after Bywords, the monthly magazine that had started in 1990 ceased publication in 2001. I had been a student in two of Seymour Mayne's creative writing poetry workshops in 2000 and 2001. Bywords had been a magazine run by a collective of Mayne, Heather Ferguson and Gwendolyn Guth. It was made up of poetry submitted in the mail from people all over. It also included a calendar of events. There were also a couple of anthologies. You could pick up Bywords around town in cafes, pubs and other places. I picked up several in the 90s, so I knew of it, and appreciated it. After it had to end because the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton didn't give them funding, and perhaps because, i imagine the hard word that the volunteer team did was starting to get to be too much after 11 years.

Professor Mayne wanted to continue Bywords, and several of my classmates and I got together to come up with a plan to do so. Charles, my husband, had tech skill from a long career in information technology. We purchased the domain, he designed the site, a number of people from the group volunteered as selectors.

We published monthly poems an a quarterly magazine (Bywords Quarterly Journal (BQJ) 2003-2013), held an award: The John Newlove Poetry Award (Newlove died in December 2003, we had a memorial online the following April and a print anthology chapbook, Moments, Not Monuments shortly after, which included some of his poems and the poems of others. The award, which began in 2004, offers those published on Bywords.ca to have a chapbook published with us.

Q: How many times have you exhibited at the ottawa small press fair? How do you find the experience?

Pre-Bywords.ca, possibly in 2002, not sure when exactly, we sold chapbooks for Friday Circle, the small press Professor Mayne had started for chapbooks by members of his creative writing class. We loved the fair, meeting the vendors, and in particular fell in love with the chapbook as an independent, creative way to publish small work and to engage with fellow chapbook makers. We also heard from people at the fair that they missed the Bywords monthly magazine, particularly the calendar. Going to that fair was a big reason why we decided to take on a role in bringing Bywords into the 21st century and publishing poetry, both online and in print.

Bywords.ca has had a table at the fair for both spring and autumn ever since, including when I was just released from hospital in 2009 on the day of the fair. Charles and I couldn't be there so some kind friends tabled for us. If my math is correct, this means we've had a table 32 times.

Q: Would you have made something specific for this spring’s fair? Are you still doing that? How does the lack of spring fair this year effect how or what you might be producing?

We ceased publication of the BQJ in 2013 and publish the John Newlove Poetry Award chapbook in the autumn, so we didn’t have to prepare anything for either the spring or fall small press fairs; however, we are hoping to be able to participate in the June, 2021 fair very much and will have copies of David Groulx’s chapbooks along with our additional titles from the Newlove Poetry Award Chapbook series. Often there are a few collectors who stop by to pick up issues of the BQJ that they’ve missed, so we try to have at least one full collection, all forty issues on hand.

Q: How are you, as a small publisher, approaching the myriad shut-downs? Is everything on hold, or are you pushing against the silences, whether in similar or alternate ways than you might have prior to the pandemic? How are you getting your publications out into the world?

Bywords.ca continues to publish the online issue. I am grateful to our selectors for continuing to read the poems every month, and to the poets who kindly entrust us with their work.

Q: Have you done anything in terms of online or virtual launches since the pandemic began? Have you attended or participated in others? How are you attempting to connect to the larger literary community?

Our sole reading is the John Newlove Poetry Award, which is held in October and hosted by the Ottawa International Writers Festival. This year the Festival held our event, and many others virtually through Zoom, with the technical help of the Ottawa Public Library. We had 7 participants, so our event was more complicated to co-ordinate than many of the Festival events. Alexine Marier and her team from the Library were wonderful. Our participants handled having to be in their own homes and presenting their work in front of a live but invisible audience very well. The Library hired a company to do the close captioning and provided a wonderful recording of the event. I am very grateful. You can see the video here:

I’m not attending a lot of live virtual events. The few that I have attended were lovely, and I’ve gone back to a few I’ve missed and enjoyed watching them, such as some of the VERSeFest events. I connect to the larger literary community quite well, mainly through social media, but also through an exchange of correspondence: snail or e-mail and by reading their work. Also by hosting many writers on the podcast I run through AngelHousePress, which as become very important to me as a way of supporting them and sharing their creative work.

