“Hey, it’s me…”

Hello!

If you’re new here, welcome! If you’ve been around for years, it’s nice to officially meet you.

What are we, really?

Started in 2014 as Books BC project, Read Local BC is a hub that connects people to the vibrant community of authors, publishers, bookstores, and libraries that make up our province’s literary landscape. Books BC is a non-profit organization that supports the province’s Indie book industry through membership programs, services, and advocacy. Check out our about page for more info.

Who are we?

We’ve interviewed ourselves this time to answer that very question. Get to know the four real, living, breathing, book-loving people behind the organization below:

What does your role encompass?

Sarah: The Executive Director role wears a lot of hats! I get to meet with our Board, attend committee meetings, work with staff, and make to-do lists happen. There are lots of small projects that need to be worked on all the time, from professional development events, to developing partnerships with sibling industries like independent booksellers and libraries. I get to work on grants, reporting and building relationships with our funders. And most important of all, I get to support our excellent team here at Books BC as they do their excellent work.

Ashley: My role as the Administration and Membership Services Coordinator includes office operations, bookkeeping, member account management (registration, renewals and other updates), and project assistance for our ongoing programs

Asna: I manage all the public-facing, reader-focused Read Local BC programs, including editorial and social media, Books for Schools, Poetry in Transit, eBookshelf, bookseller outreach, advertising campaigns, and anything else that engages BC readers in BC books. On this site and our socials we share our editorial content, news, and booklists, and if you go to BooksForSchools.ca you’ll find K-12 books based on grade levels and subject areas. Keep an eye out for our content in the Tyee, Globe & Mail, and other publications!

Tenaya: I wear many hats in this role, but it can be broken down into three main parts: the Read Local BC umbrella, advertisements, and special projects.

3 words that describe what you need for this role:

Sarah: Connecting, organizing, collaborating

Asna: Strategic planning, people skills, and initiative

Ashley: Organization, accuracy, and accountability 

Tenaya: Flexibility: A multitasking queen who likes lots of variety in their job and can adjust work schedule based on priority/last minute changes.

Visual eye: You will do a lot of graphic design projects. You don’t have to be a pro, there’s lots of opportunity to grow, but visual arts/design experience helps immensely.

Collaboration: You will be working closely with the Program Manager on everything and it requires healthy collaboration to brainstorm topics, angles, and solutions together. Plus on a small (but mighty) team of 4 people, being able to get along with others is essential.

(Bonus) Curiosity: Being a small organization and wearing many hats also means there’s lots of space and support to try new things, pitch ideas, and focus on a project that builds a skill you want to develop.

A favourite part of your job?

Sarah: Getting to meet with the team and member publishers!

Asna: Free books! And the outstanding people I get to work with.

Tenaya: Cute office in a heritage building filled with books! Plus the most amazing team of women you could ask for, and leeway to adapt certain projects and focus on a skill I want to build.

Ashley: My team and our membership!

What do you love about the local literary industry/realm?

Sarah: Being able to help connect readers with local stories and works. 

Asna: We’re on the cutting edge! BC publishes books on the most urgent and relevant issues challenging us in the moment.

Tenaya: Knowing there are real people behind every aspect of a creative project and meeting many of them along the way: writers, editors, publishers, cover artists, event hosts, local book shop owners. We also have writing that’s based in familiar cities with mentions of transit lines, bodies of water, and even local murders of crows.

Ashley: I love how supportive everyone is of each other and their work.

If you were one of our publishers, which one would you be and why?

Sarah: I think I might be Nine Ten Publications, as I love creating and crafting, as well as the Canadian creative landscape. Plus, I love connecting with people.

Asna: Douglas & McIntyre because I love their line-up of intriguing fiction, thought-provoking memoir, and edifying nonfiction.

Tenaya: I would say Figure 1 because it aligns the most with my design degree and focuses on local art with beautiful and minimal layout design.

What do you look for in a book?

Sarah: I’m all about place and world-building, and I love a good love story.

Asna: Good prose is a must. I like literary fiction so I’m drawn to writing that pulls you into a world and makes you reluctant to come back out. 

Tenaya: I love novels and poetry and I look for surrealism, provocative imagery, and a certain poetic or philosophical lens that the author explores, maybe through how their characters engage with the world.

Ashley: I love when the writing provides detailed and poetic imagery, and when there is good character development.

A favourite book of yours?

Sarah: My favourite book of all time is His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik.

Asna: Just one? One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai, Isabel Cañas’s gothic romances The Hacienda and Vampires of El Norte, everything J.R.R. Tolkien (yes, even The Silmarillion).

Tenaya: This is the hardest question in the world (and I’m saying that as the staff that came up with these questions…). I could not narrow this down so here are five: (long time favs) The Wind Up Bird Chronicles by Haruki Murakami (with the exception of how he describes female characters), and A Tale For The Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. (More recent favs) Fifteen Dogs by Andre Alexis, Xanax Cowboy by Hannah Green, and Capitalists Must Starve by Park Seolyeon.

If you were a book, what would you be and why?

Sarah: I’d likely be a cozy fantasy novel – full of friendships and warm activities, and working together to solve problems.

Asna: I would be a much loved dog-eared paperback with notes in the margins, a small print run fiction title written by a woman with a full-time job. It’s the economy, what can you do. 

Ashley: A slice-of-life fantasy book! The story could be about a small bookshop owner who is visited by magical adventurers. To have a modest life in an epic fantasy world has been a childhood dream, so this book would embody that.

Tenaya: I would be a short, detailed but slightly cryptic novel with a red hardcover, weathered edges from handling and travelling, no slip cover and an embossed title in silver.

Hard cover, because I’m reliable and here to stay the course, but weathered because I’m not by any means impenetrable. I prioritize closeness in my life, with friendships and relationships that have lasted many years. I’d be a book that feels comforting, and is always with you, at the bottom of your bag or bedside table, venturing with you between moves, and aging. A short enough story to indulge in over the weekend but with enough left open to analyze for hours. I think I’m both a very direct communicator, but also an artist who sees things in more abstracted ways. I also spend hours ruminating and analyzing things from different angles so it only makes sense that a book version of me could do the same. There would be recurring themes throughout the story, but also a myriad of new ideas and adventures popping up along the way, this encapsulates my neurodivergent mind that loves pattern recognition but is also constantly looking for new and exciting things.