AELAQ is Seeking an Executive Director

Update: This post is now closed. Thank you to all who applied.

AELAQ is seeking an organized, self-motivated Executive Director (ED) to carry out our mandate of supporting English-language book publishers in Quebec. Reporting to AELAQ’s board of directors, the ED establishes the organization’s priorities, and is the primary coordinator of its activities. This is a unique opportunity to be a voice for Quebec’s English-language publishing industry, and to ensure that our members’ diverse and vibrant authors and books continue to be seen and appreciated around the province, across Canada, and beyond.

This is a permanent part-time salaried position at 25 hours/week, located in Montreal, Quebec.

About the Organization

The Association of English-language Publishers of Quebec (Association des éditeurs de langue anglaise du Québec; AELAQ) is a not-for-profit organization that advances the publication, distribution, and promotion of English-language books from Quebec. We’re a member-driven organization representing a diverse and engaged group of Quebec-based publishers, including publishers of literary fiction and poetry, scholarly works, books for kids, graphic novels, and books covering politics, history, and culture. We support our member publishers through professional development, advocacy, and marketing initiatives. AELAQ also publishes the Montreal Review of Books, a print and online journal published three times a year.

Key duties of the Executive Director include:

• Fundraising and financial management: Grant-writing and reporting; working with the accountant and bookkeeper to ensure all financial duties and reports are done on time; setting the annual budget and project budgets; managing cash flow; seeking new funding opportunities. 
• Governance: Reporting to and liaising with the AELAQ Board of Directors; coordinating and participating in board meetings; ensuring the organization follows its bylaws.
• Publishing the Montreal Review of Books: Liaising with the editors, graphic designer, advertising manager, printer, distributors, and other parties; participating in editorial meetings and book selection; overseeing ad sales within Quebec.
• Facilitating members’ professional development: Keeping up-to-date with the publishing industry; establishing members’ needs and coordinating activities such as workshops and seminars (3-5 annually) to make sure they receive the skills they require.
• Increasing visibility of AELAQ members and the books they publish: Co-coordinating AELAQ’s annual Holiday Book Fair; representing AELAQ at book fairs and other public-facing events, including the Salon du livre de Montréal; seeking out new opportunities to raise the visibility of AELAQ members and their books.
• Communication: Responding to queries from members and from the public on the publishing industry; maintaining and developing relationships with other local and national organizations working toward similar goals.

The ideal candidate will have:

• A minimum of 2 years’ experience in a leadership or management position, including financial management;
• Strong knowledge of the Quebec, Canadian, and international book-publishing landscape;
• Strong fundraising skills with proven track record (grant-writing, other types of fundraising);
• Experience with event coordination;
• Familiarity with non-profit governance;
• English/French bilingualism;
• Ability to multitask, think independently, and initiate and execute projects.

Things that will be useful for the selected candidate:

• Graphic design abilities;
• Familiarity with SimplyAccounting, FreshBooks, WordPress, MailChimp, SurveyMonkey;
• Familiarity with social media;
• Driver’s license and vehicle.

Job Conditions:

Permanent, part-time position at 25 hours/week*, with a salary of $28,600 annually. Occasional evenings and weekends are required (a few times a year), as is occasional travel (once or twice a year). Perks include flexible hours and 4 weeks of paid vacation plus paid time off between Christmas and New Years’.

AELAQ is primarily an English-language workplace, but French fluency is key to this position, which involves being in regular contact with Francophone organizations and individuals. 

AELAQ’s office is located in downtown Montreal, in a wheelchair-accessible (as of fall 2020) Heritage building with a gender-neutral washroom. At present, the position can be done remotely for the most part, but occasional trips to the office will be required. 

*Possibility of becoming a full-time position if funding allows.

How To Apply

Please send a CV and cover letter stating your interest in and competencies for the position as a single document to admin@aelaq.org. Deadline to apply is October 19, 2020. Interviews will take place over Zoom in the first two weeks of November.  Position starts January 4, 2021 with two weeks of training.

Recognizing the structural barriers that marginalized people have faced and continue to face in the publishing industry, AELAQ welcomes applications from all qualified individuals, and encourages Indigenous people, people of colour, LGBTQI+ people, people with disabilities, and members of any other marginalized group to self‐identify if they are comfortable doing so.

Like so many sectors around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the publishing industry hard. With physical bookstores closed and launches and book tours cancelled, the effects have rippled across the landscape with devastating results. “Publishers are experiencing precarity,” says Oliver Fugler of Montreal-based Metonymy Press. “Printers in Quebec have been closed, distributors are struggling, and small presses have been falling through the cracks of available relief funding.” 

