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Columns

Posted by: anniesavage on 11/18/2008 12:40 PM
Updated by: furlong on 11/19/2008 11:50 AM
Expires: 01/01/2013 12:00 AM

Gulliver's Fights for Independents

Max Burns and Joanne Dube gab about books at Gulliver's on Main Street.

By Annie Savage
theclaw.ca

A boisterous bunch of authors, bookworms and friends crammed into Gulliver’s Quality Books and Toys Saturday to show their support and appreciation for the owners of stores like Gulliver’s, who are in the business for the people, not the money.

The group was celebrating the Canadian Booksellers Association’s 'Independents Matter,' a campaign promoting the importance of locally owned businesses.

The day started off sweetly with a cake-cutting ceremony headed by Mayor Vic Fedeli, who was there to show his admiration for independently owned stores like Gulliver’s and more specifically, for owner Suzanne Brooks.

“Suzanne is a true model of an independent business person and now here we are celebrating Independents’ Day. Suzanne and Gulliver’s have done so much for the downtown and so much for the city of North Bay. They’re real role models for entrepreneurs and anything the City of North Bay can do to support them, we’ll do as quickly as we can.”

Aside from the role Gulliver’s has played within his city, Fedeli also has a very personal attachment to the bookstore.

“My wife (Patty) has written three books, published them independently, and Suzanne at Gulliver’s was the first one to put her books up for sale and have author signings here, which really helped kick off her writing career. So I have a particularly close feeling for Suzanne.”

Martha Attema, author of such children’s books as Time to Choose, Hero and The Paper Wagon, spoke with great feeling of the woman who has helped her thriving career.

“I’m here because Suzanne has been the greatest promoter of my books,” she laughs. “If it wasn’t for her I would not have sold as many copies and I think independent bookstores are the best.”

Attema grew serious as her eyes conveyed the passion she felt for Suzanne's store.

“When we have a book coming out she makes the book launch a huge party, a celebration. If Suzanne wasn’t here, our books would just come out and nobody would even know about it. She makes sure it’s a party and the community knows and she makes you feel so special and that’s just so...” she paused and shook her head with emotion, “...it’s just so amazing.”

Fellow author, friend and mentor, Donna Sinclair, eagerly jumped in to share her fondness for the bookstore.

“Suzanne has just supported those of us who live and work in North Bay in terms of writing. She’s made this wonderful, rich atmosphere where we can meet each other and get together and sell our books and she’s just a force for good. We don’t ever want to lose our independent booksellers.”

NEW TO AREA

The event has helped authors like Len Rich, who are new to the area, to discover the richness of the writing community that lies within the city.

“I just moved here in August, so I’m a newbie to the area, and it’s nice to know that there is a writing community that’s healthy and vibrant and that Gulliver’s is supporting them.”

Max Burns is another local author who came out not only to get together with his fellow writers, but to talk about what stores like Gulliver’s mean to him.

“The importance of the independent store is that they have a vested interest in that store and in the product they’re selling,” Burns said.

“Suzanne knows these books; she can recommend these books to the people who come in here. That’s really important, instead of going to a place that doesn’t know the book - they’re selling a product. It could just as well be a car, it could be a book, it could be a chocolate bar. You have to have a passion for what you’re selling.”

Burns is the author of such works as On Any Wednesday, which follows him in his motorcycle travels through the backwoods of Ontario and Québec, and Around The Bend Again, a collection of Burns’ columns from Cycle Canada magazine.

With several of his books currently on sale at Gulliver’s, he feels that without the local store, his work wouldn’t have received the exposure it has.

“I came here to support Suzanne because she’s supported independent writers, she’s supported me, and she’s always supported local authors. Big stores often don’t do that. If you’re a local author they may not even talk to you because they’re not interested in your book. So she’s supporting us, we support her; it’s mutual. The community should be supporting those kinds of people.”

Wayne La Belle, who specializes in local history, says writers, including himself don’t stand much of a chance without locally owned stores.

“You get bummed out because no one wants to buy your books,” he says grimly. “I tried shopping around at some of the bigger places like Science North and they couldn’t care less. So without people like Suzanne who really care, it just doesn’t work.”

His works include a history of West Nipissing, Iroquois Falls and Sturgeon.

Avid reader and casual writer Joanne Dube only attended the event to give a friend a ride, but found herself captivated by the infectious enthusiasm of the group.

“I’m really, really glad I came. I’ve met so many good people and authors and I get to find books that I like. This was really great and I’m glad I got to come and meet everybody here.”

She says the event has strongly encouraged her to do more writing.

“I am aligning myself to write a book, or two or three. I will come more often to activities like this.”

Owner Suzanne Brooks, feels Independents’ Day is just what Gulliver’s and stores like it need to capture and maintain the public’s much-needed loyalty.

“Bookstores all across Canada are celebrating this day. It’s the chance for us to say ‘Hey, we matter in your communities and we need the support of the communities in which we’re active and we’re supporting’”.

She also tried to shift some of the attention away from herself and toward the writers who came out to support her.

“We have a very strong writing community and a day like this, and most of the people that are here are writers so it’s a chance to celebrate them as well.”