Toronto indie press Coach House Books is launching a new series of short nonfiction books on popular culture in both digital and print. Exploded Views will be curated and edited by Toronto writer and former Coach House managing editor Jason McBride with the first two books slated to be published in August.
Coach House is promoting the series as books that are intended “to occupy that space between a magazine essay and an exhaustive tome -- not a 45 or an LP, but maybe an EP” and says they will emphasize creative nonfiction and “lyrical journalism.”
Editorial director Alana Wilcox says that she and McBride worked on shaping the series together. “We thought it would be nice to have something a little bit more sustained than a magazine piece but less hefty than a big fat book,” she told PW. “It’s not a huge commitment. You might not want to read 600 pages about Teenage Head, but you might want to read 110 pages about Teenage Head.”
Wilcox says the e-books will be available on all platforms. Print runs and marketing for the print books, which will be priced at C$13.95, will be tailored to the book’s subject. Marketing for one of the first books, Sarah Liss’s Army of Lovers: A Community History of Will Munro, will be focused on Toronto where the late artist lived and worked. While marketing for Jeet Heer’s 2013 title In Love with Art: Francoise Mouly's Adventures in comics with art spiegelman will be broader, seeking out graphic novel fans.
The new books will be included in Coach House’s ongoing promotion that offers a free e-book to any buyer of the print version that contacts the house to request a digital copy.
Other titles planned include The Gods of the Hammer: The Teenage Head Story by Toronto journalist Geoff Pevere and The Trouble with Brunch: Class, Fashion and the Pursuit of Leisure by Toronto author and Spacing magazine co-owner Shawn Micallef.