But publishers continue to find ways to make their books accessible to readers and support their authors. “Our members have responded quickly and creatively,” says Anna Leventhal, Executive Director of the Association of English-language Publishers of Quebec. “Those who do online sales are offering discounts and free shipping, and some have already begun to host online launches and readings.” “Véhicule Press is working hard to adapt to the quarantine requirements all while promoting its books and supporting its authors,” says Jennifer Varkonyi, on behalf of the independent publishing house that’s been operating since 1973. “Each member of our small team is working remotely, committed to the press and its mandate.”

Read on for details what Quebec’s English-language publishers are doing to keep books moving, including online sales, virtual author events, and more. Updated with new info as of June 2020!

Book Sales

Many AELAQ members are offering discounts on their web-stores, on books that can be delivered to your door or your e-reader:

• Linda Leith Publishing | Linda Leith Éditions is offering 50% off all spring titles (paper and digital)
• Véhicule Press is offering readers thematic Book Bundles such as poetry, women writers, and vintage noir, with savings of over 50%
• Black Rose Books is offering ebooks for free, pay-what-you-can, or 50% discount 
• Renaissance Press is offering a 25% discount on online orders with the code STAYHOME
• Baraka Books and its imprint QC Fiction are offering free shipping in North America on all their titles
• McGill-Queen’s University Press is offering a number of initiatives, including giveaways and increased access to ebooks
• Prince Chameleon Press is offering free downloads of their books for teachers, parents, and kids

Other great ways to get books in your hands include buying from independent bookstores, who have been doing an amazing job keeping readers supplied: 

• This map shows independent bookstores across Canada that are doing home delivery or curbside pickup. Search your location to find a bookstore near you (with thanks to Don Gorman of Rocky Mountain Books!)
• Les Libraires is a network of independent Quebec bookstores, and their online marketplace now includes English books
• All Lit Up is offering free shipping anywhere in Canada for the rest of April

Events and Author Apperances

In-person launches and readings are on hold, but AELAQ members’ authors are taking to the internet to share their writing.

• LLP | LLÉ authors are doing video readings and creating posts for Salon .ll.
• Véhicule Press author Joe Fiorito is featured reading a poem from his new book, All I Have Learned is Where I Have Been on the 49^th Shelf blog, and poet Sadiqa de Meijer’s collection is featured on the All Lit Up blog
• Black Rose Books author Josh Hawley participated in a panel discussion on housing activism in a pandemic–watch the session here
• Renaissance Press is coordinating a virtual writing and publishing conference to take place at the end of May. Consult their website for details
• Pow Pow Press has a YouTube channel featuring author events

Find Out More

For more information, contact us.

The Roadmap Reading Fund is open to applications for events taking place between April 1st 2018 and March 31st 2019! There is one change from last year’s guidelines regarding the number of events for which a writer can receive funding–please see below for details.

Forms
2018-2019 Application Form. Please read through the guidelines and eligibility criteria below before submitting an application.

Reader’s Report/Invoice To be submitted by the participating writer after the event, along with relevant receipts. Please note, you must apply and be approved for funding BEFORE submitting your reader’s report/invoice.

Please submit your application a minimum of two weeks before the event is to take place. We do not fund events retroactively. This fund is limited and on a first-come first-served basis; funding is not guaranteed until you have received confirmation from AELAQ.

The Association of English-language Publishers of Quebec (AELAQ) is accepting applications from eligible organizations to support readings by English-language writers who have been published by AELAQ members.

This program is open to public presenters throughout Canada, including but not limited to ongoing reading series, libraries, bookstores, and literary festivals. See below for details on the program, eligibility criteria, and application procedure.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

Through this program, the Association of English-language Publishers of Quebec – with a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts – will reimburse honoraria and travel costs (transport only, does not include per diem or accommodation) for public readings by English-language  writers published by members of the Association of English-language Publishers of Quebec. Eligible AELAQ publishers include: Baraka Books, DC Books, Drawn & Quarterly, Linda Leith Publishing, McGill-Queen’s University Press, Metatron, Longbridge Books, and Véhicule Press.

This program is open to international events!
Readings taking place in Quebec must feature eligible English-language Canadian authors from outside the province, but eligible English-language authors from any Canadian province or territory may be featured at readings taking place outside of Canada.

AELAQ will pay the author a $300 honorarium per full (solo) reading or a $150 honorarium per half (joint) reading if they are not receiving an honorarium from the host venue.

