The Porcupine's Quill
Celebrating thirty-five years on the Main Street
of Erin Village, Wellington County
Past Events
Toronto Comics Art Festival
The Porcupine's Quill participated in this year's Toronto Comics Art Festival. Artists George A. Walker (The Mysterious Death of Tom Thomson), Marta Chudolinska (Back + Forth), and Stefan Berg (Let That Bad Air Out) were all in attendance.
The festival was a huge success this year, and George even sold out of all of his copies of The Mysterious Death of Tom Thomson!
George A. Walker and Marta Chudolinska at the Toronto Comics Art Festival
The Essential Robert Gibbs, Fredericton Launch
We held a second launch for The Essential Robert Gibbs in Fredericton, New Brunswick on Monday, April 30.
The evening comprised of poetry readings from Robert Gibbs, Shari Andrews, Nancy Bauer, Ted Colson, Robert Hawkes, M. Travis Lane, Ross Leckie, Ian LeTourneau, Michael Pacey, David Adams Richards, and Brian Bartlett.
Annual Grimsby Wayzgoose
The Porcupine's Quill attended the 34th Annual Wayzgoose in Grimsby, Ontario, on Saturday, April 28.
We launched George A. Walker's most recent graphic novel The Mysterious Death of Tom Thomson as well as the Spring 2012 issue of the Devil's Artisan
Many thanks to all our friends who came by to say hello!
Launching The Mysterious Death of Tom Thomson at the Grimsby Wayzgoose.
The Essential Robert Gibbs, Saint John Launch
The Essential Robert Gibbs was launched on Friday, April 27, in Saint John, New Brunswick, at the University of New Brunswick bookstore, Inprint.
The evening was introduced by Anne Compton. Editor Brian Bartlett introduced Robert Gibbs.
Antanas Sileika reads at Weston Public Library
Originally from Weston when it was only a small town on the outskirts of the city, Antanas Sileika returned to his roots on April 12, 2012, to tell some stories and read from his book Buying on Time.
Mark Lavorato at Robson Reading Series
Mark Lavorato read at the much-loved Robson Reading Series on Thursday, March 22, alongside novelist Nicole Lundrigan who recently published Glass Boys with Douglas & McIntyre.
Lavorato's next book, a collection of poetry, Wayworn Wooden Floors, is forthcoming from the Porcupine's Quill in June.
Mark Lavorato at the Robson Reading Series.
Wayworn Wooden Floors Poetry Reading
Mark Lavorato performed his first poetry reading from his forthcoming collection Wayworn Wooden Floors on Sunday, January 15, at Casa del Popolo in Montreal.
The reading was part of the Words & Music series, and Mr. Lavorato's poems were met with much excitment and interest!
New York, New York at the Gladstone
On Sunday, November 27, the Porcupine's Quill, This is Not a Reading Series (TINARS), and the Literary Press Group (LPG) joined forces to celebrate the publication of Jon Evans and Jim Westergard's Beasts of New York and George A. Walker's Book of Hours.
The event took place at the beautiful, historic Gladstone Hotel and included demonstrations, discussions, an interactive reading, and even a short film!
We were fortunate to be joined by Neil Exall, who wrote an original score for the film adaptation of Book of Hours, and Tom Smart, who moderated the discussions.
You may see the video adaption here.
You may check out a video of the event, courtesy of TINARS videographer Meredith Wright, here.
Jon Evans and Jim Westergard discuss the creation of Beasts of New York, moderated by Tom Smart.
George A. Walker and Jim Westergard talk about wood engraving with Tom Smart.
Bookmark for Sailor Girl
On Wednesday, October 12, 2011, at 10:45 am Project Bookmark Canada unveiled a Bookmark for Sheree-Lee Olson's debut novel Sailor Girl.
The Bookmark is positioned at Lock 8 on the Welland Canal in Port Colborne. Author Sheree-Lee Olson and Port Colborne Mayor Vance Badawey were both in attendence.
For more information of Project Bookmark Canada, check out their website here.
Check out the news story on The Source here.
Miranda Hill, executive director of Project Bookmark Canada with Sheree-Lee Olson and Mayor Vance Badawey.
May 15 2009: Rideau Hall
Tim and Elke Inkster at Rideau Hall, 15 May, 2009.
The Porcupine’s Quill is remarkable in Canadian publishing in that most of the physical production of our journal is completed in-house at the shop on the Main Street of Erin Village. We print on a twenty-five inch Heidelberg KORD, typically onto acid-free Zephyr Antique laid. The sheets are then folded, and sewn into signatures on a 1907 model Smyth National Book Sewing machine.
To take a virtual tour of the pressroom, visit us at YouTube for a discussion of offset printing in general, and the operation of a Heidelberg KORD in particular. Other videos include Four Colour Printing, Smyth Sewing and Wood Engraving. Photographs of production machinery used on these pages were taken by Sandra Traversy on site at the printing office of the Porcupine's Quill, December 2008.
The Porcupine's Quill would like to acknowledge the support of the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program. The financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF) is also gratefully acknowledged.
- May 5 & 6, 2012:
Toronto Comics Art Festival - April 30, 2012:
The Essential Robert Gibbs Fredericton Launch - April 28, 2012:
Annual Grimsby Wayzgoose - April 27, 2012:
The Essential Robert Gibbs, Saint John Launch - April 12, 2012:
Antanas Sileika reads at Weston Public Library - March 22, 2012:
Robson Reading Series - January 15, 2012:
Wayworn Wooden Floors Poetry Reading - November 27, 2011:
New York, New York at the Gladstone - October 12, 2011:
Bookmark for Sailor Girl - May 15, 2009:
Rideau Hall