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Gordon Montador

Gordon Montador (1950 - 1991) was a Canadian book editor and publishing executive.[1] He was most noted as executive director of the Canadian Book Information Centre, a marketing and public relations agency which sought to publicize and promote Canadian literature.[2]

Originally from Prince Rupert, British Columbia,[1] he was educated at Carleton University before joining Macmillan of Canada as a sales representative.[1] Openly gay, he was a prominent early activist as a host of Gay News and Views, one of Canada's first LGBT-oriented television series,[3] and as an organizer of Gay Days, one of the precursors to the contemporary Pride Toronto.[1] He established his reputation as an editor when the first book he ever edited, Oonah McFee's novel Sandbars, won the Books in Canada First Novel Award.[4]

He subsequently spent some time in Los Angeles in 1979 and 1980, attempting to write a novel and helping his friends Norman Laurila and Richard Labonté to set up the city's LGBT bookstore A Different Light, but had returned to Canada as director of the Canadian Book Information Centre by 1983.[1] In 1987, he acquired shares in the publishing firm Summerhill Press, a publisher of non-fiction titles.[5] The company's most successful title, Sherman Hines's photography book Extraordinary Light: A Vision of Canada, enabled the company to announce in 1989 that it would try to expand its catalogue of books for the coming year.[6]

Montador became gravely ill with AIDS in 1991, threatening the financial viability of Summerhill Press.[7] He died on May 27, 1991,[1] and by August Summerhill Press had been acquired by the Newfoundland-based firm Breakwater Press.[8] In September, a group of his friends collaborated with the Writers' Trust of Canada to create the Gordon Montador Award, a literary award honouring non-fiction writing, in his memory.[9] The award was presented until 1999, following which it was superseded by a reorganization of the Writers Trust awards program.

  1. ^ a b c d e f Stephen Smith, "Gordon Montador: Publisher headed Summerhill". The Globe and Mail, May 28, 1991.
  2. ^ Lucinda Chodan, "The Oscars, they're not: But Canada's literary awards are gaining prestige". Montreal Gazette, January 26, 1985.
  3. ^ "Gay news re-scheduled after TV viewers complain". Toronto Star, September 23, 1977.
  4. ^ Ruth Ellen Ruston, "Not Your Average Tortured Writer". The Canadian, July 2, 1977.
  5. ^ Beverley Slopen, "Justice Delayed". Toronto Star, November 8, 1987.
  6. ^ Beverly Slopen, "Small Press Success". Toronto Star, May 14, 1989.
  7. ^ Val Ross, "Bank calls in loan to Summerhill Press: Ontario Development Corporation on the hook for $400,000". The Globe and Mail, April 10, 1991.
  8. ^ Val Ross, "Breath of life for Ontario's Summerhill Press". The Globe and Mail, August 23, 1991.
  9. ^ "Award announced". The Globe and Mail, September 18, 1991.

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