Recently there was a discussion among SFCanada members regarding historical authenticity and credible fantasy in writing fiction. In light of that discussion, I thought I’d revive an essay I wrote back in 1997 for Serve it Forth, an historical culinary periodical. In our pursuit of foods medieval we look to the recipes left by those great cooks of the time, recipes which were designed and prepared for the glittering aristocracy. But what of the peasantry? What…
Have to say 2010 was likely the best year to date. There were no serious problems. Our wee enterprise (both divisions) realized significant, positive growth. Our publishing arm expanded distribution into Kindle, Kobo and Apple, with sales now appearing not only in Canada, the US and UK, but Australia. I think that’s something to crow about, especially for a microscopic, indie press. Some of our titles continue to receive four and five star ratings from…
I received a wireless Kobo reader for Christmas. Have to say, quite emphatically, I’m ecstatic about this gift from my husband. I can’t think of a single piece of new technology I’ve been this excited about, and impressed by, in a very, very long time. The hardware itself is quite small and thin, smaller and thinner than I’d originally thought, although it should be noted I do have problems with spacial relationships. Still, it sits in…
Recently a rejected author commented, “I don’t understand what you’re looking for.” Subsequent to that, I learned this particular author wasn’t in the minority. Allow me to elucidate from our submission guidelines: Non-fiction: All work must be solidly researched using primary references as a foundation. Canadian history: this covers a broad spectrum, from stories of national significance to regional, from community to individual. For example, biographies of notable Canadians the quirky and esoteric field…
This week the literary world was astonished by news of the Giller Prize winner, Johanna Skibsrud for her novel, The Sentimentalists. Not only is she a relatively unknown debut author, but published by a small, indie house, Gaspereau Press. It’s a coup of legendary proportions, now tarnished by Gaspereau’s own refusal to acknowledge what many indie presses embrace — that the only way we can hold territory in the marketplace is to be sure we can…