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SOUTHERN GEORGIAN BAY LIVING Meet the Press: Ginger Press Tells Grey-Bruce Stories by Grey-Bruce Artists
Meet the Press:
Ginger Press Tells Grey-Bruce Stories by Grey-Bruce Artists
BY ANDREW HIND PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF GINGER PRESS
Even after 40 years in the business, Maryann Thomas, owner-founder of Ginger Press, remains passionate about books.
M
aryann Thomas has always been a book person. On any given day, she is surrounded by shelves filled to overflowing with titles and has her head in one or two new manuscripts, volumes that will soon join the overflowing collection lining the walls. Even after 40 years in the business, Thomas, the owner of Ginger Press, an Owen Sound publisher-bookstore, remains passionate about books. “I love seeing words on a page,” she explains simply. “It’s a beautiful artform.”
Thomas began selling books by mail in 1978. Six years later, she opened a bricks-and-mortar store in Owen Sound. Now almost four decades old, it’s one of the longest running retailers in town. Though successful from the start, Thomas grew dissatisfied with the selection of books available at the store. “I soon realized that the books I wanted to sell, books with local content, didn’t exist,” she explains. “I figured since no one else was doing these books, I would have to publish them myself. So, in 1987 Ginger Press, my own little publishing company, was launched.”
Ginger Press focuses exclusively on publishing books about Owen Sound and the surrounding area, focusing on titles that explore unique historical, natural, and cultural aspects of life in the Grey-Bruce community. Ginger Press works exclusively with talented local writers and artists. >>
Ginger Press focusses on books with a connection to the Grey-Bruce region, on the shores of Georgian Bay. “Ginger Press fills an important niche. Large publishers don’t pick-up unknown authors and rarely will do local interest books because they are focused on large print-runs,” says Thomas. “I’ve published over 100 titles, and today my store is exclusively local content and local authors.”
Ginger Press’ best-selling and most prolific author is Richard Thomas. Though he has penned several local history books, Thomas is best known for his Detective D.B. Murphy mystery novels set in 1920s Owen Sound. Though works of fiction, they are meticulously researched and historically accurate. “People love them so much that as soon as he finishes one, he jumps into another,” laughs the amiable publisher.
One of the books Maryann is most proud of is also one she initially considered unlikely. The Extraordinary Tree Project: A Celebration of the Natural and Cultural Value of Trees in Grey and Bruce, by Stephen J. Hogbin, saw people from the region submitting their photos and related stories of trees that held special meaning to them. The result is a surprisingly heartwarming and nostalgic tome. “Who knew people had such strong relationships with trees?” laughs Maryann. “It’s such a charming book and resulted in an exhibit at the local museum.”
The Ginger Press has evolved into an idyll for book lovers, a place to pick up a good book by a writer you may just happen to pass in the street one day, a place to enrol in a writing or publishing workshop, a place where writers and readers can gather to grab a coffee and exchange ideas and inspirations. More than a bookstore or publishing house, its an oasis of literary creativity in small town Ontario.
“There’s a real thirst for local content,” says Maryann, still a bibliophile after all these years. “There are still so many stories to tell.” gingerpress.com 848 Second Avenue East, Owen Sound, Ontario Phone: 519 376 4233
