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Professional Spotlight: East York Press Vincent Teetsov In March 2020, two sisters- inlaw living in Toronto, Virve Aljas-Switzer and Bromley Switzer, founded a publishing company called East York Press. Together, they’ve pub lished children’s books that centre around the meaningful connections we have to our loved ones, pets, and friends. And without many Estonian language children’s book options in North America, their business stands out. I talked to Virve and Bromley to hear about what goes into the publishing of their books. What it was like to start a new publishing house in Toronto, back in March 2020? Bromley: Virve and I had talked about this idea for a while. We were floating ideas back and forth, and then Virve said ‘I’ve registered the busi ness, we’re going to go with this.’ Everybody lost a lot of their social lives and their after-work activities, so we had the time to devote to building this business and figuring it out. We were both new to publish ing our own work. Virve does have some experience in pub lishing, but in the more tra ditional sense, not self-publish ing. I think we both went into it maybe a little bit naïvely, but with a lot of enthusiasm. So we figured things out as we went along. I’ve always thought that, in order for an author or illus trator to make good books for kids, they need to be in touch with their inner kid. Do you both feel that you are con
Earth Day musings An Estonian belief is that a life is not lived until one has planted a tree. Which is why we remember Konstantin Päts planting oaks, as they are the symbol of longevity. Visible. Not eternal, nothing on this day marking our concern about the future should be emphasized as such. The slimster is writing as a reluctant gardener, also as a treehugger. Literally, as once years ago on a Conservation Authority hike in slippery March, this ink-stained wretch slipped on an icy hill and had to grab onto a tree to prevent a fall into a ravine. Resulting in cracked ribs. Trees can be good then – stopped the slide; bad as in damage to the human system. Oh well. That actually is a valu able message. Life is not easy. The slender one has planted more than one tree. That is only in the city. A birch – had to, as an Estonian – in our first home. The second home already had a gorgeous one. With two smaller ones beside it, obviously grown from the seeds of the parent.
EESTI ELU reedel, 30. aprillil 2021 — Friday, April 30, 2021
nected to that? Bromley: I consume a lot of YA novels. Those are my favou rite, and I hope to one day write one. I don’t have my own children, but I definitely feel like I’m a kid at heart. And I think all literature is really special. I studied English literature in university. Virve: We both tend to be the more creative thinkers in the family. People will come to us for ideas for things. I think that’s part of why we connected. I was the one in the family who went to art school, who was always making things, and that’s true of Bromley as well. We’re doers and makers and creators in that way. What are the pros and cons of managing the creation of your books from inception to distribution? Virve: I do have some ex perience in the traditional publishing world. I lived in the States for a while and did a Master’s degree in Publishing there, which encompassed the traditional side of book and magazine publishing. I don’t think there’s a wrong way to do it, it really just depends on how much control you want to have over the work you are doing. We don’t necessarily have access to all of the big market ing channels, but we can choose which ones we want to target and which illustrators we work with. If you’re going to pay a really high quality illustrator, you have to invest some money in that. That’s one of the benefits of the traditional route. The publisher takes care of that. Bromley has a marketing back ground and I come from a graphic design and communica tions background, so some of the costs are absorbed into our
own time. Once a book is completed, there are challenges in getting that book into people’s hands. How did you overcome that challenge? Bromley: We thought about how we wanted to distribute the books. We’ve essentially taken a two-prong approach. One is that we actually sell the books ourselves on our website. We have limited shipping within Canada, so we’re only on the hook for shipping books our selves within Canada. In terms of worldwide distribution, we went with other partners. So when somebody from the U.S., U.K., or Europe wants to pur chase our book, they can do it through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Waterstones. Do you see East York Press as creating better access to reading material for Estonian families in Canada? Virve: I grew up with Esto nian picture books at home. They would be the English version of the book that some one had put sticker labels over with the translation. You could
feel the pages crack as you turned them. For the translations of our books, I worked with a woman named Ene Timmusk. She was in agreement with me that there are two versions of Estonian. There’s the Estonian that continued with people living in Estonia and then there’s us. Our languages have changed. Our sense of humour is different. The pacing is different. So to get something translated by someone locally, they would probably use some different terminology or pacing for the books here. It’s for this audience. I’d be happy if Esto nians in Eesti appreciated the books, too. But a lot of it is ‘by away-Estonians, for away-Esto nians.’ That’s never been stated outright, there’s just a differ ence in what’s produced there and what’s produced here. We are much more influenced by North American culture, so it made sense. [You can find their books at eastyorkpress.com] Note: This interview has been edited and condensed.
