After
this year’s publication of the 2012 Robert Kroetsch Award for Innovative Poetry
winner, Snare Books will no longer be publishing books as an independent press.
We received no funding for the second year in a row and there is no way forward
for the program in its current incarnation. I sincerely regret that it has come
to this. Two years ago we were ranked very high in the Canada Council for the
Arts Emerging Publishers Program. Since then, we completed two very strong
years of amazing titles. Unfortunately, the Block Grant juries were not as
receptive to us, and we were unable to acquire funding.
I
want to express my immense gratitude to all of the Snare authors for letting me
play a part in their writing careers. I cannot adequately describe the pride
and good fortune I feel for having had the opportunity to bring all of their
books into the world. I am especially thankful to the authors who trusted me
with their first books. One of the early mandates of Snare Books was to
showcase emerging poets and experimental writers. I would like to thank Angela
Carr, Melissa Thompson, Jason Christie, ryan fitzpatrick, Natalie Zina
Walschots, Sarah Dowling, Ian Christopher Goodman, Ian Orti, Geoffery Hlibchuk,
Mike Spry, Helen Hajnoczky, Sheryda Warrener, Laura Broadbent and Lesley
Trites for allowing me the privilege of being there at the beginning of their
careers.
Robert Allen and I began scheming in 2004 about a press that would provide a much-needed space for the kind of strange, experimental, innovative and distinctly non-mass-market writing that we loved. He loved Will Self, Gilbert Sorrentino, and Gail Scott to name a few. I could not get enough of Robert Kroetsch, Nicole Brossard, and bpNichol to name a few. Our hope was to publish books in this risk-taking tradition of the writers we loved. I loved Robert Allen so much as a writer, thinker, mentor, and friend. It is not an exaggeration to say that he saved my life by showing faith in me and giving me the opportunity to work with him. When he passed away in 2006, I vowed to keep his memory alive through Matrix and Snare. My personal attachment to Snare has so much to do with the fact that Rob and I started it together. It was our thing. We started it in part because we saw a need. But as I look back on it now, I realize that we also started it because we thought it would be fun. And it always was.
Robert Allen and I began scheming in 2004 about a press that would provide a much-needed space for the kind of strange, experimental, innovative and distinctly non-mass-market writing that we loved. He loved Will Self, Gilbert Sorrentino, and Gail Scott to name a few. I could not get enough of Robert Kroetsch, Nicole Brossard, and bpNichol to name a few. Our hope was to publish books in this risk-taking tradition of the writers we loved. I loved Robert Allen so much as a writer, thinker, mentor, and friend. It is not an exaggeration to say that he saved my life by showing faith in me and giving me the opportunity to work with him. When he passed away in 2006, I vowed to keep his memory alive through Matrix and Snare. My personal attachment to Snare has so much to do with the fact that Rob and I started it together. It was our thing. We started it in part because we saw a need. But as I look back on it now, I realize that we also started it because we thought it would be fun. And it always was.
When
Rob died, I was not sure I could make a go of it with Snare. And I wouldn’t
have if it weren’t for the mentorship and guidance of so many friends and
colleagues. Snare Books survived for seven years because of the guidance of
Robert Kroetsch, Alana Wilcox, Karis Shearer, Marisa Grizenko, Karl Siegler,
Darren Wershler, Alex Porco, Bill Kennedy, Jason Camlot, Neil Besner, Sina Queyras, Sachiko
Murakami, Dennis Cooley, John Goldbach, Karis Shearer, Mike O’Connor, Michael Holmes, David
McGimpsey, Rachel Zolf, Elizabeth Bachinsky, and Christian Bok. I am in their
debt. I would also like to thank the Canada Council for the Arts for their
early support of Snare. I must also thank the people I have worked with on the
design and marketing of Snare: Gillian Savigny, Jocelyn Parr, Melanie Bell, Lorne
Roberts, Leigh Kotsilidis, Genevieve Robichaud, Chris Tucker, Tyler Morency, and
Georgia Webber as well as the staff at LitDistCo and the LPG.
Thankfully,
there is exciting news to report as well. From now on, Snare Books will be the
name of the poetry imprint at Invisible Publishing. Further, I am pleased to
announce that Invisible has agreed to take on the back list Snare titles and
the titles will continue to be available to book buyers. I am thrilled to announce
the continuation of The Robert Kroetsch Award for Innovative Poetry. The administration
of this award will fall under the purview of Matrix Magazine in partnership
with Invisible Publishing and these books will be published every fall by Invisible
under my editorship and the Snare imprint. The prize will be awarded annually
to the best poetry manuscript by an emerging Canadian writer (a writer who has
published two books or less). Each year the winning manuscript will be selected
by established and well-known Canadian writers. The 2013 award will be judged
by innovative poet and BookThug mastermind, Jay MillAr. I am also pleased to announce that the first title under the Snare imprint will be kevin mcpherson eckoff's new book, Forge.
Just
a few months ago, I was absolutely heartbroken to discover that Snare Books could
no longer operate as an independent publisher. But then a series of astonishing
and inspiring events happened as a result of the goodwill and genuine interest
of astonishing and inspiring people. Nic Boshart and Robbie MacGregor from
Invisible reached out to me immediately with a simple message: Snare Books is
not dead. When we began formal discussions, I was instantly thrilled to
discover that I was dealing with kindred spirits – people who believe that
literary innovation has a future in Canada. Beyond this, I was made acutely
aware through my observations of the way their publishing co-op works, that
there is potential to make the kind of work I love more available to readers
through multiple platforms. In its five years, Invisible has already become a
vital and cutting edge publisher. And the people behind it are exemplary human
beings. In the course of a few weeks, one of the most devastating events of my
adult life was transformed into an uplifting and re-affirming experience. I am so
lucky, so grateful.
Jon
Paul Fiorentino
October
15, 2012
A
Complete List of Snare Books 2006 – 2012
2012
OH
THERE YOU ARE I CAN’T SEE YOU IS IT RAINING? by Laura Broadbent (Robert
Kroetsch Award Winner)
2011
Thirsts by Pearl Pirie (Robert Kroetsch Award Winner)
easy peasy by kevin mcpherson eckhoff
echoic mimic by Lesley Trites (Expozine Best English Book
Award Finalist)
seen of the crime by derek beaulieu
2010
HARD FEELINGS by Sheryda Warrener
The Lateral by Jake Kennedy (Robert Kroetsch Award Winner)
Update. by Bill Kennedy and Darren Wershler
THREE DEATHS by Josip Novakovich
Poets and Killers by Helen Hajnoczky (Expozine Best English
Book Award Finalist)
2009
The Olive and the Dawn by Ian Orti (Expozine Best English
Book Winner)
The Taste of Penny by Jeff Parker
Generator by Ian Christopher Goodman
Thresh by Kim Minkus
Security Posture by Sarah Dowling (Robert Kroetsch Award
Winner)
2008
All our Grandfathers are ghosts. by Pasha Malla
JACK by Mike Spry (A.M Klein Poetry Award Finalist)
Variations on Hölderlin by Geoffrey Hlibchuk (Robert
Kroetsch Award Winner)
2007
FAKE MATH by ryan fitzpatrick
Thumbscrews by Natalie Zina Walschots (Robert Kroetsch Award
Winner)
the small blue by Jay MillAr
2006
The Emily Valentine Poems by Zoe Whittall
Dreadful Paris by Melissa A. Thompson (McAusland First Book
Award Finalist)
Ropewalk by Angela Carr
Canada Post by Jason Christie
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