Recently debuting at #1 on the BC Bestseller list, Jody Wilson-Raybould’s From Where I Stand: Rebuilding Indigenous Nations for a Stronger Canada is a powerful call to action to Canadian governments and citizens, and a guide to making tangible, measurable steps towards reconciliation.
For UBC Press, primarily a publisher of scholarly and academic works, it is the kind of breakout, cross-genre, household-name-featuring title that presses of all size and scope dream of. UBC Press publicist Kerry Kilmartin recently ventured off-campus and across the country on the book’s press tour. These are her dispatches.
Tell us a little bit about this book.
From Where I Stand is a collection of speeches and writings that Jody Wilson-Raybould wrote over the last 10 years when she was Regional Chief of the Assembly of First Nations for BC, Member of Parliament for Vancouver Granville, and Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. Through her writings she outlines actions that must be taken by governments, Indigenous nations, and all Canadians to achieve true reconciliation. She argues that reconciliation will never occur unless governments transcend barriers enshrined in the Indian Act that continue to deny Indigenous Peoples their rights.
The production timeline of this book was much shorter than average – how did UBC Press pull it off?
It involved an amazing team to pull this off. Holly Keller, our production manager, headed up the process and summarizes it really well:
“Our usual timeline from manuscript to printed book is between eight to ten months. We published this book in under four months, which is even more amazing considering that we didn’t have a complete manuscript to edit until the second month in — leaving only two months for the production and printing of the book. We were also looking to book a printer who could do a large print run on a rush schedule at the busiest time of year, which was extremely difficult and required a lot of cajoling and coordination.”
I think all of us encountered the unknown in our various roles, there were learning curves and, due to the time constraints, a lot of pressure. Ultimately, it was exhilarating, exciting, risky, and an all-consuming experience until it was done!
How does working on this book compare to others you’ve worked on? Is there ever a routine, or does every book present its own opportunities and challenges?
From Where I Stand is one-of-a-kind as far as publicity goes and a publicist’s dream book. It’s not every day you get to work with such a prominent author/politician, and one with a swirl of controversy who already has a strong media following! Within minutes of sending out the press release on July 23, 2019, announcing the book’s release, my inbox lit up with media requests. Of course, many didn’t read the release and were wondering if this was JWR’s SNC Lavalin tell-all. For a brief moment, it felt like UBC Press was Simon & Schuster: we had a book by a famous author and every media outlet in the country wanted to get their hands on it! We even took a big-league step and set an embargo date, but only after a few prominent outlets said, “I suppose this is under an embargo,” to which I replied, “Yes, yes it is.” Setting an embargo date for media turned out to be absolutely the right thing to do. From there it was learning on the fly, which was pretty fun. Next time I’ll set a date AND time!
Until Jody’s book, I’ve never thought any our trade books were routine, but now they seem a little mellower despite always cutting new ground and presenting their own unique challenges.
Tell us about the tour. What were the highlights for you?
The three-city tour was great! It started off in Jody’s political riding at the Chapters Indigo store at Granville and Broadway. This quick lunch-hour launch worked out brilliantly despite having less than 10 days to promote it, but given her stature and the fact that the launch was in her riding I was confident it would be okay. At least 100 people showed up and an equal number of books sold, so for a “first-time-author” it was an auspicious start.
Next was the Ottawa International Writers Festival. It was pretty sweet to be in the political heart of the country launching her book on the official publication date. The event was held at the Southminister United Church, which seats 600 people, and it was sold out! She entered the stage to a standing ovation and Paul Wells, journalist for Maclean’s, interviewed her, jokingly stressing at the start that it was not going to be about SNC! Afterwards, she signed books for two hours, and again, it was a sell-out with 300+ books sold.
The whirlwind weekend ended with The Word on the Street in Toronto. Jody took the stage with Steve Paikin, host of TVO: The Agenda. Afterwards we headed back to Miss Lou’s Room in Harbourfront Centre where Jody had a number of TV interviews lined up.
The absolute highlight was getting to know Jody, who is very down-to-earth and personable, and yet someone who is ultimately a very strong leader. Also, meeting Paul Wells and Steve Paikin, the festival organizers, and being in the thick of the media interviews. It was a fabulous experience.
Kerry Kilmartin is a publicist at UBC Press. Find her on Twitter @KerryKilmartin