Publishing in Canada: A Panel Discussion

𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀:
Gail 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝘁𝘁
rob 𝗺𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗻
Dane 𝗦𝘄𝗮𝗻
Hazel 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿
Jay 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿
Ashley 𝗢𝗯𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮
Catherine 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗲𝗿-𝗟𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗲

𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆:
Jay 𝗥𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲

Panel hosted by 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘂𝗺/𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘂𝗺 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 (𝗩𝗦𝗘𝗔𝗟)

𝗗𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁, the panelists will discuss the topics listed below, followed by a 𝟯𝟬 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗤&𝗔 𝘀𝗲𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 where attendees can enter into the conversation with their questions.

𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀:

“𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗵 𝗣𝗶𝗹𝗲” will touch on what editors are looking for when they’re reading submissions, as well as the practical side of literary submissions. Some questions we’ll ask are: What do you look for when you dive into your Submittable accounts and inboxes? What’s the difference between a poem that’s going to appear online, in print, or part of a live performance? What does it feel like when you come across a poem you can’t wait to publish?

“𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲” will look at current practices in place for diversifying Canadian publishing, as well as ideas for creating more representation of marginalized writers, without tokenizing or checking boxes. Some questions we’ll ask are: What does diversity in publishing look like to you? What changes would you like to see in Canadian publishing? Is a diverse literary landscape a goal, a process, or something else entirely?

“𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗿” will discuss what role editors play in bridging the gaps between language communities in Canada. Some questions we’ll ask are: How does Canada’s multilingual character influence your editorial practices? What are the barriers to cooperation between language communities? What role has translation played in your experiences as editors?

𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲:
https://youtu.be/4PUeU_AKUqA

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𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗜𝗘𝗥-𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗢𝗦𝗘 is the newly appointed artistic director of le Festival de la poésie de Montréal. She is also a poet, events coordinator at Poetry In Voice/Les Voix de la poésie, founder of the Dans ta tête festival and an independent curator. Cormier-Larose has published in several magazines, fanzines and collectives and her collection 𝘝𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘦 has just been published by Fond’tonne, as well as 𝘭’𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘦 𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘦́𝘴𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘶 𝘘𝘶𝘦́𝘣𝘦𝘤 2000 | 2020 with Vanessa Bell. Her first full-length collection, 𝘓’𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘶𝘯 𝘳𝘦́𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘹𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵 (Del Busso, 2017), will soon be translated into English. She has performed and hosted on various stages throughout Quebec and abroad.

𝗚𝗔𝗜𝗟 𝗦𝗖𝗢𝗧𝗧 writes about cities. Her first novel 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘦 appeared in a new edition in fall of 2019, with an introduction by Eileen Myles. She has also written 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘺, a ghost story set in a Montréal triplex, which was a 2011 finalist for Le Grand Prix du Livre de la Ville de Montréal. Other novels include 𝘔𝘺 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴, about a sad diarist in conversation with Gertrude Stein and Walter Benjamin in late 20th century Paris, 𝘔𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴, and 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘦. Spare Parts Plus 2 is a collection of stories and manifestoes. Her essays are collected in 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘴 and 𝘭𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘦́𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦, 𝘶𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦, translated as 𝘚𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘺 from Belladonna Press). Scott’s translation of Michael Delisle’s 𝘓𝘦 𝘋𝘦́𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘪 𝘥𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘵 was shortlisted for the Governor General’s award in 2001. Scott co-founded the critical French-language journal 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘦, 𝘛𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘢, and is co-editor of the 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘕𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺: 𝘉𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳: 𝘞𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘕𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦. Her new collection of essays 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 is published by Book*hug. She is working on a new book of fiction. She lives in Montréal.

𝗿𝗼𝗯 𝗺𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗻 currently lives in Ottawa and is the author of more than thirty trade books of poetry, fiction and non-fiction. He won the John Newlove Poetry Award in 2010, the Council for the Arts in Ottawa Mid-Career Award in 2014, and was longlisted for the CBC Poetry Prize in 2012 and 2017. In March, 2016, he was inducted into the VERSe Ottawa Hall of Honour. His most recent poetry titles include 𝘈 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘺 and 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, with another poetry title, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳, forthcoming from University of Calgary Press. An editor and publisher, he runs above/ground press, 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴: 𝘢 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 and 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘺. He is editor of 𝘮𝘺 (𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴) 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘢𝘺, and an editor/managing editor of 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴. In spring 2020, he won ‘best pandemic beard’ from Coach House Books via Twitter, of which he is extremely proud. He spent the 2007-8 academic year in Edmonton as writer-in-residence at the University of Alberta, and regularly posts reviews, essays, interviews and other notices at his blog, robmclennan.blogspot.com.

Toronto-based, Bermuda-born author and editor 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝘄𝗮𝗻 has written three poetry collections, a book of short stories, and a novella. His second poetry collection, 𝘈 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘴 𝘓𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘺, was a finalist for the 2017 Trillium Book Award for Poetry. He is also the editor of the critically praised 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦.

𝗛𝗔𝗭𝗘𝗟 𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗔𝗥 is the Co-Publisher at Book*hug Press, an independent literary press based in Toronto. She is the past Chair of the Board of the Literary Press Group of Canada and sits on several other publishing advisory boards and committees. Hazel lives in Toronto with her husband, Jay MillaR, aka, the other half of Book*hug Press, their two sons, and a cool calico cat named Tess.

𝗝𝗔𝗬 𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗔𝗥 is the Co-publisher at Book*hug Press, an award-winning independent literary publishing house. Jay has also been involved in the Canadian literary community for more than 25 years as a writer; his newest collection of poetry is 𝘐 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘉𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘠𝘰𝘶: 𝘕𝘦𝘸 & 𝘚𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘰𝘦𝘮𝘴. He lives and works in Toronto with his wife Hazel, who is the other half of Book*hug Press, their two sons, and a cool calico cat named Tess.

𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗢𝗯𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮 is a Canadian-Mexican poet and publisher. She is the founder and managing editor of Metatron Press and she is the author of the poetry collections 𝘈𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘛𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 and 𝘐 𝘈𝘮 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦, a screenwriter of experimental video games 𝘖𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘮, 𝘚𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘴𝘵, and Museum of Symmetry. Recently, she was anthologized as one of the most influential female poets in Quebec over the past 20 years in 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘦 𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘦́𝘴𝘪𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘶 𝘘𝘶𝘦́𝘣𝘦𝘤. A Spanish translation of her poetry—𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘴, 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘴, 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴—will be published by Socios Fundadores (Argentina) in 2021. She is currently working on her next collection of poetry, 𝘉𝘰𝘤𝘢, with award-winning poet Roo Borson. Her poetry has been translated, anthologized and published in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Spain, Romania and Germany.