[banner image: editorial correspondence, layout and design mock-ups, style sheet and more for Language and Nationhood (Vancouver: New Star Books, 1983)]

About the exhibit: What is book publishing?

The process of publishing a book involves a series of steps from draft to submission, acquisition, editing, design, printing, sales, marketing, and finally publication.

SFU Library Special Collections & Rare Books is home to a variety of material that represents every stage of the publishing process.

The archival fonds of writers like Eden Robinson, Fred Wah, Lynn Coady, Shani Mootoo, Michael McClure, Lisa Robertson and many more include early drafts of published poetry and fiction.

The fonds of publishers like Douglas and McIntyre, Barbarian Press, New Star Books, Nightwood Editions, Talonbooks and other offer example of the business activities of a publisher and the journey of a work from submission to publication.

On exhibit are examples from a range of holdings representing the process of publishing a physical book.

What's on display

The exhibit includes:

• rejections
• book proposals
• drafts
• editorial correspondence
• manuscripts and typescripts
• production graphics
• design mock-ups
• proofs and galleys
• published books

Material is drawn from:

• MsC-138 Douglas & McIntyre fonds
• MsC-8 Talonbook fonds
• MsC-100 New Star books fonds
• MsC-104 Eden Robinson fonds
• MsC-75 Lynn Coady fonds
• MsC-76 Shani Mootoo fonds
• Contemporary Literature Collection
• Paul Whitney Collection
• and more!