How to Publish Indigenous Books
Friday, September 27, 10 am – 12 pm
Maskwacis Cultural College Library, 2 Saddleback Road N, Maskwacis, AB
Free, Register Here
Brought to you in partnership with Maskwacis Cultural College and Alberta Culture Days Grant
About the workshop
Having been on both sides of book production, as both a writer and publisher, Dianne will explain the process of book publishing from manuscript writing and review, establishing contractual agreements, finding appropriate illustrators, and dealing with printing companies in Canada and China. She will also explore the subjects of intellectual property and copyright.
Bio for Dianne Meili – Publisher, Eschia Books
Dianne Meili, Cree Metis, is proud to be the publisher and guiding spirit of Eschia Books. Eschia is an expression meaning “oh, wow!” in the Chipewyan (Dene Suline) language. Her Alberta-based company has established a channel for the voices of First Nations, Metis and Inuit authors and has published books that spark interest in, and retain, Indigenous culture.
Recent Eschia publications include baby board books that teach Nakoda Sioux kinship terms, youth books that tackle the subject of suicide, and a picture book offering instruction on how to pick medicinal plants responsibly and make natural tea and skin care products from traditional recipes.
Dianne has worked hard to establish Eschia Books as a trustworthy partner to, and voice for, Indigenous writers, especially grassroots traditionalists who may need developmental support and editing to tell their stories.
Before becoming a publisher, Dianne wrote the bestselling book Those Who Know – Profiles of Alberta’s Indigenous Elders, as well as three children’s books for Scholastic. She contributed to three textbooks used in Alberta Education’s Aboriginal Studies and was the editor of Windspeaker Newspaper. More recently, she produced two cultural radio shows for CFWE FM Radio called One People, Many Lives and Footprints. She still writes for various newspapers and magazines, and is completing her first novel.
An Alberta Culture Days event!