Overview

“I’ll kill him!” said Mavis Gallant. Pierre Trudeau almost did, leading him (“Run!”) into a whizzing stream of traffic that almost crushed both of them. Alistair MacLeod accused him of a “home invasion” to grab the manuscript of No Great Mischief. And Paul Martin denounced him to a laughing Ottawa crowd, saying, “If Shakespeare had had Doug Gibson as an editor, there would be no Shakespeare!” On the other hand, Alice Munro credits him with keeping her writing short stories when the world demanded novels. Robertson Davies, with a nod to Dickens, gratefully called him “My Partner Frequent.” W.O. Mitchell summoned up a loving joke about him, on his deathbed. Stories About Storytellers shares these tales and many more, as readers follow Doug Gibson through 40 years of editing and publishing some of Canada’s sharpest minds and greatest storytellers. Gibson is a terrific storyteller himself, and through his recollections we get an inside view of Canadian politics and publishing that rarely gets told. From Jack Hodgins’ Vancouver Island to Harold Horwood’s Labrador, from Alice Munro’s Ontario to James Houston’s Arctic, Doug Gibson takes us on an unforgettable literary tour of Canada, going behind the scenes and between the covers, and opening up his own story vault for all to read and enjoy.

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9781770410688

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Reviews

This is the ultimate CanLit cocktail party book. -- Quill & Quire (September 1, 2011)

""Stories about Storytellers is a breezy, conversational account of Gibson's work and relationships with some of the most significant figures in Canadian writing, from historical figures (Stephen Leacock, Hugh MacLennan) to global superstars (Alice Munro, Alistair MacLeod); from political figures (Pierre Trudeau, Brian Mulroney) to involved observers (Peter C. Newman, Peter Gzowski); from the larger-than-life (James Houston, Bob Hunter) to the firmly rooted (Jack Hodgins, Mavis Gallant)."" -- Edmonton Journal ""Gibson is a gossip of the first order, the kind who tells all, or at least enough, about his subjects' foibles, but always in a way that delights in their eccentricities. He writes with charming exuberance."" -- The Walrus ""Gibson is an engaging and on the whole a modest figure and a very fine raconteur. He, too, has had a hell of an interesting life. His book makes for good reading, and he makes his life in publishing sound like great fun."" -- Globe and Mail ""Gibson's delightful, behind-the-scenes look at some of Canada's most prominent writers is a remarkable, four-decade romp through the back rooms of publishing."" -- London Free Press ""This is a delightful book. I have fallen in love with it and keep dipping into it all the time."" -- Guelph Mercury

Author Information

Douglas Gibson worked as an editor and publisher from 1968 until he retired from McClelland & Stewart in 2009. His Douglas Gibson Books was Canada’s first editorial imprint and lives on. He travels widely from his Toronto, ON, base. With 30 illustrations by Anthony Jenkins.

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