For international travel: AELAQ will cover up to $1320 in travel expenses for up to three full readings or six half-readings. Authors can receive funding for one international trip per program year (April 1st-March 31st). If funding allows, this restriction may be lifted in December 2018.

**New in 2018-2019: AELAQ will fund a total of 5 individual events per eligible author per program year (April 1st-March 31st). If funding allows, this restriction may be lifted in December 2018.

For travel within Canada:

For destinations located above the 55th parallel and remote parts of the country, organizations can ask for doubled travel amounts with a written and detailed justification of related costs.

• The host organization must contribute to the cost of the author’s travel, accommodations, and/or meals.
• All readings must be applied for and take place by March 31, 2019. 

 ELIGIBILITY

Host organizations/Venues/Formats: To be eligible for funding, the reading(s) must be held in a publicly accessible venue (library, bookstore, festival location, etc.) and advertised to the community at large.

This program cannot fund conferences, workshops, fundraising events, or book prizes. This program also cannot fund readings for which honoraria and travel costs are funded by another Canada Council program.

Eligible Authors/Books: 

• Invited writers must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada.
• Readings hosted outside of the province of Quebec must feature Quebec-based writers. For readings taking place in Quebec, featured writers may be from any province or territory in Canada.
• Writers must have published at least one eligible book with a member of the Association of English-language Publishers of Quebec (see ‘About the Program’ for list of members). An eligible book is one that the writer has written in one or more of the following literary genres: novels, short stories, poetry, drama, children’s and young adults’ literature, graphic novels, or literary non-fiction.
• The author, the book, and the publisher must be eligible for Canada Council funding.
• The author must be an English-language writer.

Ineligible Authors:

• Authors whose publications include only self-published books or works in anthologies, literary magazines, web publications, community newspapers, free or student newsletters, or newsletters of associations or other organizations.
• Authors who sit on the board of AELAQ for the period during which the host organization has applied for funding.
• Authors who are administrators, directors, or volunteers with the host organization.
• Authors who fill a professorial position at a post-secondary institution serving as a host organization.

HOW TO APPLY

The host organization must contact and arrange a date with an author or their publisher before applying for funding. For help contacting an author or publisher, write to admin@aelaq.org.

Once an author and date have been secured, download and complete the AELAQ Roadmap Reading Fund – application form 2018-19 and submit it to AELAQ.

The completed form must be received by March 31^st, 2019, for events taking place before that date. For events after that date, please contact admin@aelaq.org.

Once your application has been approved, confirmation letters will be sent to both the host venue and author. NO FUNDING IS CONFIRMED UNTIL THE HOST HAS RECEIVED A BOOKING CONFIRMATION FORM FROM AELAQ.

Host organizations must send copies of advertisements and promotional materials by email to admin@aelaq.org  as soon as they become available. All publicity materials must acknowledge the financial assistance of the Canada Council for the Arts through the Association of English-language Publishers of Quebec and must feature both organizations’ logos.

Please note: The Association of English-language Publishers of Quebec (AELAQ) does not reimburse reading fees and travel expenses to hosts or festival organizations. AELAQ will reimburse authors and/or publishers directly, after the event has taken place and upon receipt of the author’s reading report and invoice form(s) with original itemized receipts.

For more information about this program, please write to admin@aelaq.org  or call 514-932-5633.

Are you passionate about books, high-quality writing, and serial commas? Then we want to hear from you! Join the team putting together the only journal reviewing English-language books from Quebec.

The Montreal Review of Books, published three times a year by AELAQ, seeks an experienced and dynamic Associate Editor to work with the Editor and Publisher on all aspects of the journal. The Associate Editor participates primarily in selecting books for review, commissioning reviews, and working closely with reviewers on substantive and copy editing. Other areas of focus include social media and website development, event planning, and distribution.

The successful candidate will, above all, have excellent knowledge of English, proven editing skills, and familiarity with editorial standards and practices. Other essential traits include a keen eye for detail, excellent time management skills, experience with online engagement, diplomacy, and the ability to work autonomously and as part of a team. Knowledge of the local and national literary landscape is an important asset.

This is a part-time position; 3 to 15 hours per week, with peak periods of activity that may exceed these hours leading up to publication dates (July, November, March), and occasional weeks off outside of active production periods. The majority of work can be done at home, with obligatory meetings taking place a few times a year. Remuneration for this position is $17.50/hour.

Deadline to apply: April 24

Interested applicants should send cover letter, resume, and editing samples to admin@mtlreviewofbooks.ca Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.