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Three Barlow Authors Win Awards

It’s always a joy to report when one of our authors wins an award. This time, I’m very happy to announce that three of our authors have been recognized for their work. Jan Stewart, author of Hold on Tight: A Parent’s Journey Raising Children with Mental Illness, won gold in the Mom’s Choice Awards, honouring excellence in family-friendly media, products, and services. Dr Vivien Brown, author of The New Women’s Guide to Health Aging, has been named one of the top 25 Women of Influence for 2023 by Women of Influence, a leading global organization dedicated to promoting gender equity [...]

By |2023-04-14T17:11:58-04:00April 14, 2023|News|0 Comments

Soundwise: A new way to sell audiobooks

We’ve just published three new audiobooks for our authors to give them another way to reach readers. Each one is a big project: For one thing, you have to find the right voice, suitable for the topic and the tone of the book. So far, we’re used professional voice actors – or four of them in the case of The Collective Wisdom of High-Performing Women. But it doesn’t have to be that way. One of our authors, Douglas Cole, will be going into the studio later this spring to read his upcoming book, The Sales MBA. I’ll interview him after [...]

By |2022-05-05T15:09:48-04:00May 5, 2022|News|0 Comments

The Invisible Rules has been selected by the Globe and Mail as one of the best business books of the year.

The Invisible Rules has been selected by the Globe and Mail as one of the best business books of 2021. Columnist Harvey Schachter included the book in his annual list of best business books. It’s a real honour for authors Paul Harrietha and Holly Catalfamo. Kudos should also go to the incredible design, editorial, and production team supporting Barlow Books. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/careers/management/article-the-best-business-books-of-2021/

By |2021-12-16T16:42:44-05:00December 16, 2021|Business, New, News|Comments Off on The Invisible Rules has been selected by the Globe and Mail as one of the best business books of the year.

Big news for Donald K. Johnson!

In his book, Lessons Learned on Bay Street, Johnson wrote a powerful chapter on philanthropy. Now he's followed up with a historic donation to the Donald K. Johnson Eye Institute at Toronto Western Hospital—$50 million! That's truly a game changer, and both the hospital and Johnson are very happy about it: “It's way more fun to give away money than to make it," says Johnson. Read more in his book that Barlow Books published earlier this year. It's now on sale at Amazon and Indigo.

By |2022-03-31T12:20:22-04:00October 3, 2021|News|Comments Off on Big news for Donald K. Johnson!

Newspapering

OCT 15, 2021 When I was a journalist at The Montreal Gazette, Norman Webster was the editor, and in 1990, just after I came home to Montreal from three years in Quebec City, he kindly gave me the opportunity to work in Europe for five months. This was a historic time after the Berlin Wall was torn down. I will always be grateful to Norman for that incredible journalistic experience, and in the fall of 2020, it was a real pleasure for me to publish his book.

By |2021-06-11T08:32:00-04:00June 11, 2021|News|Comments Off on Newspapering

Sex, vaccines, and good advice from a doctor.

January 20, 2021 We were still in the middle of the pandemic, and most of us missed our friends, the restaurants, and the gym, not to mention to chance to fly south for a few days of sun. So we published this book, The New Woman's Guide to Healthy Aging, to give us all a little inspiration.

By |2021-06-11T08:29:04-04:00June 11, 2021|News|Comments Off on Sex, vaccines, and good advice from a doctor.

National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist!

JUNE 2, 2021 Big congrats to Barlow author Norman Bacal. His mystery novel, Ophelia, is a finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards. It's the second in the series that began with Odell's Fall. These mysteries are based on memorable Shakespeare characters and storylines. Great summer reading!

By |2021-06-11T07:52:59-04:00June 11, 2021|News|Comments Off on National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist!

Publisher Ken Whyte should stop complaining about libraries!

Are public libraries really to blame for the troubles of Canadian publishers? In a recent article in The Globe and Mail, Whyte argued that libraries are to blame because they're loaning books to readers for free, and thereby depriving publishers and authors of the money they deserve. Small publishers like Ken Whyte’s Sutherland House are obviously suffering right now, but Whyte shouldn’t make libraries the scapegoat for the industry’s longstanding financial troubles. First, Whyte is pointing in the wrong direction. Libraries aren’t responsible for hurting the business of publishers; the trouble clearly started with Amazon’s powerful move into the marketplace [...]