Q: Has the pandemic forced you to rethink anything in terms of production? Are there supplies or printers you haven’t access to during these times that have forced a shift in what and how you produce?

We haven’t had any issues. We purchased our supplies for the Newlove Award (certificates, envelopes etc) online as opposed to going to our local office supplies company, and we had no trouble at all getting our most recent chapbook published. Every year we print the Newlove chapbook in September. Our printer, Elephant Print, is a local small printer. Naheed Davis, its owner, has been printing our chapbooks since the mid-aughts, even offering ideas on design. She's marvelous. If people are looking for a really great printer with experience printing chapbooks, I highly recommend Elephant Print.

Q: What are your most recent publications? How might people still be able to order copies?

Our most recent publication is What the Haruspex read in the Small hours of my Body by David Groulx, our 2019 John Newlove Poetry Award recipient. The chapbook is available for purchase, along with several other chapbooks from the series and copies of the Bywords Quarterly Journal (2003-2013), in the Bywords.ca store.

Q: What are you working on now?

Always working on the next issue of Bywords.ca. Charles and I also have to start working on the City of Ottawa 2021 Arts Funding Program proposal which is due on January 11, 2021. And at the end of January, Megan Misztal, who won the Newlove Award this year, will send her draft manuscript for our editors to begin working on. All being well, she will launch in next October in person at the Festival.

the ottawa small press book fair : home edition #24 : Horsebroke Press

Jeff Blackman is a poet and publisher. He has authored 15 chapbooks of poetry and prose including the Coral Castle Trilogy with Jusitn Million, BLIZZARD: Ottawa City Stories with Peter Gibbon, and most recently, You Just Proved Poems Work, available from Horsebroke Press. Check out his May 2020 virtual reading here complete with green screen and lip synching (15 minute mark). Register for Meet the Presses' virtual conference to see him on a magazines and journal panel Sunday, November 29, at noon EST.

Q: Tell me about your press. How long have you been publishing, and what got you started?

Horsebroke Press began around 2010, mainly as a means to self-publish broadsides and chapbooks. In 2020 I’ve focussed on monthly zine production.

Q: How many times have you exhibited at the ottawa small press fair?

I can’t say how many times. The first time I exhibited would have been with In/Words Magazine & Press back in 2007 when the event was at Library & Archives Canada; may have been a special Ottawa Writers Fest edition. I’ve since been there on behalf of The Moose & Pussy, Apt. 9 Press a couple times sitting in for Cameron Anstee, and Horsebroke.

Q: How do you find the experience?

Once you make back the cost of the table, it’s great.

Q: Would you have made something specific for either of this year’s fairs? Are you still doing that? How does the lack of spring or fall fair this year effect how or what you might be producing? 

Those are good questions and I have no answers for them.

Q: How are you, as a small publisher, approaching the myriad shut-downs?

I launched a zine in March 2020, the week Ontario shut down, titled These Days. The first one was intentionally intimate. I reached out to a few of my neighbours plus my immediate family, who all happen to be photographers, artists, and poets. Plus Justin Million in Peterborough, my life-long collaborator.

I sent copies to additional family and close friends, and personally invited them to contribute. I continued this, expanding outward month by month, with issue one reaching about fifteen households, then twenty, then thirty, and on it’s gone to now around 50. It’s exclusively a print thing, sent out by regular mail.

I’ve missed a deadline or two, but as of November 2020 I’d received contributions from about 30 friends and family members, and published a half-dozen issues.

After a friend insisted on paying for issue #2, I started accepted donations via https://www.patreon.com/thesedays. The magazine continues to remain free for everyone I’ve ever asked to contribute, and all the money I raise goes back to the contributors. Starting with issue #4 I retroactively paid all contributors an honorarium of $10. As of now I’m now paying $15 honorariums.

Q: Have you done anything in terms of online or virtual launches since the pandemic began? Have you attended or participated in others? How are you attempting to connect to the larger literary community? 

