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Storytelling Clubs Build Local Capacity and Publish Globally
Since the spring and summer, the Storytelling Clubs have been hard at work across two creative hubs — the Arts Incubator Winnipeg Hub and the Art Borups Corners Land Lab Program. What began as a capacity-building initiative quickly grew into a thriving community of writers, storytellers, and creators learning the full publishing lifecycle from the ground up.
Since spring and through the summer, artists and community members from across the regions explored every stage of book creation — from conceptualizing and ideation to drafting, editing, and publishing. “We wanted to make sure everyone not only wrote stories but understood how publishing really works,” said Jamie Bell. “This wasn’t just about creativity — it was about empowerment through knowledge.”
The clubs took on the technical side of publishing too. We got our own ISBN accounts, learned how to assign ISBNs, and how to do Digital Legal Deposit submissions. These are professional skills that mark a milestone in becoming independent publishers. In September and October, the team published 30 books and short stories and made them available to more than 14 countries.
They also got into the visual and digital dimensions of bookmaking. Members designed their own covers, learned basic layout and design principles, and even built a custom EPUB application capable of assembling their stories and collections into a fully compliant EPUB 3 format.
“The goal was to introduce stories and publishing,” explained Tony Eetak. “Once we realized they could do it ourselves … from design, formatting, metadata, even distribution we could see our confidence explode.”
By the end of the season, participants had published their works across global bookstore networks, reaching audiences in Canada, the United States, and beyond. Their projects stand as a testament to what community-based learning and shared creativity can achieve.
“It’s incredible to think we started with ideas around a table in the spring,” said Eva Suluk. “Now our books are out there in the world as real, published works anyone can read. It feels amazing.”
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