Turnstone Press turns 45, stays true to its roots

The year 2021 marks the 45th anniversary of Turnstone Press. As the story goes, Turnstone sprang from a get-together at a local Winnipeg pub. There, Robert Enright, Dennis Cooley, John Beaver, David Arnason, Wayne Tefs, and Daniel Lenoski discussed creating a collection of poetry books to bring light to a huge wellspring of Manitoba writing that was being overlooked by the mainstream.

Around that time, the desire to give the Prairies a voice within the flourishing field of Canadian literature was high, and was spurred on by the Manitoba Arts Council, which encouraged Turnstone’s early founders to dream bigger and to start a publishing firm.

In 1976, a literary publishing program named after the hearty shorebirds that search for morsels in the rocks and driftwood began. The first book of poetry was In the Gutting Shed by W. D. Valgardson, which, as legend has it, sold so many copies that it was difficult to keep them in stock.

In those first years, Turnstone published the early works of Patrick Friesen, Lorna Crozier, Fred Wah, Di Brandt, and many others, receiving numerous awards and accolades along the way. In less than 10 years, they expanded beyond poetry to include fiction and non-fiction works by artists such as Armin Wiebe, Sandra Birdsell, Karen Connelly, and Lawrence Hill.

Turnstone added its Ravenstone imprint in the late 1990s, which features mysteries and thrillers, and which later included speculative fiction. Ravenstone books include ones by authors such as Michael Van Rooy, Catherine Hunter, David Annandale, Chadwick Ginther, and Karen Dudley.

According to Turnstone publisher Jamis Paulson, the company “continues to draw our direction from our early vision. We are driven to find new creative voices that might not otherwise find a home in the mainstream, and that means poetry is still a strong part of our publishing program, as are a large number of Manitoban and Prairie writers.”

Over the years, Turnstone books have won many awards such as the Governor General’s Literary Award for Waiting for Saskatchewan and Touch the Dragon and a ReLit Award for Fear Not. Turnstone authors have been honoured with numerous regional awards and the publishing company is very proud to have won the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award and the Mary Scorer Award for Best Book by a Manitoba Publisher several times.

In fact, two award categories in the Manitoba Book Awards have strong Turnstone connections: the Manuela Dias Book Design and Illustration Awards are named after a former managing editor of the press, and the Michael Van Rooy Award for Genre Fiction is named after one of Turnstone’s prominent Ravenstone authors.

Turnstone uses innovative strategies to promote its books and authors, co-operating with writers and community partners, and looking for creative ways to engage readers either in person or virtually.

“We have active presences on most major social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest, while also developing and sharing work through our website, turnstonepress.com,” Paulson says.

“Through these channels, we share audio recordings and videos, contests, and feature content such as My Studio, Quatrain Questions, Behind the Page, and UnderCover that give readers a peek into the creative process that brings our books into the world. We distribute three different newsletters to readers, bookstores, and librarians, and regularly hold book club draws for our new books.”

Turnstone’s list of upcoming titles includes five books of poetry – from Diane Tucker, Joanne Epp, Walter Hildebrandt, Kristen Wittman, and Kristian Enright – and the long-awaited Sergeant Neumann mystery, Dishonour in Camp 133 by Wayne Arthurson. Also, there is Monumental Manitoba, a colourful book about Manitoba’s kooky roadside monuments, from Tommy the Turtle in Boissevain to Flin Flon’s Flintabbatey Flonatin.

“Monumental Manitoba is sure to be a great road trip companion for anyone wanting to explore the faces and places of Manitoba,” says Paulson.

The publisher is particularly excited to promote the press’s 45th anniversary celebrations. One of the anniversary projects currently running is 2Poem2 Tuesday, a reading series honouring the company’s roots in poetry.

Turnstone poets are paired with other poetry supporters/champions, and their poetry is shared in mini-celebrations on Turnstone’s YouTube poetry channel every week. On its social media platforms, Turnstone is also featuring a retrospective of its books as part of Throwback Thursdays.

“The nature of our upcoming celebrations will be shaped, in part, by the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Paulson, “but rest assured we will continue to find even more creative ways to bring our community together to celebrate 45 years of incredible literary collaborations.”