26 March 2001
Gaspereau Review Discontinued

Gaspereau Press, a printer and publisher based in Kentville, Nova Scotia, has announced that it will cease publication of its critically-acclaimed literary magazine, Gaspereau Review, after issue 16 appears this fall. The final issue will mark the completion of four years of publication.

Gaspereau Review features original poetry and fiction by writers from across Canada and the United States. Each issue also contains reproductions of artwork by a visual artist and a feature essay by a regional author. Contributors have included writers such as Harry Thurston, Peter Sanger, Kent Thompson, Susan Haley, Michael Thorpe, David Zieroth and John Terpstra, along with artists Dan Steeves, John Neville, Thaddeus Holownia, Susan Wood and David Silverberg.

The quarterly magazine is unique for a number of reasons, including its 8" x 8" square format, its distinctive typography and design, its non-academic forcus and the fact that it was published for four years without request for government funding.

Gaspereau Press co-founder Andrew Steeves attributes the decision to a desire to refocus resources on the company's book publishing program. "At the outset, it wasn't clear what shape Gaspereau Press would take. But over the last two years, it has become clear that our focus lies in book publishing. The decision to discontinue our magazine publishing activities is merely an attempt to focus our resources on what we do best -- books."

Although the combined subscription and newsstand circulation never rose above 400 copies, Steeves is satisfied with what the press accomplished with Gaspereau Review: "Producing the magazine certainly increased the profile of the press, establishing Gaspereau Press as a publisher that was willing to make an investment in the writing community. It provided a wonderful venue for a wide range of writers and artists. But the time has come for Gaspereau Press to refocus how it will invest in that community."

One example of Gaspereau Press' ongoing commitment to the writing community is the Devil's Whim Occasional Chapbook Series, a program originally linked with Gaspereau Review. This series includes short, affordable, limited-edition chapbooks by writers such as Carol Bruneau and Douglas Lochead.

"We were slipping these chapbooks in with Gaspereau Review as a sort of bonus for subscribers," says Steeves. "We'll likely continue to produce between four and six of these little printed objects each year, and we're talking about selling them by subscription. They're fun to design and produce. You can only support so many trade books each season, and doing the Devil's Whim chapbooks broadens the number of people we can work with, without making a significant drain on our resources."

For more information, sample copies of Gaspereau Review, or to arrange an interview, please contact Beth Crosby at Gaspereau Press. (Tel: 902 678 6002, Fax: 902 678 7845, Email: info@gaspereau.com)