The online workshops the Tree Reading Series run are very good. The whole team at Tree has just done an incredible job this year. As has the team behind VERSeFest, and the Riverbed Reading Series, which also launched during the pandemic.

As part of an ongoing series, I’ve interviewed some of the folks behind all three of these events. I was driven part by genuine curiosity, and part by a desire to drum up interest. It’s hard getting anything online going in the endless sea of free content.

And that was one of the driving forces behind launching a mail-only print zine in 2020. To maintain my connections with family and friends, and nurture the connections between them. With the exception of promotion and sales, I’m keeping content offline and have no plans to digitize.

Q: Has the pandemic forced you to rethink anything in terms of production? Are there supplies or printers you haven’t access to during these times that have forced a shift in what and how you produce?

For the first couple issues I was really worried about droplets and would intentionally let the zines sit for a day before mailing them. I’m not so paranoid now and trust Canada Post to keep us safe.

This whole endeavour has all brought me back to my roots, photocopying and stapling black and white art together and just getting it out there. It feels great.

Q: What are your most recent publications? How might folk be able to order copies? 

These Days #6 featured photography by my partner, Kate Maxfield, prose by a friend from my salad days, Vanessa Davies, and an interview with Avonlea Fotheringham, VERSeFest administrator, about getting that festival online. Kate’s photography of Lowertown and Centretown is some of her best, and Vanessa’s true story of life in the face of death will move even the most cynical.

I’d also plug issue #5, also still available. I don’t go out looking for themes, but they happen sometimes. I wound up with an entire issue about motherhood, with heartwarming and -breaking poems by Ksenija Spasic, LN Woodward, Gail Blackman (my mom!), and Peter Gibbon. And just an awesome poem by my son as well.

Both of these issues are available via my Etsy store (https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/HorsebrokePress), as are a few other back issues and old chapbooks by Justin and I.

Q: What are you working on now? 

Issue #7 will be out in December. I’m hoping for a big holiday issue, but you can’t predict these things.

I’ll be accepting contributions up to Nov 27. You can reach me at thesedayszine2020@gmail.com. That won’t change in 2021.

the ottawa small press book fair : home edition #23 : Doris Fiszer

Doris Fiszer has won awards for her poetry including the 2017 John Newlove Award and the 2016 Tree Reading Series Chapbook Award for The Binders. The Binders was also shortlisted for the bpNichol Chapbook Award. Her poems have appeared in journals and anthologies in Canada and the United States. Locked in Different Alphabets, is her first full-length poetry collection. Doris is happily retired, lives in Ottawa with her husband Bruce and enjoys spending time with her grandchildren.

Q: Tell me about your writing. How long have you been publishing, and what got you started?

Writing poetry has been my focus for as long as I can remember. Since retiring, I have devoted more time to this passion.  I have also occasionally dabbled in writing children’s short stories and may attempt to do so again. One of my first poetry acceptances was with Bywords which at that time was still producing print journals. Over the last twenty years, I have also had work published in other online and printed journals and anthologies in Canada and the United States. Past membership in several poetry groups under the expert guidance of Stephanie Bolster and the late Barbara Myers has expanded my knowledge of the publishing world.  The publication of my first chapbook, The Binders (Tree Press’s 2016 Chapbook Award) and the launch of The Binders at the Tree Reading Series motivated me to keep writing and sending my work out for publication. Winning the 2017 John Newlove Award was another huge boost for my publishing history. The award also offered me the opportunity to publish a chapbook, (Sasanka, Wild Flower, Bywords) and a launch at the Ottawa International Writers Festival. Thanks Amanda Earl! The publication of these two chapbooks encouraged me to complete a full-length poetry manuscript and submit it to different publications. I was fortunate to have Locked in Different Alphabets, published by Silver Bow Publishing in Vancouver in June.

Q: How many times have you exhibited at the ottawa small press fair? How do you find the experience?

