Newfoundland and Labrador
CBC
Wed, December 27, 2023
Authors Amanda Labonté, left, and Kelley Power teamed up to form a new publishing company in January. Nearly a year later, the duo have published their first two titles under the After Books banner. (Elizabeth Whitten/CBC)
St. John's authors Amanda Labonté and Kelley Power have teamed up to form Newfoundland and Labrador's newest publishing company — After Books.
The company was formed nearly a year ago, but recently released its first two titles: Admit Strangers: The Forgotten History of the Newfoundland & Labrador Press Gallery Association by Michael Connors and Close Calls with Nature, an anthology edited by Gord Follett.
"There's ample room in the market for books. As you're probably aware, every publisher that's there is receiving more manuscripts than they can ever publish," Power, After Books' director of corporate affairs, told CBC News.
"We just thought that there was definitely an avenue there for more stories to be told."
Power said they're interested in anthologies and short stories as well as leaning into politics, things she said existing local publishers aren't focused on.
Another anthology, Tales I was Told, will be released this February, said Power. She said the company plans to release three to four books per year.
Both Labonté and Power are writers who work in small family businesses. Labonté has a tutoring business and Power has worked in communications as well as with a commercial cleaning company with her father.
They are joined by Gabriella Fischer as their publishing advisor.
Fischer has extensive experience in the publishing world, having worked with McClelland and Stewart before moving onto the rights department at Tundra Books. She currently works for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.
Space for local books
Labonté, After Books' editor and publisher, said people in N.L. support local arts, whether its theatre, television or music. Books are no different.
"We're just kind of trying to give more opportunities to tell more stories in a way that is accessible to people," she said. "If we could bottle it, we could sell it across the country for sure."
Power said people want to see their own stories represented.
The Association of Canadian Publishers executive director Jack Illingworth says that's exactly the case in N.L.
Association of Canadian Publishers executive director Jack Illingworth, said Newfoundland and Labrador is a unique region in the country when it comes to supporting its authors.
Jack Illingworth, Association of Canadian Publishers executive director, says Newfoundland and Labrador is a unique region in the country when it comes to supporting its own authors. (Maria Chu/Submitted by Jack Illingworth)
"I'd say there's just a curiosity and an interest in the cultural identity of Newfoundland and Labrador and the community stories that come out of that's really, you know, heightened compared to the way communities over much of the rest of Canada relate to their own stories and their own culture," he said.
He compares N.L. to Quebec in that regard — two provinces leading the way in terms of consuming stories about their own cultures.
It can be advantageous for a publishing company just getting started to focus on a smaller geographical area, as opposed to having to hire a large distribution company, Illingworth said. Smaller companies can also go after places beyond the usual book stores, like corner stores.
Labonté said her company's books can be ordered through its website as well as in Coles bookstores, adding they just got into Downhome Distribution, which will get their titles into stores across N.L.
Labonté is married to Connors, who is broadcaster with NTV News. She called his book "foundational" and that it can be used by journalists, the public and students alike.
"There's enough of these stories that I think that there's room for everybody to kind of get in on that. But yeah, getting those foundational works out is huge," said Labonté.
Follett was the editor of the now-folded Newfoundland Sportsman magazine and is Labonté's stepfather.
Turning the page
This year was just the right time to launch a publishing company, both Labonté and Power said.
Labonté said her tutoring business is doing well and doesn't require her to be as hands on as it used to. Her children are also getting older.
Kelley Power and Amanda Labonté have released two books through their new publishing company After Books.
Kelley Power, left, and Amanda Labonté drummed up the idea for After Books in the fall of 2022. (Submitted by Amanda Labonté)
"It was an opportunity to kind of branch out into something that I was kind of already really interested in," said Labonté.
"So taking a small business and putting it with books is kind of something I always wanted to do. … It lined up and then I convinced Kelley that this was what she wanted to do as well."
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