Nimbus Publishing

Before it was ever a manuscript, Nimbus Publishing knew that its recent children’s book Up Home was a winner. 

The book originated as a spoken word poem by Shauntay Grant, a Halifax writer, broadcaster, and Halifax Regional Municipality’s poet laureate. The poem describes Grant’s childhood visits to the African-Nova Scotian community of North Preston. Three years ago, Grant was reading the poem to an audience that included Sandra MacIntyre, the former editor of Nimbus Publishing.
 
Although Grant had not originally conceived of the poem as a children’s book, MacIntyre approached her and pitched the idea. “It really was Nimbus that took an interest in the story, in terms of turning it into a kids’ book, and seeing the potential for a children’s publication,” Grant says.
 
Dan Soucoup, Nimbus’ general manager, says that Up Home was an excellent fit with the company’s focus on Nova Scotia. The main market for Nimbus is in this province, and the majority of its books relate to the rich history or culture of Nova Scotia.
 
“People want a bit more sense of where they came from,” says Soucoup. He suggests that maybe the constant wear of globalization encourages readers to seek out their roots. “There is a story to tell here, because it is a little bit different. And I think that’s probably why we can reflect it authentically, because we are here.”
 
Shauntay Grant definitely feels her roots are strong in North Preston. “I think my work as a whole is very much inspired by this place,” she says. “I draw a lot of inspiration from the communities that I grew up in, from my family, which has roots here that go back more than 200 years. So that’s a huge part of my experience and my life and that definitely spills over into my writing.”
 
Susan Tooke, who created the award-winning illustrations for Up Home, spent a lot of time photographing in the community in order to portray a genuine picture of North Preston.
 
“There are so many wonderful things here, things that even people who live here are not aware of,” she says. Working with a publisher like Nimbus was a good experience in that respect because larger publishers in Ontario, Alberta, or the United States aren’t able to appreciate the value of local knowledge.
 
“You have to do a lot of convincing about what is true to your region,” she says.
 
The resulting images glow.
 
“It’s so wonderful to have images and portraits of people who are from the African Nova Scotian community,” says Dale Sheppard, the Up Home show curator at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, where the poetry and artwork was on display this spring. Sheppard notes that the show’s guestbook has been filled with memories from viewers’ own childhoods. “It’s such a great show in that it really gets people thinking about their own communities,” she says.
 
The show at the AGNS has recently moved on to the Black Cultural Centre in Preston. Next summer, it will travel to the National Portrait Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, and Sheppard is very hopeful that later it will keep traveling to the United States.
 
Up Home has been that sought-after book any publisher would love to produce: a critical and financial success. In addition to winning best-published book at the Atlantic Book Awards and the Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Illustration, Nimbus expects to sell 10,000 copies of Up Home by the year end.
 
“We’re really, really pleased with the book,” says Soucoup. “I think that’s a really good example of the kind of book that a local publisher can do, if they’re prepared to put the resources into it.”
 
Nimbus produces about 40 books each year. Soucoup points out that the company can’t compete with the clout of large book publishers like Random House. Where Nimbus excels over those companies, however, is in knowing exactly where to find the right markets for their products. Large publishers would not know how to access the Halifax cruise ship pavilion or local bookshops, Soucoup says, but Nimbus is right there.
 
That kind of knowledge can only come through being grounded in the community, and it’s the number one thing that makes Nimbus successful.
 
“It’s understanding what is and what isn’t possible here; what can work and what can’t work, and being business oriented but at the same time trying to make sure we publish authentic material and tell authentic stories,” he says.
 
As Up Home travels back to its roots and beyond, its ring of authenticity may be the best ambassador that Nova Scotia has to offer.