How to Make a Great Cup of Coffee, Remembering James Murray, and NFLD Publishers Survey
Handle a Subtitle as a Bee Does a Flower; Extract its Sweetness But Do Not Damage It!
FEB 29th, 2024
This is the eighth edition of Assorted Nonsense, the official newsletter of Donovan Street Press, where we are constantly refining how we do titles
The Born Freelancer
The Storyboard is a publication of the Canadian Freelance Guild. It's written by an intrepid freelancer who goes by the nom de plume "The Born Freelancer." The Born Freelancer has written over 140 columns for The Storyboard on every subject you can imagine related to freelancing.
I had the honour of being interviewed by The Born Freelancer for his latest column.
You can find that interview here.
How to Make a Great Cup of Coffee
See that pic below? That’s how my wife and I used to make coffee, using that machine with Folgers Medium Blend pre-ground coffee from Costco.
It wasn’t bad. But it wasn’t great, either. A little bitter.
This is how we make coffee now. We grind the beans in this little contraption.
And then, for two of us, we pour four cups of water into this glass pot.
We add four tablespoons of Kicking Horse ground coffee from Sobeys into this thingamajig, which we set into the glass pot. (Full disclosure: we are now trying Café William Spartivento Sumatra Whole Bean Coffee from Costco.)
We boil the water until it turns black. Not just starting to turn black, but actually black, as black as it can get, if not blacker. Then we turn the heat down to low and set the timer to ten minutes.
After that, we drink the coffee. I take mine with a dab of honey in a ceramic cup handmade for me by Karina Bates of Omemee, who also made my honey pot.
And let me tell you, it is one fine cup of coffee.
James Murray
This has been a rough stretch for those of us at the CBC (former and otherwise). I’m not talking about the recent cuts. Last summer we lost well-loved and respected audio technician Tim Lorimer, whose name you would have heard on countless radio show credits over the last thirty five years or so. Tim was probably the nicest guy I’ve ever met and his loss was a blow to all of us.
Now, this past week, I learned that journalist James Murray passed away after an aggressive illness.
Although I never worked alongside James at the CBC, I’ve known him forever. We worked at all the same radio stations, including our high school radio station, Three Oaks Student Radio in Summerside, PEI. Jim, as I knew him then, was a year ahead of me at Three Oaks. He got a job at CJRW, our local radio station, a couple of years before me. They had a special slot for Jim right after school, an hour of programming between 3 and 4pm that he hosted, specially programmed for teenagers.
Although it sounds silly now, I was a little star struck by Jim then. A part of the same media club, Three Oaks Student Electronic Media (TOSEM), Jim called me up before Christmas when I was in Grade Ten to discuss some Christmas related project. I remember being quite tickled that Jim Murray called me directly. Over the next couple of years, he did the shift at CJRW right before my evening shift on Saturday nights. For the first few shifts, he kindly set up content on the reel to reel player for me as I was still too green behind the ears to know how to do that, gently chastising me: “You’re going to have to know how to do this!” (I figured it out before too long.)
Jim moved on to CFCY/Q-93 in Charlottetown, and I followed him there the summer of 1987, where I discovered a sign beside one of the doors, presumably placed there by management: “Please do not prop this door open with useless objects such as Jim Murray’s head.”
After I started at CBC Radio the summer of 1988, I was not surprised to see Jim show up there. He went on to have a stellar career in journalism in both radio and television. We would occasionally encounter one another in the halls of the Toronto Broadcast Centre, and we always stopped to chat and catch up on one another’s lives. Every encounter I ever had with Jim was positive. I’ve never heard an ill word about him. His career speaks for itself. He left us way, way too young. Like Tim’s passing before him, it’s just tragic.
Publishing in Newfoundland: A Survey
This is the second installment of a survey I’m conducting of who is publishing books in Atlantic Canada. By this, I mean publishers who are publishing books by more than one author.
Today we’ll look at Newfoundland and Labrador.
I found four active publishers, all of which appear to be based in Newfoundland proper, with zero in Labrador.
Boulder Books
Boulder Books has been in business since 2002, publishing out of Portugal Cove-St. Philip's NFLD. They are "...an innovative book publishing company, dedicated to high quality works that explore underrepresented and evolving aspects of Canadian culture."
They receive funding from the Government of Canada, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation through the Publishers Assistance Program.
They publish all kinds of books, fiction, non-fiction, historical, and so on. They do not appear to publish any science fiction or fantasy (snobs). I checked out one odd title amongst their fiction: THE REINCARNATION OF WINSTON CHURCHILL, by Bill Rowe.
Here’s the blurb:
…Churchill holds a secret, one he is driven to disclose before death. Could it be that Churchill was descended, through his American mother, from Indigenous people of North America? Few people would believe it, as he well knows. But Churchill's certainty that he possesses actual ancestral memories from this inheritance gave him the fortitude to stand, almost alone, against Hitler.
I’m fascinated by Churchill and could see myself reading this book. (Except… so many great books to read!)
What’s weird about this fiction title is that it was published in May 2022. It’s up on Amazon and the usual places, and featured on Boulder’s website, but it has no reviews.
