Ashley Christian is owner of WorkEvolved on Main Street in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

Through the day, the WorkEvolved shared office space in downtown Liverpool is a pretty sedate place, with people holding meetings or working on computers.

But on Friday afternoon, it will be the site of some haunting, hilarious and harrowing tales. Four Queens County authors will be reading from their various works, starting at 4 p.m.

Vernon Oickle, Bryn Pottie, Laura Keating and Scott Miller will be part of Local Voices: An Evening of Reading.

WorkEvolved owner Ashley Christian said she was inspired by a recent visit to Rocky Harbour, NL, as part of a course she’s taking on community development.

“And while I was there, I was so impressed by how that community opens up their privately owned spaces for community use. And it just got me thinking, what can I do differently here at WorkEvolved?” Christian, who is also president of the South Queens Chamber of Commerce, said in an interview.

“And I would love for folks of Liverpool and beyond to start to feel like this is a space that they can use, and it’s not just a corporate office space. 
So that was the inspiration behind trying to kind of change the perception of WorkEvolved. And as a big reader myself, I thought, ‘What better place to start?’”

Christian bought WorkEvolved in June, though she’s used it for office space herself since it opened in 2020. 

She said she wanted to get something together as part of Christmas on the Mersey, which kicks off on Friday.

“So what you can expect is an opportunity to mingle with fellow book lovers, hopefully in a more intimate setting. And we’re going to have each of the four authors spend the first hour reading something that’s meaningful to them. 

“And then the second hour will be casual conversation, light Q&A with the authors, and an opportunity to speak to them individually, to purchase their books and have a few little snacks and treats.”

The four authors represent an eclectic range of voices. 

Oickle is a prolific and award-winning fiction and non-fiction writer known for his ghost stories. Pottie has received raves for his debut farce, The Great Lunenburglary. Horror writer Keating has gotten notice for her short stories and novella, while Miller’s dystopian cyberpunk debut won the Indies Today award for best sci-fi action/adventure.

Christian says this is only the first of more community events she hopes to organize at WorkEvolved.

“I’m trying to think of things that we’re missing here in Queens County. And what can I bring in that adds value to the community? So I think that a self-defence course would be great. 
I also know that we have some amazing amateur chefs in the area. I would love to be able to help folks to share their passion for cooking, and maybe offer some sort of community dinner.”

Local Voices will be held at WorkEvolved at 154 Main St. in Liverpool, from 4 to 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 28. It’s a free event.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Justin Freeman launched Letterswitch Publishing on Saturday in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

In a town without a bookstore, starting a publishing business might seem like a leap of faith.

But Justin Freeman of Liverpool says he’s realizing a childhood dream by launching Letterswitch Publishing. 

“I’m content to just put out beautiful books that entertain and educate and encourage new parents, and parents of young kids especially, but everybody in a family,” he told QCCR.

“I hope it goes off well. Publishing is not exactly the most robust industry to be jumping into feet first at the moment, but I’m hoping with kind of the niche aspect of it and keeping things small and focused that it’ll be a success.”

Freeman unveiled his micropublishing company on Saturday at the Astor Theatre in Liverpool. The stay-at-home Dad moved to the area a few years ago with his young family. 

“(We) moved to Liverpool in 2022 after my son was born. My wife got a job at the hospital … and this is home now. We’re putting down roots and are looking forward to a lot of years here.”

Freeman says he’ll be concentrating at first on publishing his own work through Letterswitch. 

His first book was on display on Saturday. Called A Little Grieving, he partnered with a pediatric crisis counsellor on the parent’s guide to helping your child through the grieving process. 

He also plans a kids’ picture book called One Veggie, a middle-grade chapter book called Molly Moss Runs for Office and a western novel called Crimson Shadow.

“It’ll be a slow rollout. I’m a stay-at-home dad and I’ll just try to get things rolling here in the next couple years. But once both kids are in school, I look to open up to other authors and just get a nice catalog of titles.”

Freeman grew up on a farm in Missouri. He had an eclectic career before moving to Nova Scotia with his wife, Dr. Alison Freeman, and their kids Molly and James.

“I was formerly a police officer in Missouri in the city of Springfield. I was also a minister for a few years, and sold shoes and grew up on a farm and just have a varied background that kind of informs and inflects different writing. Thus all the different type of books that are coming out.”

The name of the company comes from how he met his wife, when he was still on the farm in Missouri and she was at home in Nova Scotia.

“Essentially, back in 2000, I was on the family farm using ICQ, a messaging app, and this message pops up saying, ‘Do you want to catch up?’ It was obviously a misdirect, but I went to reject it and something told me to accept it, so I did. And it was somebody looking for somebody named Justin Freeman that they had met in Massachusetts. And instead of typing MA for Massachusetts, they typed MO.