I have exhibited at the Ottawa small press fair on three occasions and try to regularly attend the spring and fall fairs. These fairs offer writers the perfect venue to display their work, check out new titles and network with fellow poets. An occasional book sale is a bonus too. Thanks, rob for giving writers this opportunity to exhibit their work!  I will miss the excitement of attending the fair this fall.

Q: Would you have made something specific for this year’s fairs? Are you still doing that? How does the lack of spring or fall fair this year effect how or what you might be producing?

I would have exhibited my new poetry book, Locked in Different Alphabets, as well as my two chapbooks. Launching during a pandemic is not an easy endeavour and has motivated me to find alternative ways of making my writing accessible to readers.

Q: How are you, as a literary writer, approaching the myriad shut-downs? Is everything on hold, or are you pushing against the silences, whether in similar or alternate ways than you might have prior to the pandemic? How are you getting your publications out into the world?

Ruby Tuesdays the poetry group I belong to has been meeting weekly on Zoom since the shut-down in March. Initially, meeting virtually was quite an adjustment for everyone. This group of talented and supportive writers, however, has adapted well to this new format. Weekly writing exercises and the group’s constructive feedback on each other’s poems have helped me adhere to a fairly regular writing practice. The shut-down has proved to be a challenging, yet an unexpectedly productive writing and publishing period for me. The shut-down in March gave me ample uninterrupted time to edit and submit my manuscript which was accepted by Silver Bow Publishing in Vancouver at the end of April. The editing process moved extremely quickly and my book was published in June. I have used social media to promote my book and have mailed out copies to those interested in purchasing a copy. As well, I have approached independent book stores in Ottawa who have agreed to carry my book.

Q: Have you done anything in terms of online or virtual launches since the pandemic began? Have you attended or participated in others?  How are you attempting to connect to the larger literary community?

Virtual launches offer the possibility of participating in a wide variety of literary events and supporting poet friends and colleagues who have released new books, or have been nominated for awards.  I enjoyed Claudia Radmore’s, Frances Boyle’s and Pearl Pirie’s book launches. The Ottawa Book Awards and the Ottawa International Writers Festival were also highlights. The Tree Reading Series and other online readings and events keep me connected to the poetry community. I am also looking forward to VerseFest in November.  Silver Bow’s publisher, Candice James is in the process of organizing a virtual launch for Susan Atkinson, The Marta Poems and me on December 6th. Our manuscripts were accepted for publication within weeks of each other. We are delighted to be able to share our debut full-length collections with the literary community.

Q: What is your most recent book or chapbook? How might folk be able to order copies?

Locked in Different Alphabets is my first full-length poetry collection. It is available from Silver Bow Publishing:  www.silverbowpublishing.com and Amazon. Copies can also be purchased directly from me at dorisfiszer@rogers.com.

Q: What are you working on now?

Publishing my book has given me the freedom to explore a more diverse range of subjects and experiment with different forms of poetry. I am curious to see where these new poems will take me!

the ottawa small press book fair : home edition #22 : Kees Kapteyn

Kees Kapteyn: I was raised in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, and now live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada where I work as an educational assistant.  I have a published chapbook entitled Temperance Ave. through Grey Borders Books as well as having been published in such magazines as Blank Spaces, Wordbusker, Writing Raw, In My Bed, blue skies, ditch, Novella, Corvid Revue and Revolution 21 as well as various editions of Canadian Author’s Association Niagara’s poetry and short story anthologies. Self-publishing adventures include the fiction chapbooks Holocene and A Hierarchy of Needs.  Most recently, my short story “Geosmin” was included in the Alanna Rusnak Publishing fiction anthology Just Words 4.

Q: Tell me about your writing. How long have you been publishing, and what got you started?
 
A: I write fiction of varying lengths. Until recently it’s been short stories and flash fiction but in the last year I’ve been committed to a full length novel.  I’ve been publishing since the early nineties, running along with the zine phenomenon that had tied itself to the indie scene back then. I would hijack the photocopier at work late at night and churn out a hundred or two copies of whatever cut and paste thing I’d contrived at that point. These were fiction chapbooks, poetry chapbooks and an arts and culture mag that I put out somewhat regularly.  It was pretty fun joining this community of other creative people across Canada.  I got to connect with people that I never would have even known about otherwise, being pre-internet and all.  I was invited to conferences, zine shows, benefit concerts and other cool things.  It was a great start.  In 2016, I set up Smidskade 9 Press as a vehicle to participate in shows like the ottawa small press fair, and to act as an umbrella under which to keep my published works.

