Quill and Quire

by Q&Q Staff

The mysterious Hubert Aquin

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In this age of diminishing media coverage for books, publishers can hardly count on publicity for most new releases, and a 900-page genre-bender about a long-dead Québécois novelist would seem to have a particularly slim ... Read More »

December 4, 2003

Wasn’t that a party

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It was bookselling by way of Fellini as the Western Book Reps Association hosted its annual summer bookfair in Vancouver, an event that saw, among other things, nude singing booksellers, reps taking sales calls on ... Read More »

December 4, 2003

Summer stories

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With so few summer book releases, the book trade’s party scene tends to fizzle just as Toronto’s sidewalk patios open up for the warm weather. This makes the annual Toronto Life summer fiction issue party, ... Read More »

December 4, 2003

Coteau aims big with TV tie-in

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For publishers large and small whose lists includes children’s titles, TV programming is a tempting source of content. But Coteau Books’ recently delayed entry into the world of branded publishing is a reminder of the ... Read More »

December 3, 2003

Green is good

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Two years ago, a number of Canadian publishers signed commitments with a coalition of B.C. environmental groups to use “ancient-forest-friendly” paper – paper, in other words, that was not created from the destruction of old-growth ... Read More »

December 3, 2003 | Filed under: Authors

Give the book industry a break

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It’s one of the realities of the book industry – returns from customers that often range from 30% to 50%. To many publishers, this situation is rather like the weather: it’s something they discuss but ... Read More »

December 3, 2003

The race is on!

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It’s safe to say that the contest to succeed Jean Chrétien as federal Liberal leader and prime minister has not exactly captured the public’s imagination. Still, while Paul Martin’s probable cakewalk to the prize may ... Read More »

December 2, 2003

Caught in the middle

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On Sept. 7, at the Eden Mills Writers Festival in Eden Mills, Ontario, author Marsha Boulton read three pages from her novel in progress, The Sea Birds. “And that is what I have of my ... Read More »

December 1, 2003