Our tale begins as a once upon a time in a faraway land in Europe, at a ball given by no other but a Princess! Two Canadian friends, Stephen and Thomas, caught sight of each other between two waltzes and sips of wine. Whether the ball was pretentious or dashing, the wine delightful or insipid, it all momentarily did not matter, for eons had gone by since their last encounter; they immediately laun
ched into a conversation on all that had come and gone: Stephen had since finished his university studies in Montreal and had worked as an engineer in America. One day, it dawned upon him that his call was elsewhere than on a factory shop floor, so he set out on a journey around the world in search of discovery and inspiration; he travelled to Europe where he began to write books for children. In the meantime, after graduating with a doctorate in Philosophy in Paris, Thomas set out to build a successful publishing house of educational and children’s books. Now, Stephen and Thomas would have gone their own ways for the next twenty years, had they not sensed the synchronicity of the moment.
“You know what I’ve been always dreaming of?” asked Thomas.
“No,…what is it?” Stephen was intrigued.
“I would like to start my own publishing house first in New York, then in Paris and London.”
“You’re kidding, right? Just the other day, I was talking about setting up such a business!! But…sorry, how do you see it happen?”
“Well, I’ve been fiddling with my project for longer than I can remember, and now I think that I’ve got a pretty good plan!” said Thomas. “Consider this: If we were to join forces, I bet we’d succeed in no time flat.”
…and so they did, but not before immeasurable effort was spent with undying faith and enthusiasm coupled with the burning creativity and passion of many writers, teachers and illustrators—the dream had somehow become a reality! Tom eMusic’s imprint, Nanook Books, now publishes educational and literary creations for children for the British market. The offer has today outgrown the initial dream, for it spans different genres from Picture Books, Preschool Books, Fairy Tales, Young Readers, Encyclopaedias, all the way to Brainteasers and even Children’s Music. Today, these are made available not only as POD but also as eBooks and Audiobooks. The next step will see the introduction of printed books on the shelves of bookstores and shopping outlets. Nanook Books’ greatest asset is unquestionably its growing team. Amongst others are found prominent authors such as Adam Fisher, Dena Angevin, Alex and Tamara Fonteyn, Ben Torrent and Agnes Rahoza, and also internationally renowned illustrators—Arthur Friday, Arthur Lobus, Martin Poludniak and Jack Beetle.