Q: How many times have you exhibited at the ottawa small press fair? How do you find the experience?
 
A: I’ve been part of the ottawa small press fair twice now and it was a great experience both times.  They were opportunities to network with different presses and individuals in the community and it was also a way to educate myself in what other people were doing with their presses.  It was also a way to get a feel for what the industry (can we call it that?) was up to.  People were so open to talk shop and have been just as curious as I was about the whole thing.  You, rob, you embody that attitude and I’m so glad you present these opportunities because they’re crucial for this community.
 
Q: Would you have made something specific for this year’s fairs? Are you still doing that? How does the lack of spring or fall fair this year effect how or what you might be producing?
 
A: I have a couple stories that I was going to slap together as chapbooks for the next show.  I want to do it in a more professional manner rather than just street-level cut, paste, xerox and staple.  That will take money, but I think it’s what I have to do to present a sellable product.  Gone are the days of the 5th-generation-image punk zines.  The lack of public displays like the press fair this year only makes me switch to other modes of creating.  It hasn’t really slowed me down.
 
Q: How are you, as literary writer, approaching the myriad shut-downs? Is everything on hold, or are you pushing against the silences, whether in similar or alternate ways than you might have prior to the pandemic? How are you getting your publications out into the world?
 
A: Working in education, the shutdown gave me the precious opportunity to dive into forming my novel.  Every day I did a little bit of something and at this point I can say that I have about ¾ of the rough draft done.  As far as hard copy output, I’m just promoting my fiction chapbook.  Since it looks like we are about to slip into another mass shutdown, I’m not keen on putting anything more in stores, since they all look like they will sink into temporary obscurity, being deemed as non-essential services. Quarantine without books? Seriously?!  They sound pretty essential to me!!
 
Q: Have you done anything in terms of online or virtual launches since the pandemic began? Have you attended or participated in others? How are you attempting to connect to the larger literary community?
 
A: I like to keep up with new releases and support my friends and colleagues.  I’m glad we have the online platforms to do readings because I was really missing them.  It’s so great to see people like Pearl Pirie, Phil Hall and Heather Haley putting works out and going public despite the restrictions.
 
Q: What is your most recent book or chapbook? How might folk be able to order copies?
 
A:  My most recent professionally published work is a book of flash fiction called Temperance Ave., and it’s available from Grey Borders Books. http://greybordersbooks.jigsy.com/kees-kapteyn
 
Q: What are you working on now?
 
A: Right now I am working on a novel I’m calling LefTturn.  It’s about a fella whose wife has been unfaithful and the ensuing separation puts him into a kind of existential tailspin.  The universe is trying to give him clues as to what he should do to get his life back on track, yet he either ignores them or simply does not see them.  As the book progresses, the signs become more and more apparent and outrageous, to the point where strange, supernatural things start to happen.  I’m having a lot of fun with it, and as I’ve said I’m about ¾ through the rough draft, so hopefully it will be ready for the streets in a year or so.  Maybe by then we’ll be done with this pandemic?  I sure hope so!

the ottawa small press book fair : home edition #21 : Brian L. Flack/Point Petre Publishing,

Brian L. Flack is the publisher of Point Petre Publishing. The novels In Seed Time, With A Sudden & Terrible Clarity, and When Madmen Lead the Blind, and a collection of poems -- 36 … Poems -- are among his published works. He is also a contributor to several other books, among them Nino Ricci: Essays on His Works and Discourse and Community: Multidisciplinary Studies of Canadian Culture. He has contributed, over the last 50 years, literary & social criticism to periodicals, and academic journals, and written many reviews for newspapers. For several years, he was the host of a weekly radio programme, “Bookviews”, on Q-107  in Toronto. In another life that he enjoyed for almost 40 years, he was a Professor of English Literature. He is married to the painter Susan Straiton.