Another nonfiction book selected at random, Hidden Newfoundland, has 35 reviews on Amazon. Just not sure why the difference. Their books are also not linked to online distributors such as Amazon and Kobo etc., (at least that I could see), though their books are available there.
I could not tell if they are associated with any other distributors.
Breakwater Books
Publishing since 1973 out of St. John’s, NFLD, Breakwater Books bills themselves as Newfoundland’s “premier publisher.” They were founded by Clyde Rose, Tom Dawe, Al Pittman, Pat Byrne, and Richard Buehler.
In 2008, they acquired Jesperson Press, and in 2017 they took over Creative Book Publishing, increasing their backlist to over 600 titles.
They publish mainly literary genres—fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, art, young adult and children’s books, as well as cookbooks, guidebooks and educational resources. Despite their enormous backlist, they do not publish fantasy and SF (snobs). However, making up for this (let’s face it, egregious omission) they are especially proud to have published “work by Indigenous writers, including writers from Miawpukek First Nation, Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation, and Red River Métis writers.”
They are funded in part by the Government of Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. They have seven staff listed on their website, and operate a retail location in St. John’s. I can’t tell if they work with a distributor. They are open to submissions, publishing (among other books) four books of fiction per year.
I selected a title at random, If We Caught Fire by Beth Ryan.
If We Caught Fire brings two families together for a wedding in St. John’s, an event that sets off a summer of fireworks in the lives of the people around them.
I see the book looks to be somewhat well served, having been reviewed by The Miramichi Reader and featured on CBC Books, but weirdly, although it’s up on Amazon, it has zero reviews there (there are two five star reviews on Breakwater Books own site).
Flanker Press
Located in Paradise, NFLD, Flanker started as a part time venture in 1994. They now have eight employees. They are “the province’s most active publisher of trade books.” They average “twenty new titles per year, with a heavy emphasis on regional non-fiction and historical fiction.” They also have an imprint called Pennywell Press which publishes “literary fiction, short stories, young adult fiction, and children’s books.” They are open to submissions. I don’t see any science fiction or fantasy, though there is one book that arguably could qualify, depending on how you look at it.
They receive financial support from the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF) and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation for their publishing activities. They also acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts. I could not tell if they use any distribution services.
I selected a book at random, Rosie O’Dell, by Bill Rowe (not realizing that, at random, I had also selected a Bill Rowe book from Boulder Books!):
Rosie O’Dell is a creature of beauty, brilliance . . . and unspeakable secrets. When she was young, terrible crimes had been committed against her. Tom Sharpe became Rosie O’Dell’s high school sweetheart, and in revenge for the transgressions against her, the two young lovers committed their own crime of passion together, which ultimately ripped them apart.
It boasts several positive reviews on Flanker’s own website, and one five star review on Amazon by someone named Paula who “just started the book” (!) and professes to be “LOVING it.” (I must say, I hope this starts a new trend of people not feeling they have to finish books before giving them five star reviews).
Memorial University Press
Based in St. John’s, NFLD, the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) of Memorial University Press has been publishing scholarly books about the North Atlantic region, with a special focus on Newfoundland and Labrador and Atlantic Canada since 1966. In 2021, they rebranded as Memorial University Press.
They publish over 30 categories of books… but zero science fiction and fantasy (snobs). They are open to submissions.
They receive funding from the government of Canada and Memorial University. For distribution, they use Downhome Distribution in Newfoundland and University of Toronto Press for Canada and the US.
I selected one book at random, The Forestor’s Scribe by Ursula A Kelly.
A poignant and comprehensive study of the Newfoundland Forestry Companies of the First World War, as told through letters sent home from Scotland.
It has a couple of positive reviews on Memorial Press’s own website, 3 positive reviews on Amazon, and a strong presence on the net.
Pedlar Press
For 25 years, Pedlar Press published "innovative, contemporary Canadian fiction & poetry” out of St. John's NFLD.
Unfortunately, they ceased production in 2020.
When they were active, they received financial support from the Newfoundland and Labrador Publishers Assistance Program and the Ontario Arts Council, as well as the Canada Council for the Arts.
Takeaways
I found four active publishers in Newfoundland/Labrador, all of them traditional.
Only one of the publishers (Memorial Press) appears to use distribution services
All four of the publishers receive government funding
There are zero science fiction and fantasy publishers on Newfoundland/Labrador
Appearances
This past Sunday I appeared at the Chapters in Dieppe, New Brunswick. Talked to lots of great people, sold a few books. It was fun.
I’ve invited myself to Curt’s General Market at the Riverview Lion’s Club this coming Saturday, March 2nd (my birthday!)
The following weekend, Saturday March 9th, I’ll be at a craft fair in Truro, Nova Scotia, in the Firehall (the backside of the building) located at 165 Victoria Street
I’ll be at the Riverview Lion’s Club for the Athena’s Touch Craft Fair Saturday, March 23rd
I’ll be at the Miramichi Market 345 McKenna Ave Miramichi between 12 noon and 4pm March 24th
This has been the eighth edition of Assorted Nonsense, the official newsletter of Donovan Street Press Inc.