“And we struck up more conversations, postcards from abroad, kept up over the years, and then 15 years later, wound up meeting finally, fell in love. I’m now married to Alison and we have two beautiful kids. And so the letter switch is an homage to that switched letter that started our entire story.”

For the launch event, Freeman teamed up with local artisans to feature some of their work, including local baker Gabby’s Bread Basket, who catered the event, and the Covey Candle Company, who created a couple of limited-edition scents. 

“And there’s also a piece that I commissioned by local artist Katie Kripp called Bound for Novel Passages. And it’s a sailing ship with books for the sails and it just represents a new journey for me and some other creatives I look to work with. I find myself surrounded by creative people here in Liverpool and I wanted to work with a few of them for the launch.”

People at the Letterswitch launch, like Jaqueline Duck of Liverpool, said it was exciting to have a publisher in the area.

“I think that’s amazing because there are writers here and they have to go and find a publisher. If we have one in Liverpool, it makes everybody’s life that much easier. And it’s good business.”

Freeman says that while he’ll be busy for the next few months on his own work, he’d still like to hear from people interested in his new venture.

You can find Letterswitch Publishing at letterswitchpublishing.com or email Freeman at hello@letterswitchpublishing.com.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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The Port Medway Readers Festival has announced its 2024 lineup.

The Port Medway Readers Festival has announced its lineup of guest authors for their 2024 season.

The annual literary event began in 2002 and allows literature lovers to meet writers in an intimate, friendly setting in the village of Port Medway.

Past festivals have featured Margaret Atwood, Tomson Highway, Jane Urquhart and many other renowned and best-selling writers, poets and playwrights.

This year, the festival will welcome Rosemary Sullivan, author of the memoir Where the World Was, on July 20; Michael Crummey, with his new novel The Adversary, on Aug. 17; Holly Hogan with her non-fiction work, Message in a Bottle: Ocean Dispatches from a Seabird Biologist, on Aug. 18, and Alexander MacLeod, reading from his new book of short stories, Animal Person, on Aug. 31.

Tickets go on sale Mon., May 13 at 6 p.m. You can find more information about the Port Medway Readers Festival on their Facebook page or at portmedwayreadersfestival.com.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Jane Doucet will be joining five other Nova Scotia authors at White Point Beach Resort this week for ReadTreat. (Niki Davison)

Some of Nova Scotia’s best-selling authors will be in Queens County this weekend for the second ReadTreat event at White Point Beach Resort.

The event starts on Thurs., April 4. It’s four days and three nights of reading books, talking about books and meeting the people who make those books happen.

Acclaimed authors Lesley Crewe, Carol Bruneau, Jane Doucet, Len Wagg, Lorri Neilsen Glenn and Ray Cronin will talk about their recent or new releases. They will be holding various workshops throughout the weekend to help people with their own writing. 

Best-selling author Len Wagg will also be giving a workshop on using photography to tell your own story. 

And there will be chances to talk to authors one-on-one at dinner or in a fireside chat. Each day also starts out with a yoga session for those who want a little extra relaxation.

RELATED: Complete schedule for ReadTreat: Chapter Two

Jane Doucet is the author of three books, two of which are set on the South Shore. Her latest is Lost and Found in Lunenburg.

She will be giving a Sunday workshop on humour writing called Seriously Funny Writing with Jane Doucet.

“It’s an extravaganza for readers who love Atlantic Canadian authors. It should be a lot of fun.

“I’m a humour writer. I have three novels. So I will be sharing some humour writing tips, talking about how I use different types of humour in my novels and some ways to incorporate it. I’ll have a short writing exercise for them as well.”

Organized by Nimbus Publishing and Vagrant Press, this is the first ReadTreat since before the pandemic. The first event happened in March 2020.

Terrilee Bulger is the general manager of Nimbus. She said the first one was such a success that people wanted to do it again. And they hope to make it an annual event.

“Everybody loved it. Everybody thought it was such a unique, inspiring event, they wanted to go back.

“What’s better than spending time at White Point for the weekend reading books and hanging out with authors? I think that just sounds like an amazing weekend away myself. If you like books, if you like reading, if you like writing, there’s nothing like this. It’s really quite amazing. I think it’s a perfect way to spend the weekend.”

Doucet says events like this are as much fun for the authors as they are for readers.

“We all write alone, in isolation in our homes for the most poart. So just to be in community with other authors who you admire yourself and you read yourself , we’re all fans of each other, is just a great time. So I’m really looking forward to it.

“Come with your love of reading. Come to relax and read and chat with authors, because we love to speak to readers and hear what they’re writing as well. … I love encouraging aspiring writers, … so that will be a lot of fun for me.”

There are still tickets available. People can take in the whole weekend, or choose a day pass. Contact White Point Beach Resort for more information.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to Tuesday’s news update below

The poster for Readtreat