Q: Tell me about your press. How long have you been publishing, and what got you started? 

Point Petre Publishing (PPP) was established in 2017. It’s designed to be a small operation, publishing only 2 or 3 books a year. What lies behind its existence is the publisher’s understanding of the incredibly difficult time first-time writers have breaking through the bulwarks of mainstream publishing. The deck is stacked and there is not much “give”. The idea was and is to help out in that area as well as publish writers who already have a track record.

Q: How many times have you exhibited at the Ottawa small press fair? How do you find the experience? 

PPP has been to the OSPF 3 times over the last 3 years. It’s a fine way to connect with readers and writers. And, of course, sell a few books! The reading at the Carleton on the Friday evening is a highlight. 

Q: Would you have made something specific for this spring’s fair? Are you still doing that? How does the lack of spring fair this year effect how or what you might be producing? 

PPP would have had a new book of poems in time for the Spring Fair, but that was shelved … not because the Fair was cancelled but because of COVID-19. At the time the book would have appeared, every bookstore in the country was closed. The author, an older writer, decided against even trying again in the Fall as her desire to be out and about in the community in the midst of this pandemic was, in the Spring, and remains to this day, less than encouraging … and quite rightfully. As a result, a launch, visits to bookstores, and readings at several venues could not have happened. The book probably won’t see the light of day until the Spring or Fall of 2021 … if then.

Q: How are you, as a small publisher, approaching the myriad shut-downs? Is everything on hold, or are you pushing against the silences, whether in similar or alternate ways than you might have prior to the pandemic? How are you getting your publications out into the world? 

PPP is effectively shut down for the time being … at least as far as releasing new titles. The publisher continues to be amenable to receiving manuscripts that will fit PPP’s publishing preferences – poetry and literary fiction, so that when this is virus has been tamed PPP will be able to jump right back into the game. Submissions, though, have slowed to something less than a trickle. PPP suspects that many writers simply do not want to play chicken with this virus and be “out there”. But … prospective authors can still send manuscripts. They should go to PPP’s website (pointpetrepublishing.ca) for submission guidelines.

Bookstores, hurting from the long shutdown have also pared back … they are stocking fewer books than they used to because customers are scarcer and most are not hosting book launches. For the time being, orders of books from the backlist are going to have to sustain PPP. This can be done by e-mail. People can write for a book or books – send an email to pointpetrepublishing @gmail.com or go to the website at pointpetrepublishing.ca where pricing is available – and they will be shipped.

Q: Have you done anything in terms of online or virtual launches since the pandemic began? Have you attendeor participated in others? How are you attempting to connect to the larger literary community? 

PPP has had no virtual launches because there have been no new books. Nor has PPP attended any other Fairs. For the moment, PPP does not have much connection to the larger literary community … this is at least partially due to PPP’s remote location in Prince Edward County, Ontario.

Q: Has the pandemic forced you to rethink anything in terms of production? Are there supplies or printers you haven’t access to during these times that have forced a shift in what and how you produce? 

It has. PPP’s printer shut down for some time. Suppliers for other materials – paper, ink, etc. – also shut down. As did PPP. Almost everything went on hiatus … except for the internet.

Q: What are your most recent publications? How might folk be able to order copies? 

A backlist of PPP’s recent books can be found at pointpetrepublishing.ca. Those titles can be ordered at pointpetrepublishing@gmail.com.

Q: What are you working on now? 

PPP is reading and assessing all manuscripts that come its way, hoping to find a gem or two that can be made ready for publication when the virus emergency comes to an end.

the ottawa small press book fair : home edition #20 : shreeking violet press,

Shortlisted for the 2016 bpNichol Award and winner of the 2013 Diana Brebner Prize, Marilyn Irwin’s work has been published by above/ground press, Apt. 9 Press, Arc Poetry Magazine, bywords.ca, and Puddles of Sky, among others. the day the moon went away is her ninth chapbook. She runs shreeking violet press in Ottawa.

shreeking violet press specializes in hand-made papery things by a variety of emerging and established writers with special consideration given to authors who have historically been at a disadvantage in publishing.

