Chippewas of Rama First Nation educator and author takes on new role at publishing company

By Rick Garrick

TORONTO — Chippewas of Rama First Nation educator and author Nancy Cooper is looking forward to taking on her new role as Indigenous editor at Annick Press, beginning Sept. 19.

“I am a published author myself, I have three children’s books published and I’ve had a lifelong love of books and writing,” Cooper says. “I have had the opportunity to help people along the way who have watched my journey and help them find publishers or work on their pitches or work on their manuscript or look for agents. So being able to help other Indigenous authors now in an actual professional capacity is quite exciting.”

Cooper says the publishing process for new authors is a “real learning curve” with all of the editing that needs to be done and all of the different departments within publishing companies that are involved in the process.

“There’s the design department, you’ve got to make sure there’s not too many words on a page, that the illustrations match what the descriptions are in the words, finding the perfect illustrator,” Cooper says. “There’s all kinds of things that have to happen for a book to come out into the world.”

Cooper says books often take at least two years to go through the publishing process.

“For example, the book that I’m publishing right now, I’ve already written it but it’s not going to be out into the world until 2026,” Cooper says. “So it takes a long time.”

Cooper says she feels like she always was a writer, noting that she was first published when she was 13-years-old in the Timmins Daily Press.

“It was a poem that I’d written about Terry Fox,” Cooper says, noting that she grew up in Timmins. “That was a big thrill to see my work published in the paper.”

Cooper says she has since written stories about Indigenous children, Indigenous stories, and Indigenous myths, legends, and teachings for magazines such as OWL, Chirp, and Chickadee.

“It’s really important for me to know that our kids are seeing themselves reflected in the pages of those magazines because when I was growing up I didn’t ever see that,” Cooper says.

Cooper says she is excited about working with the team at Annick Press in her new role.

“I am so excited to begin working with the amazing people at Annick,” Cooper says. “I look forward to working with Indigenous creators who want to share their ideas, dreams, and stories with the world.”

Cooper says she will now be able to see how books are published from the publisher’s perspective.

“This is kind of me being able to look behind the curtain of what happens as a book is made because I’ve always looked at it from the author’s side,” Cooper says. “Now, I’m going to be looking at it from the editor’s side, so it’s exciting.”

Cooper says her experience as a writer will enable her to coach writers.

“They might have a really great idea, but getting it from an idea place to an actual manuscript place is a journey,” Cooper says.

Rick Wilks, co-publisher at Annick Press, says they are thrilled to welcome Cooper to Annick.

“We share a commitment to creative and innovative storytelling that brings readers joy and stimulation,” Wilks says. “With her background as an educator and writer, and her knowledge of appropriate cultural approaches to community development and inclusion, we look forward to the stories she will develop in conjunction with communities and writers across the country.”

Agents and creators who wish to work with Cooper can contact her at: nancyc@annickpress.com.