Reckoning with Time (and Changes) as Canadice Press moves into 2022
As the cooler temperatures and shorter days of autumn become unavoidably real, I always find myself reckoning with time and its inevitable passage. As passionately as spring announces rebirth and new things, fall emerges as a reminder that youth is, indeed, fleeting. When April again rolls around, the Owl Light News (and Canadice Press) will celebrate five years of being. I looked back on this journey recently as we camped and relaxed in Maine. It had been a while since we had taken a break and the time away offered opportunities to reflect on paths lesser traveled and experiences worth revisiting.
Despite a plethora of challenges, 2021 has been an exciting one for Canadice Press. Most notable is the publication of our first literary journal. The theme we chose for year one (with the second issue planned for 2023) is Turning Points, in recognition that life is ever evolving. This reality has been even more obvious for many as we all face the consequences of the global pandemic that has dominated (and continues to impact) our lives. That impact includes changes in how we spend our time, including our views on work. An October 23, 2021 New York Times opinion guest essay, “The Future of Work Should Mean Less Work” by Jonathan Malesic—with work-related resolutions from New York Times readers—touched on Americans’ relationships with work and explored how many people—in the wake of changes brought about by COVID-19—are envisioning a future that places less emphasis on our roles as workers while seeking to validate other aspects of our lives.
Back home, in front of the machine, I, too, am taking a closer look at how my work-a-day role (which these days is focused on Canadice Press) balances with other interests and pursuits. Print and online Owl Light readership has increased since 2019 and with every new subscription (and every new exciting contributor) the time spent putting (and keeping) it all together increases. We love print. Although it is exciting to explore and expand online opportunities, more than anything we want to continue creating something that can be taken in hand, that is physically real. People who like print want content that goes beyond the mainstream and also desire something substantive that they can hold, share, and return to. This love of the physical world relates to so much of what I enjoy and love doing (everything from writing and working bees to cutting cabochons and fabricating silver).
How, then, to give readers what they want (including colored print copy and engaging content) while reckoning with the shorter days and realities of time that the transition to fall brings into focus (not to mention the economic realities of print publication)? You can tell I have thought about this much as I’ve traverse mountain trails while listening to and marveling at the beauties of our natural world during our recent get away. Canadice Press is moving in new directions in 2022 as we redefine and fine-tune our path forward.
We will be continuing Owl Light News IN PRINT (and online) in 2022 with some exciting changes. First, we are going to full color and are transitioning to a magazine format beginning with the January 2022 issue. To make this possible, we will be changing from monthly (newsprint) publication to quarterly magazine (with issues out in Jan., April, July, And Oct.). We will offer many more pages in each issue including all the great contributors you currently look for and so much more. And did I mention full color! We are also putting in place some changes to our online site for 2022 that will make it more user-friendly for readers while facilitating easier online interactions as a reading and writing community.
To keep the focus on the content, we will place our sponsors (advertisers) back of book (similar to the model we used for Turning Points) and will continue limiting sponsorship to quality and sustainably-focused businesses and organizations that are independently owned / operated. These same select sponsors will also be the only advertisers on our updated online subscriber site (no pop ups!).
We have another literary journal planned in 2023 (an every-other-year serial). The new journal will feature a guest artist along with more great creative writing. Submissions for the 2023 journal will be accepted from May-August 2022 — theme TBD — with the journal out Summer 2023. We will post submission calls here and on social media.
Finally, Canadice Press is working toward publication of an environmental / nature themed children’s picture book (with subsequent titles to follow).
As we move toward a more sustainable model while maintaining print as a viable media in an increasingly virtual world, change is inevitable. We are a reader-supported press and, as such, depend on and appreciate the support from our subscribers. We welcome readers’ and contributors’ feedback and ideas as we move ahead with these changes. We also value and appreciate the generous support from sponsoring businesses and organizations (many of whom have been with us since our earliest issue in 2017) and hope we can continue to support the important work you do. We are a community—Where Inspiration and Inquiry Converge—and we look forward to continuing to serve as a forum for voices to be heard and ideas to be shared.
D.E. Bentley
Editor Owl Light News