Book Launch - Chaudiere Press at WritersFest

October 26, 2006

Mario and I went to see the launch of a new publishing house in Ottawa called Chaudiere Books, headed by rob mclennan at <robmclennan.blogspot.com>. He is helped by Jennifer Mulligan.

I went as the representative of PWAC, Ottawa Branch. The event was sponsored by the Ottawa International Writers Festival founders, Neil and Sean Wilson <www.writersfest.com>, and was very well attended.

Bywords editor, Amanda Earl, was there, as were John Macdonald, Dr. Stephen Artell, and fellow PWACer, Sue Bowness, who is branch vice-president.

Three books were introduced to us, the first being a book of poetry by Monty Reid called Disappointment Island.

An exhibit manager at the newly renovated and reopened Museum of Nature in Ottawa, the book is set in stages and covers such areas as his travels to Cuba and to the Gobi Desert.

The second speaker was Meghan Jackson, and she read from her book, Movements in Jars. Like she said, "there is poetry in everyday things - you just have to look for it."

She took poetry that she wrote back in the nineties, and added more recent content to put together an engaging chapbook.

The third author that Chaudiere Books has is novelist Clare Latremouille, who introduced her first book, The Desmond Road Book of the Dead, through a very descriptive narrative, using flashbacks to look at a family, perhaps hers. But we could all identify with it.

Chaudiere Books hopes to awaken the literary community in Ottawa, and eventually publish non-fiction books, too.

After a brief interlude, Neil introduced Patrick McCabe, an Irish writer in the Writing Life series who read a couple of pieces from his book, Winterwood, and was interviewed by Neil. There was an interesting discussion afterwards.

All of this was held at the Library and Archives Canada on Wellington Street. This event took place in conjunction with the Writers Fest's 10th anniversary.