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Stories About Storytellers: Publishing Alice Munro, Robertson Davies, Alistair MacLeod, Pierre Trudeau, and Others
Spotlighting an extraordinary career, this autobiography reviews the author’s accomplishments working—and playing—alongside some of Canada’s greatest writers. These humorous chronicles relate the projects he brainstormed for writer Barry Broadfoot, how he convinced eventual Nobel Prize contender Alice Munro to keep writing short stories, his early morning phone call from a...more
Hardcover, 392 pages
Published
October 1st 2011
by ECW Press
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I've been reading Douglas Gibson's anecdotes and background information on the Canadian writers whom he came to know as their editor. When I came to Canada years ago, I was surprised and impressed at the quality of the Canadian writers. Gibson isn't so much surprised at the superlative quality of these writers, but he obviously remains impressed. Although he doesn't brag (he has Alice Munro's admonitions to warn him against that sin) it is clear that he has done a stellar job of bringing the wo...more
For an editor, Gibson is a pretty good storyteller. Who happens to have edited some of the biggest names in Canadian literature. He also seems to be a good dinner companion, as he has spent a lot of time with his authors at their cottages.
Each "chapter" is a vignette of their relationship with Gibson, and with writing. Woven in the stories is a history of Canadian Publishing too. Absurdly populated by a bushel of Scots, by the way.
As an English major, it's almost shameful to admit there were one...more
Each "chapter" is a vignette of their relationship with Gibson, and with writing. Woven in the stories is a history of Canadian Publishing too. Absurdly populated by a bushel of Scots, by the way.
As an English major, it's almost shameful to admit there were one...more
Micro-review
I sat on a panel about grammar with Doug Gibson, many years ago: he represented the publishing establishment, while I represented the Editors' Association of Canada. He was charming, witty, and full of anecdotes about this writer or that. I really wanted to work for him.
Stories About Storytellers makes me wish I had. This collection of Doug's memories of working with various Canadian literary luminaries makes a great read for anyone interested in publishing, writers, Canadian luminar...more
I sat on a panel about grammar with Doug Gibson, many years ago: he represented the publishing establishment, while I represented the Editors' Association of Canada. He was charming, witty, and full of anecdotes about this writer or that. I really wanted to work for him.
Stories About Storytellers makes me wish I had. This collection of Doug's memories of working with various Canadian literary luminaries makes a great read for anyone interested in publishing, writers, Canadian luminar...more
I devoured Doug Gibson’s Stories About Storytellers (ECW Press $32.95) last month. He’s the
recently retired editor whose stable of authors at MacMillan, McClelland & Stewart, and under
his own eponymous imprint, cover many of the best Canadian authors of the past half-century.
My own career as a bookseller tips in around Chapter 7 with W.O.Mitchell and Robertson
Davies and continued with Peter Gzowski, Alistair MacLeod, Peter Newman and of course Alice
Munro. But even his authors that I had not...more
recently retired editor whose stable of authors at MacMillan, McClelland & Stewart, and under
his own eponymous imprint, cover many of the best Canadian authors of the past half-century.
My own career as a bookseller tips in around Chapter 7 with W.O.Mitchell and Robertson
Davies and continued with Peter Gzowski, Alistair MacLeod, Peter Newman and of course Alice
Munro. But even his authors that I had not...more
Mar 08, 2012
Adrian
added it
Douglas Gibson's very entertaining tour through his career publishing major Canadian authors. Which means practically all of them. Each chapter is on a different author but he frequently digresses and a goodly part is taken up with tooting his own horn, which isn't to say it's not accurate. Lots of terrific stories and anecdotes. I learned a lot and got titles of books to try. Despite Gibson's plea that publishers not be blamed for every fault in a book- I'll blame ECW Press for this the book sh...more
It turns out that the editor and publisher of one of Canada’s biggest publishing houses is a pretty good storyteller himself. Over his 40+ year career he has worked with our best and most famous authors and politicians. He was the one that promised Alice Munro that he would never pressure her to write novels, and that he would like to promote and publish her short stories as major fiction. He was the one that brought Mavis Gallant’s works home to Canada. She had long ago moved to Paris, and was...more
1 like · like · see review
I really enjoyed this look at Canadian Authers and publishing. Very entertaining insight. Quite humerous by times.Highly recommend. I have not read morst of these others which is a shame. I would have liked the author to include a suggested reading list of where to start with each author to get a true taste of their best work in his opinion!
An interesting read about what seems now to be the golden era in publishing, by one of Canada's foremost editors. Particularly enjoyed the epilogue, "What Happens After My Book is Published?" that Doug Gibson gave to his new authors under the heading "Awful Warnings."
The sort of book that I will not give away. I will reccomend it to my local library and return to it often. It opened up a whole new list of authors for me. Although I put "date I finished" as March 7 I have not really finished it.
A great book about great Canadian writers and a superb publisher's experience working with them.
I was eager to read it and liked the content but found the style unpleasant and hard to follow. Anyone else felt the same way?
This was very entertaining, and I really enjoyed some of the stories. I'm kind of ashamed how few of the authors I've read though!
** Received as a First Reads Giveaway.
A wonderful book if you enjoy reading, writing and writers, especially Canadian writer's. Douglas Gibson worked with some of the best Canadian writer's in the last several decades and this is a collection of essays and anecdotes. Not a book to be read at one sitting but lovely to dip into. There is a fir bit of name dropping but that's to be expected in a book like this. Highly recommended.
A wonderful book if you enjoy reading, writing and writers, especially Canadian writer's. Douglas Gibson worked with some of the best Canadian writer's in the last several decades and this is a collection of essays and anecdotes. Not a book to be read at one sitting but lovely to dip into. There is a fir bit of name dropping but that's to be expected in a book like this. Highly recommended.
This is going to be an interesting read of the who's-who of Canadian literature.
Interesting insight into selected important Canadian authors
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Mar 07, 2012 05:41pm