Insomniac Press and Wolsak & Wynn: a transitional spring season

Well, folks, there's going to be a few changes behind the scenes this publishing season. After ten years and 30 books, I will be stepping down as Poetry Editor at Insomniac Press to take on the role of Senior Editor at Wolsak & Wynn Publishers Ltd.

I'm proud of the books I've published under my "4 A.M. Books" imprint over the past decade with Insomniac, not only those by poets I've long admired, like David W. McFadden, Olive Senior, and A. F. Moritz, but also those first books that came out under my imprint, by such wonderfully talented younger poets as Nick Thran, Robin Richardson, and Jeff Latosik (for a complete list, look here). It was a difficult decision to leave Insomniac Press, but ultimately I was swayed by the challenge of building a new imprint from scratch, one that will include more books each year and further test my abilities by eventually including fiction as well. In my place, Insomniac Press has named Sachiko Murakami the new poetry editor, and I know she will take the list in exciting new directions. This is bound to be a good thing for Insomniac and for Canadian poetry in general.

Because of the necessary bit of overlap between the two positions, I've been busy planning spring book launches for both houses this year: my last season with Insomniac and my first with W&W. The books included in both publishing line-ups are stellar, and I'm pleased to invite my readers to attend both of them.

First, the Wolsak & Wynn spring launch will take place on May 1st, 2012, at The Magpie Taproom in Toronto. It will run from 7pm till 10:30pm, and we will be launching new poetry collections by Moez Surani (Floating Life) and Oana Avasilichioaei (We, Beasts), as well as a new collection of personal essays by poet and musician Catherine Owen (Catalysts: Confrontations with the Muse).  RVSP via Facebook. 

Secondly, the 2012 Insomniac Press Spring Launch Party will take place on May 15 at The Dora Keogh Traditional Irish Pub. It will also run from 7pm to 10:30pm, and we will be launching new poetry collections by Marcus McCann (The Hard Return) and Natalie Zina Walschots (DOOM: Love Poems for Supervillains), as well as new fiction by Liz Bugg, Julie McIsaac, and Jamie Popowich. RSVP via Facebook.

I hope to see lots of friendly and familiar faces at both events. Cheers!