By |2020-09-30T12:25:56-04:00September 18, 2020|Business, News|Comments Off on Publisher Ken Whyte should stop complaining about libraries!

Barlow Books Signs Exclusive Distribution Agreement with Login Canada

Barlow Books and Login Canada have announced a new Canadian distribution agreement. Read more here. https://barlowbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/WebPage.pdf

By |2020-09-30T12:30:37-04:00September 18, 2020|Business, News|Comments Off on Barlow Books Signs Exclusive Distribution Agreement with Login Canada

Can game theory shed light on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

If you're interested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, here's a fresh analysis from author Michael Dan. He uses game theory to make his case that the best solution is mutual cooperation. Check out the review, just posted on Booklife, a subsidiary of Publishers Weekly. Peace activist Dan deftly uses mathematical game theory to examine the intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict, calling it “an unresolvable political paradox.” Dan simplifies mathematical models and philosophical concepts while using them to describe the history of the region and its peoples. Through the lens of game theory, he discusses how irrational and inefficient decision-making has persisted over time. [...]

By |2020-09-18T09:05:05-04:00September 18, 2020|Business, News|Comments Off on Can game theory shed light on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

Zoomed Out

Author Laura Beauparlant is a branding expert and an extrovert. So I was wondering how she was doing at home, juggling her branding business with home-schooling her two boys, age 8 and 12. “I’m working harder than I ever did before,” Laura said, “and I’m a bit Zoomed out.” Last weekend, for example, Laura was supposed to hold a regular brand camp for four clients. It’s an intense in-person two-day affair. Instead, she did five two-hour sessions on Zoom over a week. It worked out pretty well, and the camp was priced a little lower because it was virtual (with [...]

By |2020-05-01T12:02:36-04:00May 1, 2020|Business, News|Comments Off on Zoomed Out

Here’s what guru Don Tapscott does in the COVID disaster

For publishers and just about everyone else, the COVID-19 disaster is a classic snafu – situation normal all fucked up. Consider: Just after we went to print with a couple of spring books, our printer was ordered to close their printing plants in Quebec. Then the bookstores closed. Then Amazon de-prioritized delivering books. People are at locked down at home, and you’d think they have time to read, but most people are understandably obsessed with COVID-19, and the huge number of deaths from this terrible novel virus. All they seem to want these days is a mental break on TV, [...]

By |2020-09-18T08:56:35-04:00May 1, 2020|Business, News|Comments Off on Here’s what guru Don Tapscott does in the COVID disaster

When a book becomes an event

As a publisher and lifelong journalist, I always thought the book was the thing. Publish the book, with the requisite launch party and media attention to drive readers into stores to pick up a copy. But sometimes the book is just the beginning. This was the case with a book we published in the spring called The Collective Wisdom of High-Performing Women. Edited by Bay Street veteran Colleen Moorehead, it is, as the title suggests, a collection of stories from 70 senior female executives that illustrate the key characteristics of leadership today. The launch party, attended by some 400 powerful [...]

By |2019-12-20T15:03:28-05:00December 20, 2019|Business, News|Comments Off on When a book becomes an event

Bestselling writer and lawyers talks about the leap from fact to fiction

As a lawyer and a managing partner at a top law firm, Norman Bacal dealt in facts. He stuck to the facts after the law firm collapsed when he wrote his bestseller, Breakdown: The Rise and Fall of Heenan Blaikie. Then he switched to fiction and wrote his first murder mystery, Odell’s Fall. That was quite a leap for the sharp legal mind. What did he learn while writing his first novel? They say fact is stranger than fiction  In an early version of Odell’s Fall, Norm wrote a scene that replayed an incident from his legal career. The editor [...]

