Two Short Interviews with Independent Presses
FEATURING PHUONG TRUONG OF SECOND STORY BOOKS AND HAZEL MILLAR OF BOOK*HUG PRESS
Second Story Press
Fawn Parker: Has your experience as a feminist press in CanLit changed significantly over the thirty-plus years that Second Story has been in operation?
Phuong Truong: I joined Second Story Press in 2004, so while I can’t speak to what it was like in the ’80s and ’90s, I can say that in my eighteen years with the company, it has seen a huge growth in size and stature. When I first started, SSP felt like the underdog, very much a niche publisher. We were doing important books, and while some were hugely successful, many seemed to not get the recognition they deserved. Our mandate of publishing books of substance for women and children has remained largely unchanged, but I think that readers, by necessity, are now seeking out and discovering the kinds of books that we publish in much larger numbers.
FP: Could you talk a bit about the role of grants in small publishing in Canada?
PT: Grants are hugely important in independent publishing in Canada. As in almost every industry, there is a volume of scale that increases profitability and sustainability. The reality is that small, independent publishers cannot print tens of thousands of copies of a book, as a large multinational company might do. We don’t necessarily have the purchasing power and the budgets to get the best possible deals from our suppliers and vendors. The support we get from grants helps to even the playing field, so that we can price our books competitively and continue to produce books that we feel are worthwhile.
FP: Your website features a list of organizations Second Story has worked with (e.g., Plan Canada International, Breast Cancer Society of Canada, etc.). Do you think major presses, both national and international, are doing enough partnering with these types of organizations? Do you see this work as integral to publishing?
PT: We’ve been very fortunate to be able to partner with organizations that share many of the same ideals that we have. I wouldn’t say that these collaborations are integral to publishing, but they can certainly be mutually beneficial to both the publisher and the organization. Books can bring a tremendous amount of awareness to a particular issue, and if the books are for children, they can introduce ideas and empathy and a different way of seeing the world and the people around us. For publishers, having a recognizable seal or logo from a reputable organization on a cover may be enough to pique a reader’s curiosity or lend more credibility to a book.
FP: What do you feel is most valuable and/or unique about small press publishing in Canada?
PT: We publish many first-time authors, which I think is very important. That first book is the hardest to write, the scariest to share. And many of these writers, without representation or connections, would likely never be published by a larger house. Small publishers take on that risk of publishing an unknown and put in the time and work to really help develop a writer’s confidence and craft.
Book*hug Press
Fawn Parker: Has the Book*hug Press mission or mandate changed significantly over the nearly two decades the press has been in operation?
Hazel Millar: Yes, it has. We have always been most interested in literary work that is bold, dynamic, innovative, and takes risks; writing that feels necessary and urgent. Our tagline states that Book*hug is a radically optimistic Canadian independent literary press working at the forefront of contemporary book culture. Our mission is to publish work that meaningfully contributes to and reflects
culture and society; books that challenge and push the boundaries of cultural expectations. In 2016, we committed to helping build a more equitable and inclusive CanLit by publishing culturally diverse voices whose work has been historically underrepresented in the publishing landscape. More recently, we committed to producing born-accessible editions of all our titles.
FP: Could you talk a bit about the role of grants in small publishing in Canada?
HM: As an independent literary press, we are very fortunate to be eligible to access funding support for publishers in Canada. Without it, it would be next to impossible for us to have a fighting chance to oper- ate effectively in the domestic Canadian marketplace, which is small and one of the world’s most saturated book markets. Branch plants of multinational publishers take up a lot of space here, and their books get more attention across the board: in the market, the media, in bookstores, even in the minds of the reading public. The federal and provincial funding we receive is essential for us to continue to support an independent Canadian literary culture, one that is created by Canadians for Canadians. It allows us to invest and take chances on emerging voices and support established voices who want to publish their work with Canadian-owned firms. Government agencies’ investment in Canadian-owned publishers means that everything invested by that company in an author stays in Canada and is not funnelled else- where. Presently, it can be difficult for emerging publishers to access funding. While we are incredibly grateful for all the years of investment that arts funding agencies have granted Book*hug, we would love to see institutions expand programs so that newer publishing firms can more easily meet eligibility requirements to access funding. How will Canadian literary culture evolve without new publishers at the table with new ideas?
FP: Do you ever feel external pressures to publish or market work in a way that goes against your values as a publisher?
HM: There are sometimes external pressures for us to publish work that doesn’t reflect our core values or to operate in ways that feel unnatural to us. But that isn’t the game that we want to play. It is essential to stay true to our core values and ensure that the work we acquire reflects the publishing program we have worked tirelessly to build over the last eighteen years. We are thankful to join other publishers in a larger conversation about literary culture. We appreciate that there is room for all types of books and writers at the table. We believe that the work our authors contribute to the literary landscape in Canada is important and has tremendous value. If we gave in to eternal pressure (or gave up entirely), the resulting culture would be lesser for it.
FP: What do you think is most valuable and/or unique about contemporary CanLit?
HM: Canadian Literature is multifaceted and not easily defined. Something will shift and change as soon as you think you have it pinned down. As a national project, CanLit, whatever it is, is still quite young, and has evolved beyond how it was defined fifty-plus years ago. Yet, interestingly, many writers and publishers who helped shape and define it then are still actively writing and publishing. The result is a constant push and pull around an unfixed point.