Hey Montreal! It’s the conundrum press end of summer blowout!
Dave Lapp: Children of the Atom
Philippe Girard: Ruts & Gullies
Sat. Aug 28, Monastiraki, 5478 St-Laurent, 5-7 pm.
Signing and live interview hosted by Immediate Productions
Elisabeth Belliveau: don’t get lonely don’t get lost
Alisha Piercy: Auricle / Icebreaker
Fri. Sept. 3, Drawn and Quarterly Bookstore, 211 Bernard W., 7 pm.
Signing, Reading, and Animation screening
The gang has been touring out east this past couple of weeks. Alisha Piercy spent the week in Conundrum Towers on a short term residency. Then it was the launch at the Kyber in Halifax in a tag team match with Jeff Miller and Invisible Publishing. Thanks to Tap Root Farms for supplying the veggies and Bookmark for selling the books. It was pretty great to have Alisha’s first review appear in Halifax’s The Coast the night before. Then it was back to The Valley where the signing at the Box of Delights was mellow. Jeff gave an improvised reading on the street. Alisha signed books.The party at Conundrum Towers was out of control. We couldn’t keep back the hoards. The parking became an issue. Corey Frost came all the way from NYC to perform an old classic from The Worthwhile Flux. Corey was the reason I got into publishing in the first place. I saw how he ran ga press with Colin Christie back in the good old days (circa 1993, Montreal) and thought I could do it too. How hard could it be? Now I know. Highlight of the night was the photo op of all the publishers at the party. Check back soon for Montreal launch info!
Alisha reads at the Kyber
Jiff Miller reads from Ghost Pine at the Kyber
Signing at The Box of Delights
Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr Corey Frost!
Publishers from LtoR: Corey Frost, Andy Brown, Robbie MacGregor, Andrew Steeves. Notice the Ghost Pine t-shirt.
Just got back from a fun weekend in Sackville, NB for Sappyfest! Conundrum was there to launch Elisabeth Belliveau’s new book and DVD which was screened at the Vogue Theatre, and to launch Alisha Piercy’s Auricle / Icebreaker at the zine fair. Huge success all around. Zine fair was in a better ventilated space in the Legion and there was more room to move. Elisabeth sold tons of her silkscreened posters along with her books. Alisha stood on a chair in her flowing dress to give her reading. Lots of bands, lots of alt rock. Highlights were the Friday night roller derby, Fillet o’fish, Daniel, Fred and Julie in the church, the surprise Sloan concert on the Main stage, and meeting up at Mel’s to send off the New Canadian Pilgrimagers. Thanks to Lesley Johnson for once again being the hostess with the mostest. Thanks also to Sara for organizing the zine fair. And especially thanks to all the organizers of Sappyfest: Jon, Paul, Strutts, Julie, the town of Sackville, the list goes on… It was my third year and the festival just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Next week the East Coast tour comes to Halifax and Wolfville!
Alisha Piercy and our host Lesley Johnson
Andy also wears a hat.
Beautiful Sackville, NB
Elisabeth, Josh, and Alisha check out Ghost Pine
The Sappy mascot in church for a packed show...
Selling the books at the zine fair in the Legion...
Alisha reads while standing on a chair at the zine fair.
Come meet the adorable Ian Sullivan Cant who has graciously offered to display the conundrum press wares at the Toronto Small Press Fair this weekend on June 19. Details about the fair can be found here. Also please pick up a copy of Ian’s amazing collection of zines, Papercut Heart. It can easily fit in your pocket so no need for a cumbersome bag!
Well I’m a bit late posting this but I have been on the road driving back to Nova Scotia from Toronto, stopping in Montreal to scan art by Elisabeth Belliveau. TCAF was a fantastic show, and the conundrum crew really bonded. Thanks first and foremost to Chris and Peter of the Beguiling for hosting the show, and of course all the volunteers. Also thanks need to go out to all the conundrum authors who helped staff the table while I roamed around scoring some great books and minis. The launch of Dave Lapp’s Children of the Atom was a big success. Check out his photos of the show here. I especially like the shots with Jim Woodring. Inkstuds editor Robin McConnell was working the room and hosting panels. Check out his show recap, including an interview with Broken Pencil, here. The bestseller and new CanCom darling was Philippe Girard who launched his first graphic novel in English. Check back for news about future books by him. The Doug Wright Awards Sat night were fun but Sully wore a tie only to graciously lose. However, Nog a Dod editor Marc Bell took home the Pigskin Peter Award! So here are the conundrum crew hanging at the table.
Publisher Andy Brown with the hardest working cartoonist Joe Ollmann
The French Connection. Philippe Girard and Line Gamache
Dave Lapp signs Children of the Atom
Maryanna Hardy and Ian Sullivan Cant
Inkstuds cover artist Britt Wilson signs her minis as the equally talented Vicki Nerino looks on.
Doug Wright Award nominees. That's Sully on the far right snapping pix of the crowd.
Joe Ollmann with Inkstuds editor Robin McConnell.
Philippe shows Joe his interview in the National Post.
