Brindle & Glass may be part of the British Columbia publishing landscape now, but it actually began in Edmonton, Alberta in 2001. The press was co-founded by Ruth Linka and Lee Shedden after sharing their love of reading and ideas for new books over several conversations. When they decided to make a go of it for real with their first title, A Century of Grant MacEwan: Selected Writings, the only thing left to do was name their new company. Not knowing if it would take off, they, kind of randomly, named the press after Shedden’s dog, Paddy, a Catahoula Leopard hound with brindle fur and one glass eye.
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ALU Editor
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Brindle & Glass may be part of the British Columbia publishing landscape now, but it actually began in Edmonton, Alberta in 2001. The press was co-founded by Ruth Linka and Lee Shedden after sharing their love of reading and ideas for new books over several conversations.
When they decided to make a go of it for real with their first title, A Century of Grant MacEwan: Selected Writings, the only thing left to do was name their new company. Not knowing if it would take off, they, kind of randomly, named the press after Shedden’s dog, Paddy, a Catahoula Leopard hound with brindle fur and one glass eye. It soon became clear that their company would be around for at least a little while: their new two books were both bestsellers in Alberta upon publication and in 2003 they received the Emerging Publisher of the Year Award at the Alberta Book Awards.Brindle & Glass strives to be the publisher that introduces readers to talented new voices. They’ve published the debut novels from Shari LaPeña (Things Go Flying), who later went on to be nominated for the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour for another B & G title, Happiness Economics; Aaron Cully Drake’s Do You Think This is Strange?, whose main character is a teenager with Autism, about which Publishers Weekly said, “Drake’s first outing sets a high bar for his next”; and Katie Boland’s short story collection Eat Your Heart Out, which Nino Ricci called a “stunning debut”.
One debut that really stands out for them is Theresa Shea’s The Unfinished Child, which was a finalist for the Alberta Literary Awards Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction in 2014. The author takes on the controversial politics of reproductive technology, and it has been really popular with book clubs because it’s an amazing conversation-starter. Through word-of-mouth mostly via blogs it became a Canadian bestseller, growing its readership dramatically a full year after it first came out. Brindle & Glass’s Tori Elliot explains another reason why the book is so special to them: “we had the unique opportunity to market the novel while working alongside the Canadian Down Syndrome on World Down Syndrome Day (March 21st). We donated the one-day sales of the ebook—it was definitely rewarding to get the word out about the novel and to support a worthy cause at the same time.” With 87 titles under its belt, Brindle & Glass continues to publish a diverse list of fiction and non-fiction titles as the literary imprint of TouchWood Editions, based in Victoria, British Columbia. We may be showing a bias but we’re pretty fond of their new leader, Associate Publisher Taryn Boyd, who used to work with us over at the Literary Press Group, our parent organization.Firmly settled on Vancouver Island, Brindle & Glass can often be found hosting events in Victoria and the surrounding communities regularly, and if they’re not hosting they may just be there to hear a fantastic author read. You may also find one of their books as prizes for local fundraisers and events or see one of their authors at local festivals and reading series. If you never get out to the West Coast, never fear, their books are always available right here on All Lit Up!
