As part of its year-end "Ideas" series, The Tyee has published my article A New Grub Street for Vancouver. Excerpt:
Suppose Vancouver City Council rezoned a three- or four-block stretch of some major thoroughfare like Commercial Drive or Venables or West Fourth. In this stretch, certain kinds of industries would pay nominal rents or taxes, creating a real incentive to relocate.
New Grub Street would make life easier for Vancouver publishers, booksellers, printers and readers. Just as bookstores do better when two are operating on the same block, New Grub Street would make small stores more viable. Readers could stroll from store to store, looking for surprises they wouldn't find on Amazon. They could get advice from experienced booksellers, not a kid working for a big-box store checking her employer's website.
Publishers, located on the same stretch, could walk out the front door, pop into the nearest coffee shop, and see what people were reading ... or listening to, as local writers recited their work.
New Grub Street would also attract custom printers who could create anything from one to a thousand copies of an author's book -- and of course an e-book version. If the author wanted a special look or layout, a designer would be just upstairs.
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