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Close-up of a letterpress printing machine, with metal type set up to spell the name Henry, with a backwards N and upside down R and Y.
Close-up of a letterpress printing machine, with metal type set up to spell the name Henry, with a backwards N and upside down R and Y.

Letterpress & bookmaking Letterpress & bookmaking

traditions – feted in an annual book art & literary event.

Home Events Paper Gaspereau Press Wayzgoose 2024

Gaspereau Press Wayzgoose 2024

For one day only, on Saturday, October 26, 2024, Gaspereau Press hosts their 2024 Wayzgoose book arts and literary event at their print shop in Kentville, NS. Admission is free and the all-day event includes morning artist talks; an afternoon open house, including a shop demo and off-cut paper sale; plus evening literary readings from poets Gaspereau Press has published and a book arts talk.

Celebrate the book arts & literary writing in the community

Wayzgoose events are celebrations of letterpress printing and traditional bookmaking, with origins in annual events hosted by master printers marking the end of summer and the transition to working by candlelight.

This year, Gaspereau Press’s Wayzgoose guests include University of Toronto Special Collections and Outreach Librarian John Shoesmith, who will be presenting the Douglas Lochhead Memorial Book Arts talk on the topic of contemporary fine press in Canada; plus Francesca Colonia of Betterpress Lab in Rome, Italy; bookbinder Stephanie Wolff; letterpress printer Amos Kennedy; and letterpress printer and founder of DWRI Letterpress Dan Wood. Featured poets include Michael Goodfellow, Clare Goulet, Bren Simmers, Annick MacAskill and Cory Lavender.

About Gaspereau Press

Founded in 1997 by Gary Dunfield and Andrew Steeves, Gaspereau Press is an award-winning literary press and publisher. Distinguished from contemporary trade book publishers, they practice printing and publishing together under one roof in their Kentville, Nova Scotia print shop office. Known for producing beautiful, high-quality books – including Smyth-sewn* trade paperbacks, cloth-bound hardcovers and letterpress-printed limited editions – its rich catalogue of Canadian works includes fiction and poetry, belles lettres,** memoir and natural history. Over the years, they’ve published unique, award-winning authors, such as Tim Bowling, Robert Bringhurst, George Elliott Clarke, Don McKay, Carmine Starnino, John Terpstra, Thomas Wharton and Jan Zwicky. You can read more about their history here.

*Smyth-sewn: A bookbinding process whereby groups of folded pages are sewn together using a thread.

**”Belles lettres” refers to writing that falls outside major categories such as fiction, poetry or drama (source: Wikipedia).

 

Close-up of a letterpress printing machine, with metal type set up to spell the name Henry, with a backwards N and upside down R and Y.

(Photo credits: Gaspereau Press.)

 

Event details

Hosted by: Gaspereau Press

Type of event: book arts & literary event

Featured book arts guests: Francesca Colonia (artist & letterpress printer), Stephanie Wolff (bookbinder), Amos Kennedy (letterpress printer) & Dan Wood (letterpress printer)

Featured poets: Michael Goodfellow (Folklore of Lunenburg County), Clare Goulet (Graphis scripta / writing lichen), Bren Simmers (The Work), Annick MacAskill (Votive) & Cory Lavender (Come One Thing Another).

Douglas Lochhead talk by: John Shoesmith, University of Toronto Special Collections and Outreach Librarian

Date: Saturday, October 26, 2024

Times:

  • Morning talks from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM AT: Francesca Colonia, Amos Kennedy, Stephanie Wolff & Dan Wood
  • Afternoon open house (including shop demo & off-cut paper sale) from 1:30 PM – 5:00 PM AT: Participants TBA
  • Evening literary readings from 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM AT: Michael Goodfellow, Clare Goulet, Bren Simmers, Annick MacAskill & Cory Lavender, plus John Shoesmith book arts talk 

Cost: Free admission

Location: Gaspereau Press, 47 Church Avenue, Kentville, NS, B4N 2M7

Contact details: Gaspereau Press, 47 Church Avenue, Kentville, NS, B4N 2M7, Canada; 902-678-6002, info@gaspereau.com, gaspereau.com

 

Accessibility: Please contact the organizer (see contact info above)