Hence, the coniferous Fat Albert spruce made it into the back garden. As with the first, the birch, the planting was a chore. Not physically, but men tally. Because the root ball had to be placed just so, according to the other person involved. Who did not listen to logic. It will grow and change. Who cares about what it looks like now. Women. And men. Both muleheaded about certain things. The first decide, the second do the grunt work. Usually though, a marriage, pardon the pun, of issues is found. If not in minds then results. Why our world works and exists. Perhaps even grows. The sensitive offspring – millennial, natch – with a cell phone, used to take photos of tree stumps in the city. Hates the fact, that at the cottage there is a chainsaw and an axe. Not to mention a bowsaw for the small stuff. Sure loves the evening bonfires though. Won der what fuels those? In Toronto, where there seems to be lots of money, (from where? I have little to spare), renovations and new
builds are taking place every where. City bylaws are, and rightfully so, such, that any tree on the property has to be fenced in as a protective measure. None, though, to prevent the huge backhoe from cutting through the root system. Which is why a few years after the McMansion has been built, the beautiful old oak/beech/birch has to be removed. Humanity is, granted, flawed. We enact laws that most follow, the minority injuriously flout. At a cost to us all. Which is why we have the nebulously defined Earth Day, to save our planet. The 80–20 rule must be expressed here. 80% of us – perhaps globally, even, though this is a Western concept – do the right thing, while 20% do not. 80–20 also means that while the first do all the work, the second enjoy the financial benefits produced to a much larger margin. Not the 1%, but the 20%. Much more can be found about this statistical truth online. But enough negativity. Let us be positive. Focus on music, for that stills all concerns. All of
nature, (not just a tree), is such an inspiration. In Estonian the oh-so-beautiful song Üks kask meil kasvas õues (a birch grew in our yard). Then there is U2’s classic album “The Joshua Tree”. The Cure went one better with a great song – “A forest”. The hokey tearjerker “Tie a yellow ribbon around the old oak tree”. The Man in black, Johnny Cash, gave us “The Pine Tree”. Which of course leads us to that seasonal favourite, “O Tannenbaum”, or in Estonian Oh kuusepuu, can’t imagine Christmas without it. Other things that grow from Gaia’s fecund soil also give us pleasure. The slimster thinks about Paul Robeson’s wonder ful rendition of “Mighty like a rose”. As an aside, the entire Robeson oeuvre is classic. Even if he believed in communism. But what a voice. “Yellow rose of Texas” is a classic. Leon Redbone, who was truly one of a kind, singing “Bouquet of roses”. And in a neat non- musical tie-in to the first para graph, a bit of trivia. President Päts actually had a rose named for him, developed by a Ger
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We’re listening… (Continued from page 8)
shared several bold composi tions with online audiences, for their first concert of the aca demic year. Erik Kreem’s piece was an original titled “Pas sages”, where clarinet and cello engaged the idea of change and loss. While he continues to create scene-setting, impres sionistic compositions, this time around, he will be playing piano. This lends itself to music that is more romantic and fluid in its delivery. East York Press’ publications in Estonian and English.
On the night of the 13th, Kreem will play Heino Eller’s Tokaata h-moll (Toccata in B minor). This composition em phasizes the gracefulness and technique of a pianist’s hands in creating dynamics on the piano. You can expect large dynamic fluctuations and texture created by sophisticated rhythms. It’s a well chosen piece to play along with the style of his own compositions. Kreem will play the six pieces of his Childhood Suite, which in my mind brings out the feel ing of a dream; like a child fly ing out from their bedroom window, powered by magic and wonder. Finally, Kreem will share some improvisations to bring the evening to a close. We hope you’ll be there to watch the final installment of the “Memories of Home” series, brought to you by concert partner Heinsoo Insurance and series partner Northern Birch Credit Union. To watch the concert, head over to Estonian Music Week’s Facebook page or the VEMU YouTube channel. Make sure you’re on the festival newsletter, too, to receive news and updates on future EMW shows.
man: the “Staatspräsident Päts” a yellow rose hybrid, bred in 1939 by Christoph Weigand. So having marked Earth Day, also in music, let us do so in practice, for more than one day a year. Be environmentally re sponsible, do not litter, for one, for every little bit helps. To enjoy Mother Nature’s bless ings. The way She intended. Turbulent as the woman is. OTEPÄÄ SLIM
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