Q: Tell me about your press. How long have you been publishing, and what got you started?

A: shreeking violet press specializes in hand-made papery things by a variety of emerging and established writers with special consideration given to authors who have historically been at a disadvantage in publishing. It began out of desire to make something for a reading I was performing at as part of being named a “Hot Ottawa Voice” by Tree Reading Series in Ottawa in 2014. I used a typewriter and handmade paper and needle and thread and conjured up four little items which I sold that night. Within the next year, I decided I would rather showcase other writers’ voices; soliciting those I admired and wanted to amplify. The first “thing” I made was my first and self-published chapbook “for when you pick daisies” in 2010, but it wasn’t under any press name.

Q: How many times have you exhibited at the ottawa small press fair? How do you find the experience?

A: My first ottawa small press fair as exhibitor was Spring 2015 and I haven’t missed one so I’ve tabled eleven times for shreeking violet press. Small press people are magical because they’re often making things for little to no profit and, more often than not, with blood, sweat and tears poured into their products. It’s a very encouraging and curious community. It’s dangerous to be surrounded by such coveted, usually limited edition items. You want to snatch everything up that catches your eye and be supportive of everyone’s hard work but you also want to break even. Making trades is a win-win which I often do when presented the option. One of my favourite parts is sitting down for drinks at a pub at the end of the day to swap stories of how everyone’s day went where I get to chat with either new friends or friends who live out of the city and who I only get to see as often as the fair occurs. I highly recommend tabling for people just starting out as it’s a great way to meet the community.

Q: Would you have made something specific for this spring’s fair? Are you still doing that? How does the lack of spring fair this year effect how or what you might be producing?

A: I was/am going to be publishing one or two books. The “when” is still uncertain. I’m awaiting final revisions from a mystery author of one of the books and the other book is mine which I still need to edit. I haven’t self-published a book of my own through my own press yet so I thought it might be time. The pandemic has bought us time to sit with our work and neither of us are in a rush to get it out the door by the end of the year so things may defer to next year. It’s a crapshoot at this point, really.

Q: How are you, as a small publisher, approaching the myriad shut-downs? Is everything on hold, or are you pushing against the silences, whether in similar or alternate ways than you might have prior to the pandemic? How are you getting your publications out into the world?

A: When the books are printed, they’ll be available through our Etsy store vs Etsy as well as at the fair. Aside from that, not much else has changed.

Q: Have you done anything in terms of online or virtual launches since the pandemic began? Have you attended or participated in others? How are you attempting to connect to the larger literary community?

A: I have not. I can’t get past how Zooming feels like I’m at work and I’m not one for the spotlight so I’m not interested in hosting or being a visible participant so my camera would be off and I would feel bad for not fully participating so I just haven’t bothered altogether. That’s not to say, I won’t. I think as the colder weeks pass, I’ll be more stir crazy inside and I already miss seeing familiar faces, so, it’s probably inevitable I’ll attend one or even some, at some point.

Q: Has the pandemic forced you to rethink anything in terms of production? Are there supplies or printers you haven’t access to during these times that have forced a shift in what and how you produce?

A: I’ve been avoiding stores due to someone in my bubble being immunocompromised and I usually do my shopping for book material in the real world so I’ll either break down and go to stores or find new suppliers online. This has been a contributing factor to not producing anything as yet this year. My printer works out of her house and we’ve always done porch pick-ups/drop offs so that wouldn’t be an issue.

Q: What are your most recent publications? How might people still be able to order copies?

Caterwaul: Nine Poems by Michael Dennis (2019), Eleven Elleve Alive by Stuart Ross, Dag T. Straumsvåg & Hugh Thomas (2018), and Wintered by Amanda Earl (2017) are the latest books hot off the press. These, and all other books and broadsides published by shreeking violet press can be purchased via our Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/shreekingvioletpress.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: See above.