Nimbus produces more than thirty new titles a year on a range of subjects relevant to the Atlantic Provinces— children’s picture books and fiction, literary non-fiction, social and cultural history, nature, photography, current events, biography, sports, and cultural issues.  www.nimbus.ca

Our header this season is made up of images from Grow Organic: A Simple Guide to Vegetable Gardening in Nova Scotia. The images were drawn for the book by the designer, Margaret Issenman.

Wednesday
17Mar2010

Inside the Office

Interview with 
Jenn Embree
Assistant Production Editor
with Nimbus since 2009
The hardest part of design.

Jenn started working for Nimbus in September 2009, a few months after graduating from NSCC’s Graphic Design program. She helps Heather, our production manager, layout and design books, and also does some editing and proofing.

How did you get into book publishing? 
I originally attended Mount Allison University with the intent of becoming a writer, however, partway through my degree I realized it wasn’t quite right for me. While I finished my bachelor, I worked at the school paper as the production manager, and got my first real taste for design. Several years later I decided to pursue a diploma in graphic design, and discovered an aptitude for editorial design in particular. When the production assistant position as Nimbus opened up, it seemed like the perfect place to combine my past and current passions.

What's the most interesting thing you've done so far?
It’s hard to pinpoint one single thing as the most interesting. Certainly learning the ins and outs of the whole process of putting a book together has been fascinating. It’s also been fun to adapt to designing books, especially the interiors. I’ve tried to find ways to let the book’s content influence how I do the interior (especially with the upcoming book Fossil Hunter of Sydney Mines) and that’s been quite a learning curve. And of course covers are always fun to work on!

What's the most challenging?
The most challenging thing I’ve done was given to me shortly after I started. Backwater had just been added to the fall line up, and had to be put together fairly quickly. Coming up with a cover which reflected the tone of a book that was anything but dull, at least for a book about economics and society, was very difficult. Unfortunately, most books of a similar nature have very sedate, textbook-like covers, and this book was anything but. The cover probably went through half a dozen incarnations, and being the first cover I would put together for Nimbus, I felt more than a little pressure to show what I could do. Balancing the preferences of the production, editorial, and marketing departments took a fair amount of tweaking, but in the end it came out better than I expected. 

Who's that sniffing around your chair? 
That would be Naala, the unofficial office dog. She’s been mine for almost four years, and we’ve traveled all over North America together. She’s a German Shepherd/Rottie cross, and is the biggest sook in the world. She is, of course, integral to Nimbus, making sure she attends every meeting (even if I’m not there), letting us know when someone new comes in the office (with a loud bark followed by a vicious licking), taking care of any leftovers from lunch or book openings (so they don’t spoil), and generously offering a therapeutic game of catch (in case anyone needs a break).

...

There's still time to enter our Country Roads cover contest. You could win a copy of Atlantic Canada's 100 Greatest Books. Contest closes March 20. 

Monday
15Mar2010

Images of our Past

A group of cyclists stop to pose for a photo near Langley Beach

In the last two decades of the century the invention of the inexpensive modern bicycle provided cheap transportation, changed clothing styles, and helped emancipate women. Individuals, lovers and families took advantage of the new freedom offered by the bicycle to go on picnics and ride through the countryside.

From Prince Edward Island: An Illustrated History by Douglas Baldwin.  

Friday
12Mar2010

Friday's Bookbits

  •  Tickets for the March 25 edition of the Halifax Club Literary Luncheon are now on sale. This month, dine with Steve Vernon, Donna Morrissey and Lesley Choyce. Register online.

  • Looking for something to do with the kids over March Break? Check out Chapters Mic Mac Mall for a combo reading and craft hour with Judy Dudar (I Spy a Bunny) and Jacqueline Halsey (The Terrible Horrible Smelly Pirate) 

  • The Governor's Book Pub on March 16 in Sydney will feature Lesley Crewe and Bill Conall. It starts at 7pm, but be there early 'cause it fills up fast. Also, there is the Open Stage featured new offerings from new authors. 

  •  Writers without Boundaries will meet at Sackville Public Library, March 16, 7:00pm.  A writers’ group, led by creative writing teacher Russell Barton, allows participants to share their works-in-progress and to discuss topics of general interest to writers. 

  •  Artspark is still registering participants for workshops in The Art of Beginning your Art and Exploring Dramatic Text. 


  • Wednesday
    10Mar2010

    Evolution of a Cover: Country Roads 

    In our "Inside the Office" interview with Heather Bryan she explained the cover design process and how it can sometimes take many attempts to get the right cover. This was exactly the case for Country Roads: Memoirs from Rural Canada,  a collection of memoirs from established Canadian writers about growing up in rural towns. (coming out in May)

    We had many versions over the past few months, some were even called "final" for a little while until something happened to change our minds. There was a lot of discussion and input from marketing (that's me), sales, editorial, and the author before reaching the final cover (#5). But before we get to the final, here's a little insight into the evolution of this cover.  

      

     

    #1 The first cover design featured photos from the contributors. It had the right tone, but it looked too much like every other memoir.

    #2 This cover made it into the catalogue last fall. (That's how long this has been in the works!) It was simple and fresh but too contemporary.

    #3 The designer then created this drawing that has a nice country feel and weathered looking font that suggest a 'memoir' and make it known that the stories were set in the recent past. But after much discussion it was agreed that it didn't fit the stories. They were more literary than the cover suggested. It was a bit too cartoony.

    #4 This scrolly box was an attempt to save the image and dress it up a bit more, but we quickly realized the two elements didn't work together.

    #5 After months of these attempts, Heather went back to her original research for the cover and found the chicken. It had been dismissed early on as being too contemporary, but with a bit of touching up and the new scroll header, it all fell together and we end up with a proud little chicken that we could all agree on. And it only took four months.

    ...

    So, what do you think? Do you agree with our choice? We'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment on this post and be entered to win a copy of Atlantic Canada's 100 Greatest Books.

    Draw closes midnight, March 20. Don't forget to leave your email address so we can contact the winner. Addresses are not public and will only be used for this contest.  

     

    Sunday
    07Mar2010

    These Days

    These Days is another new feature for the Nimbus blog. Focusing on the moment, these posts will give you a glimpse into what's happening at Nimbus right now with a simple image and few words. Hope you enjoy. Monday's posts will alternate between Images of our Past and These Days.

    These Days we have lots of new booklings nearly ready to hatch: twenty-three in fact! All are in various stages of production and coming to a bookstore near you in April, May, and June.  Many have been sent off to the printer already, some are being designed and others are getting their last edit before being finalized.

    This little eaglet by Jeffrey Domm is from the new children's book, Eagle of the Sea, coming in April.