A Northern Manitoba publishing company known for publishing works by new Indigenous authors is closing down as a result of its founder’s retirement.
Goldrock Press, which began in Winnipeg in 2006 and was then based in Norway House, will publish its final book this fall, says founder Dorene Meyer, though she hopes many of the writers she’s helped mentor over the years will continue to practise their craft.
“Maybe I’ve laid some groundwork,” Meyer told the Thompson Citizen Aug. 16, just over a week after officially announcing her retirement, saying she hopes her efforts over the past 16 years will bear further fruit down the road. “I hope a lot of the authors will continue.”
Goldrock Press was born out of Mayer’s desire to help writers she mentored find a wider audience. The initial volumes contained works by writers she taught in continuing education classes in Winnipeg. When her husband took a job in Norway House in 2008, the focus shifted to works by Indigenous authors.
“I’ve always had an interest in Indigenous issues and people,” she said. “That was a good fit for me in Norway House.”
Over the course of its existence, Goldrock Press published the work of approximately 600 people, including standalone and series books by over 30 authors and anthologies containing the works of hundreds of middle school and high school students as well as about 100 adult authors.
Meyer says she tried to involve every author, whether it was a Grade 6 student or an adult who felt they had a story they wanted to tell, throughout the whole process of publishing a book, from writing a first draft to the editing process to writing their author biographies, picking their author photos and choosing cover designs.
“There’s some really challenging moments but at the end it’s so rewarding to have that book in hand,” she said.
Goldrock Press published 11 anthologies featuring the works of Norway House Grade 6 students.
“At the end they’re just so proud to stand up in front of their parents and read their story,” she said.
Writing seemed to give them and older students a confidence boost.
In some cases, Meyer said she wasn’t so much a mentor to writers she published but merely a catalyst that helped release the potential they had inside themselves, recalling Brenda Fontaine, author of Father, My Father as one such example.
“I just said the word go and she went 100 miles per hour,” Meyer recalls.
Goldrock Press’s final publication will be Memories of a Manitoba Childhood by Dianne Demarcke, which is scheduled to be released this fall.
Letting go of her baby and moving on to the next stage of her life was difficult, but Meyer felt it was time. She retired from teaching writing in Norway House after her husband retired from his job and they are currently living full-time in a motorhome in Ontario, which makes it easier for them to visit their grandchildren, which wasn’t always convenient while living in Norway House.
“Every step along the way has been super hard,” Meyer says, describing it as a process of “prying her fingers away” from Goldrock Press and from teaching.
She is proud of the work that she did, helping people find their voices and share their stories with the world.
“I’m just really thankful that I did what I did,” she says. “I don’t have regrets, which is great. I’ve loved every bit.”
Though many Goldrock Press titles are now out of print, there are many copies in various Canadian libraries and remaining copies of some titles will be available for a short time via the company’s website.
