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#FridayReads, Feb. 22–“Siege 13,” Stories by Tamas Dobozy

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siege13-web#FridayReads, Feb. 22–Siege 13: Stories by Tamas Dobozy, an innovative collection of short fiction that oscillates between the Nazi siege of Budapest in 1944 and the present day. I’ve just begun digging in to the book, but find I’m already astonished by the fluency of the writing, and the way the stories pull me right in. I don’t have too much to say about it yet, so I’ll note here the review of it that ran in Quill & Quire, the magazine of the Canadian book industry (Siege 13 was published simultaneously in the US and Canada). The reviewer is writer Robert Wiersema:

The stories are varied in tone: some emphasize the horrors of war, while others–like “The Society of Friends,” about two men in love with the same woman – are darkly humorous. Gripping realism is comfortably juxtaposed with fantasy in stories like “The Ghosts of Budapest and Toronto.” The pieces in Siege 13 are also unified by Dobozy’s skill as a writer. Carefully crafted, but executed with seeming effortlessness, every sentence in this collection, every paragraph, is a thing of beauty, and the stories themselves are without flaws. That said, the combination of the author’s abilities and the book’s subject matter means Siege 13 should come with a warning: take it slow. These are stories that should not be rushed through.

I will definitely take my time. Meantime, if you’d like to know more about the writer, here’s the web page for the book from its US publisher, Milkweed Editions. They sent me a review copy some months ago, I’m glad I’m finally getting to the book. The striking cover was designed by Michel Vrana, a friend who I met at the first Book Camp, an unconference about publishing.

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Distressing News From One of My Favorite Canadian Publishers

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Douglas & McIntyre, one of the most highly regarded independent publishers in Canada, has filed an announcement that throws the company’s future into question. Here’s the entire report from Quill & Quire, the journal of the Canadian publishing industry, on the publisher seeking protection from creditors, entering into a Canadian-style bankruptcy.  I know and am friendly with many people who work at Douglas & McIntyre and its associated companies, beginning with co-founder Scott McIntyre. I also know some of its authors. My thoughts are with all of them. I’m hoping for the best and that they manage to come out of the process whole and intact.

D&M Publishers files for creditor protection

D&M Publishers, home to the Douglas & McIntyre and Greystone Books imprints, has filed for creditor protection and intends to restructure.

The Vancouver-based firm announced late Monday that it has filed a notice of intention under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. According to a statement, the company intends “to carry on its operations during this restructuring process” and has enlisted Bowra Group “to locate an investor or purchaser for its assets.” New Society Publishers, a subsidiary of D&M Publishers with offices on B.C.’s Gabriola Island, is not affected, and its “business activities will continue as usual,” according to the statement.

Co-founded by Scott McIntyre, D&M Publishers, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2012, is one of the largest remaining Canadian-owned publishing houses. In July, McIntyre stepped down as CEO and the company appointed a new publisher.

D&M Publishers is known for high-quality non-fiction and art books, as well as titles with a regional focus. The company had recently bolstered its fiction program under the Douglas & McIntyre imprint, publishing Daniel Poliquin’s 2007 Scotiabank Giller Prize nominee A Secret Between Us and the science-fiction anthology Darwin’s Bastards, edited by Zsuzsi Gartner.

In 2010, Douglas & McIntyre won reprint rights to Johanna Skibsrud’s Giller-winning novel The Sentimentalists, originally published by Gaspereau Press. Earlier this year, Carmen Aguirre’s memoir Something Fierce, which appeared on the Greystone list, won CBC’s Canada Reads competition.
D&M is distributed in Canada by HarperCollins Canada. It has a long-standing agency agreement in place with Farrar, Strauss and Giroux that is set to expire at the end of the year.

In 2007, a majority share in Douglas & McIntyre was sold to a trio of investors led by Mark Scott, who went on to develop the digital publishing platform known as Bookriff. Q&Q will continue to report on the story as more details become available.

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