By |2019-12-20T15:03:10-05:00September 18, 2019|News|Comments Off on Bestselling writer and lawyers talks about the leap from fact to fiction

NBBAward winner Bob Brehl on interviewing Ted Rogers and his right hand man, Phil Lind

Ted Rogers, the late founder of the Rogers communications empire, and Phil Lind, his right hand man, have a few things in common in the book department. Both men wrote memoirs. Both were finalists in the National Business Book Award competition. (Right Hand Man, published by Barlow Books, has been nominated for the prestigious award this year.) And both wrote their memoirs “with” Robert Brehl. The “with” means Bob worked very closely with the two telecom executives to write their memoirs. To succeed, as he did both times, he had many deep conversations with both men. I wondered what it [...]

By |2019-05-13T12:27:21-04:00May 13, 2019|News|Comments Off on NBBAward winner Bob Brehl on interviewing Ted Rogers and his right hand man, Phil Lind

Right Hand Man Finalist for National Business Book Award

I'm so pleased to share the news that Right Hand Man, by Phil Lind with Robert Brehl, is a finalist for the prestigious National Business Book Award. As long-time second-in-command to Canadian entrepreneur Ted Rogers, Lind shares his account of the events and people that shaped Rogers' cable and telecom company – and an entire sector. He brings a uniquely personal perspective to the Rogers story. Lind paints a vibrant portrait of a driven visionary with an appetite for risk and aggressive deal-making, who was adept at navigating and framing the regulatory and cultural policy environment in which the company had [...]

By |2019-05-07T17:45:00-04:00May 7, 2019|News|Comments Off on Right Hand Man Finalist for National Business Book Award

Top Five Branding Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Are you good at what you do? Of course you are, but that’s not enough to be successful. You need to think deeply about your brand, how you show up in the world. Everything you do, from the way you answer the phone to how you dress for meetings and handle complaints, should reflect you and your business. It sounds obvious, but all too often business people, especially those of us running small businesses, forget the branding mantra. Laura Beauparlant, a branding expert and author of a new book, Brand Chemistry, tells us what the five top mistakes are, and [...]

By |2019-04-03T16:24:29-04:00April 3, 2019|News|Comments Off on Top Five Branding Mistakes and How to Fix Them

The Trouble with Design Thinking

Why do so many organizations waste money on design thinking? Yes, it’s a popular topic in the business world, but many millions are squandered on cool new ideas that don’t fit the business. How can this happen? This week, at the Rotman School of Management in Toronto, I interviewed Heather Fraser, an innovator, strategist, and educator in business design. She has a new Design Works book out, and everyone in the packed room was eager to hear the latest from one of the big thinkers in this field. Heather’s point: You’ve got to put business discipline back into design. If [...]

By |2019-02-13T17:01:53-05:00February 13, 2019|News|Comments Off on The Trouble with Design Thinking

The Ultimate Right Hand Man

What’s it like to be the power behind the throne, especially when the occupant of the throne is a creative genius? You might wonder in today’s wild political world, when U.S. President Donald Trump routinely surprises and even shocks his closest advisors when they wake up every morning to read his latest tweets. It’s a big issue in the artistic world. Think about how George Martin guided the genius of the Beatles, or how Francis Ford Coppola captured the brilliance of Brando in his epic movie, Apocalypse Now. The right hand man is hugely important in the business world. Who [...]

By |2018-12-05T14:25:00-05:00December 5, 2018|News|Comments Off on The Ultimate Right Hand Man

I Shall Not Hate

At a time when the world is increasingly divided, it was a true honour to meet Izzeldin Abuelaish, the doctor from Gaza who lost three daughters when his apartment was shelled a decade ago by Israeli forces. Even then he still refused to hate. Instead he continued to advocate for peace, and his book, I Shall Not Hate, became an international bestseller. Abuelaish was at the launch of Garment of Destiny, a new book by Dr. Abdallah Daar, a Tanzanian surgeon who launched his career in global health after he lost his sister to malaria, an entirely preventable death. The [...]

By |2018-10-19T09:17:39-04:00October 19, 2018|News|Comments Off on I Shall Not Hate

How a great editor can turn your book into a prize winner

A couple of years ago, I got a call from a former senior banking executive and adviser, Patricia Meredith. She had some deep and startling thoughts about the state of Canadian banks, and she needed an editor to help her write for the general business reader. I partnered her with Bernard Simon, a veteran editor who has worked at the Financial Times, The New York Times, The Economist, and U.S. News & World Report. He helped Patricia turn her book Stumbling Giants into a winner. Earlier this year, Patricia and her co-writer James L. Darroch won the $50,000.00 Donner prize for best Canadian book about public [...]

