The cover story of the March issue of Quill & Quire—which is subtitled “Canada’s Magazine of Book News and Reviews”—is “The CanLit 30: The most influential, innovative, and just plain powerful people in Canadian publishing.” Of the 30 people on the list, only three are authors: Margaret Atwood, Douglas Coupland, and science fiction’s Robert J. Sawyer.
Sawyer rerports that the write-up of him says “When Penguin Canada snatched up domestic rights to science fiction giant Robert J. Sawyer last year, it felt like the Canuck industry was finally waking up to an entire genre. Not that Sawyer really needed the nod: he already sells more than respectably and has a shelf full of major sci-fi prizes. As a generous mentor to other writers, the proprietor of his own eponymous imprint at Red Deer Press, and a frequent media pundit, Sawyer is the public face of Canadian sci-fi.”
Other people making the list include Chapters/Indigo bookstore chain CEO Heather Reisman, Globe and Mail book review editor Martin Levin, David Kent of HarperCollins Canada, International Festival of Authors artistic director Geoffrey Taylor, and literary agents Michael Levine and Jackie Kaiser of Westwood Creative Artists.