Elaine Dewar on how Canada's best publisher, and its backlist fell into foreign hands
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Elaine Dewar\\xa0\\u2013 author, journalist, television story editor\\u2014has been propelled since childhood by insatiable curiosity and the joy of storytelling. Her journalism has been honored by nine National Magazine awards, including the prestigious President\\u2019s Medal, and the White Award. Her first book, Cloak of Green, delved into the dark side of environmental politics and became an underground classic.\\xa0Dewar has been called \\u201cone of Canada\\u2019s best muckrakers and \\u201cCanada\\u2019s Rachel Carson.\\u201d
We met at her house in Toronto to talk about her latest book, "The Handover:\\xa0How Bigwigs & Bureaucrats Transferred Canada\'s Best Publisher and the Best Part of Our Literary Heritage to a Foreign Multinational;" about the history of McClelland and Steward, Jack McClelland\'s love of Canada, Canadian authors and Canadian Literature, government funding of Canadian publishers, nationalist policy, Avi Bennett, the University of Toronto, Penguin RandomHouse, oligopsonies, deep throat, tax credits, improperly given grants, "Puts," $16 million worth of debts, cleverness, Robert Pritchard, diversity of thought, lies, money made re-issuing The Handmaid\'s Tale, Canada as the first post-national country, benefits of economic nationalism, \\xa0bureaucrats, how Canada works, Canadian stories, and solutions.\\xa0
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