By |2018-09-29T15:06:26-04:00September 29, 2018|News|Comments Off on How a great editor can turn your book into a prize winner

New Barlow Book on the Lost Golf Courses of Toronto will be Published in Spring 2019

Do you live on one of Toronto’s lost golf courses? If you live in Toronto, you might be residing on a golf course that was long ago paved over to make way for residential development. It turns out that Toronto was physically shaped by golf courses that were formed back in the 19th century. The creators of the golf courses were the city’s movers and shakers who used the game of golf to lure people from downtown out to the green pastures that were molded into golf courses. They got there by rail, the only quick mode of land transport at [...]

By |2018-06-04T11:36:45-04:00June 4, 2018|News|Comments Off on New Barlow Book on the Lost Golf Courses of Toronto will be Published in Spring 2019

Big Award for The Greenbelt

I’m delighted to announce that The Greenbelt has won a silver medal at an important American publishing competition. Our Benjamin Franklin Award was handed out last weekend at the annual Independent Book Publishers Association conference in Austin, Texas. Congratulations to author Burkhard Mausberg, the former CEO of Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation, which has been working very effectively to protect vital farmland and natural systems at risk of being paved over for suburban sprawl. Kudos to the amazing design and production team who turned Burkhard’s thoughtful manuscript into a splendid coffee table book about Ontario’s huge Greenbelt, which is an [...]

By |2018-04-16T11:49:29-04:00April 12, 2018|News|Comments Off on Big Award for The Greenbelt

The Greenbelt is an IBPA Ben Franklin Award finalist

Great news! The Greenbelt is a finalist in a big U.S. competition held by the IBPA — the Independent Book Publishers Association. Our book made it to the final circle of 3 in a competition that typically attracts 100 entries for each category. The winner of the IBPA Ben Franklin Award will be announced on April 6, 2018.

By |2018-03-24T10:18:02-04:00March 24, 2018|News|Comments Off on The Greenbelt is an IBPA Ben Franklin Award finalist

Barlow Authors Give Talks About Their Books

It’s a big week for some of our Barlow authors. They’re giving talks about their books to very important audiences in Toronto and Los Angeles. Norman Bacal is speaking about his book, Breakdown: The Inside Story of the Rise and Fall of Heenan Blaikie, to a high-powered business group at the storied Toronto Club. You can be sure that the financiers down there will be eager to hear how a great law firm that once employed two prime ministers could fail in such as explosive manner. Dr. Antoine Hakim, the Gairdner award-winning neurologist who wrote Save Your Mind: Seven Rules [...]

By |2018-01-28T16:32:36-05:00January 26, 2018|News, Uncategorised|Comments Off on Barlow Authors Give Talks About Their Books

Barlow Bestsellers of 2017

Barlow Books had a stellar year for bestselling books in 2017. Our books made it onto several bestselling lists, from amazon to the prestigious Globe and Mail bestseller list. Breakdown: The Inside Story of the Rise and Fall of Heenan Blaikie was a big winner in 2017. Author Norman Bacal made it onto the Globe and Mail bestseller list, and his book has been a long-term resident on the amazon bestseller list in his categories. At one point, it was one of the top 20 books sold in Canada on amazon. A Woman’s Guide to Healthy Aging, by Dr. Vivien [...]

By |2018-01-10T16:42:48-05:00January 10, 2018|News|Comments Off on Barlow Bestsellers of 2017

The Hidden Beauty of Great Book Design

For the last few years, I’ve been walking the Bruce Trail with my sister Martha, my partner David, and all kinds of friends. We started in Queenston, ON, at the beginning of the 885-kilometre trail and hope to reach Tobermory at some point in our lifetimes. Walking through the hidden beauty of Ontario is a beautiful thing to do, especially in the spring. Already a fan of the Greenbelt, I was delighted when Burkhard Mausberg, CEO of Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation, approached Barlow with his idea. He had written a book: the story of the Greenbelt, which includes the [...]

By |2017-05-15T10:57:26-04:00April 25, 2017|News|Comments Off on The Hidden Beauty of Great Book Design