Welcome back to author and member of both Crime Writers of Canada and Sisters In Crime,
Lorna Poplak!
Lorna
Poplak is a Toronto-based writer, editor, and researcher drawn to the dark side
of Canadian history. With a background in law, literature, information
technology, and technical communications, Lorna has written medical and
scientific articles, travel and historical pieces, children’s literature, blog
posts, and a radio play. She is a member of Crime Writers of Canada and Sisters
in Crime. Her two nonfiction books, both published by Dundurn Press, are Drop Dead: A Horrible History of
Hanging in Canada (July 2017), and The
Don: The Story of Toronto’s Infamous Jail (January 2021). The Don was shortlisted
for the Ontario Legislature’s 2021 Speaker’s Book Award.
Website/Blog: http://www.lornapoplak.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LornaPoplakAuthor
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lornapoplak/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lornapoplak/
Dundurn: https://www.dundurn.com/authors/Lorna-Poplak
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15421614.Lorna_Poplak
You’ve had two nonfiction books published: one before and the other one during the pandemic. Can you compare and contrast the two experiences?
My
first book was Drop Dead: A Horrible History of Hanging in Canada,
published by Dundurn Press in July 2017. The second one, The Don: The Story
of Toronto’s Infamous Jail, also a Dundurn book, came out on January 26,
2021. Exactly one year and four days ago!
Let’s
start with the similarities.
Fortunately, when it came to the twin processes of research and writing, nothing much changed. Research-wise, I did most of the “heavy lifting” for The Don in 2019. So, the sources I needed to consult, such as books, journal articles, government documents, and archival newspapers were all readily available. Libraries and archives were open, and I even went to Ottawa on several occasions to consult the case files at Library and Archives Canada, as I had done three years earlier with Drop Dead. Interviews were a bit trickier. I managed to conduct quite a few in-person interviews pre-pandemic. But I was still finishing off the book during the first wave in 2020, and I then had to move to telephonic or email interviews. The actual writing process was virtually the same with both books. I’m not one of those writers who likes working in a coffee shop or some other public place, which would have been out of bounds during the extended lockdowns. I sit at my computer with all my files easily accessible and the internet just a click away whenever I need to verify my facts.
Promoting
and marketing the two books was quite different. Take my book launches, for
example. The launch for Drop Dead took place at Ben McNally’s erstwhile
book store, a magical space on Bay Street in Toronto. Around 90 people,
including a scattering of out-of-towners, braved a huge summer storm to attend.
Drinks and snacks were on offer; I spoke briefly; mingled with the attendees;
and signed copies of my book. In short, a great vibe, but a very traditional format.
With The Don, I had fantasized about having the launch at Toronto’s
historic Don Jail, which forms the focus of my book. Well, in early 2021 that
was, sadly, no longer an option. It was Zoom or nothing. Fortunately, I have two
associates, Cathy Landolt and Tuhin Giri, who helped me choreograph the event.
Working within a one-hour time frame, we started with a short virtual tour of
the Don Jail from its inception to its present-day repurposing as the administration
building of Bridgepoint Active Health. We had two speakers, Dundurn’s Kathryn
Lane and Bridgepoint’s former president and CEO, Marian Walsh. Actor and
spoken-word poet Kelsi James recited a very moving land acknowledgement. The
evening ended with a Q&A between me and my son Richard, who emceed the
event from his home base in South Africa. There were well over 120 guests, some
of them joining us from afar. The event was recorded, and the spin-off was that
each of the individual segments could then be reused for promotional purposes
on my website and social media.
What has been your take-away from the past couple of years?
What
I’ve learned from having to plot my writer’s course through the choppy waters
of a global pandemic is that you need to be as creative and flexible as
possible, and keep in touch with your community. But being a writer is a very
solitary occupation, and I do yearn for the opportunity, once again, to
interact with people face-to-face — and, once again, to freely visit libraries
and archives for my research. May all of this come about sooner rather than
later!
To Buy Lorna's Books:
