PVLF 2025

Author Establishes Her Own Publishing House Called “Northern Special Books”

She said to Cabin Radio that she simply wanted to "start having a publishing name behind me and seeing, in the end, if other authors would be interested in publishing under the brand.
on Dec 16, 2022

The Fox and My Boot author Lana de Bastiani, whose most recent book is Nick the Northern Special, is introducing an imprint called Northern Special Books.

She admitted to feeling uncomfortable when writing her first book on Cabin Radio. Her master's thesis, The Fox and My Boot provided her with greater assistance than other authors could have had without a professor and an institution's resources.

The difficult part, according to her, was still figuring out how to obtain finance in the North.

"We have quite good arts funding to start with, thanks to the NWT Art Council. However, since you are a self-publisher, you are not eligible for several federal awards.

De Bastiani clarified that while many businesses aid authors in self-publishing, they frequently link northern authors of children's books with southern artists.

It's quite tough to try to provide specific instructions about how they want their images to appear, she added.

People who have worked for some of these firms have told me that there wasn't much of a personal element to it; instead, it was highly business-focused.

I don't want someone else dictating to me what must be done and when, so stop reading now. It must be precise as I want it.

Is there a mistake on the second page of my second book, too? I'd say there is. But I did that on purpose. It's okay since that's what I do.

De Bastiani claims that after the release of her debut work, she has aided writers such as Nikolai Deleff with The Bear and Ivory and Isabelle Caron Hébert with The Greatest Gift. She decided that the time is now to transform that support into a company.

She said to Cabin Radio that she simply wanted to "start having a publishing name behind me and seeing, in the end, if other authors would be interested in publishing under the brand."

"I have a lot of fun doing this. After learning how to price my books, how to get them into bookshops, how to advertise them, and other things, I now want to assist others in doing the same.

De Bastiani aspires to publish authors of many genres despite having a background in children's literature; her graduate-school dissertation examined what characteristics define a Canadian children's book as quintessentially Canadian.

Although she acknowledged that she was by no means an expert in, say, novels, she claimed to have learned enough about northern publishing, the northern culture, and navigating towns' enterprises and sales.

"With that knowledge, I can assist others. I feel like I've been accumulating a plethora of information that I like sharing, and I've reached a stage where I would like to get a bit more engaged in other people's initiatives.

De Bastiani intends to publish more of her novels after being comfortable in her publishing position.

She remarked, "I'm currently incredibly busy with Nick the Northern Special sales, but when that's finished, I want to spend some time to assist and encourage other authors."

"I've already planned a few additional books, but they are a few years out. First and foremost, I want to commit fully to this and support others as they work to fulfill their aspirations.