Support local at BookFest Windsor

By Ashley Ann Mentley

Writers and editors from local magazines and publishing houses educated book lovers and aspiring writers at the Capitol Theatre Thursday night as a kickoff to the 12^th annual BookFest Windsor.

Representatives from Windsor’s Cranberry Tree Press, Black Moss Press, Biblioasis, Rampike magazine and Palimpsest Press gathered in the Joy Theatre of the Capitol Theatre in downtown Windsor to showcase their latest writers and talk to an audience about the publishing industry in Canada.  The night’s events were organized by Karl Jirgens, an English professor at the University of Windsor, editor of Rampike magazine and member of the BookFest steering committee.

“I thought it was about time to bring forward the local publishers because BookFest has always brought in authors from across Canada, from presses in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Montreal and I said ‘well Windsor’s got its own presses, why don’t we showcase them a little bit,’” said Jirgens.

BookFest Windsor has been taking place for 12 years, but this is the first time an event was held specifically for local, small presses.

The purpose was “to get the publishers in the city together to share what they know about publishing to the general public so that any aspiring writers might be able to learn from them,” Jirgens said.  “We get an intergenerational audience, so young people, middle aged, older people, students, professionals, aspiring writers, it’s a total mix.  It’s a good audience.  They’re very appreciative.”

Susan Holbrook, a creative writing professor at the University of Windsor, represented Rampike at the event by reading some of her new poetry, due to be released in the spring of 2016.  Her poems The Disney Princesses and Layman’s Terms had audience members laughing out loud.

“It’s really exciting to hear live readings,” Holbrook said.  “You can hear some famous person on the radio but it’s so lovely to have them right in front of you and be able to ask them questions and have them sign your book.”

The best advice for aspiring writers is to get your friends together and publish each other’s work, Holbrook said. “If you want to be published, make a magazine.”

Dan Wells of Biblioasis and Marty Gervais, Windsor’s first poet laureate and publisher at Black Moss Press, were both members of the panel that addressed the difficulties in getting published today.

You really have to hustle, Gervais said. “If an author isn’t willing to do that, isn’t willing to believe in their book, then it’s really not worth publishing.”

Audience members were encouraged to ask questions of the publishers.  In response to one, Wells talking about the idea of books being a thing of the past.

“More physical books are being produced now, and read, than at any time in the history of publishing,” he said, “so the book isn’t dead.  Everybody talks about the digital but really, digital reading flat lined three years ago at 13 per cent.  It hasn’t increased at all.”

He said he is optimistic about the future of the book and that there are opportunities and benefits to publishing in smaller cities like Windsor that cannot be found in places like Toronto.

Jirgens agreed and said statements about cultural identity are what really reaches an audience and that it all starts in a small press.

“The smaller presses are the ones, such as the ones represented here, that represent a cultural identity,” Jirgens said.

BookFest Windsor will continue throughout the weekend with various events scheduled all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Tickets and more information are available at www.bookfestwindsor.com.