Welcome to a new instalment of our 5 questions with series. Today, we have the pleasure of featuring Red Barn Books, a micro-press based in Alberta.
Red Barn Books' story started in 2019 when former news reporter and editor Ayesha Clough was looking for books about horses and cowboys for her son, and couldn’t find many. Since then, Red Barn Books has focused on sharing Alberta’s inspirational stories not just for kids, but for adults too.
Ayesha, owner/operator of Red Barn Books answered our bookseller questionnaire:
1. Tell us about Red Barn Books. Where are you located and what kinds of books do you publish?
Red Barn Books is a micro-press based in Carstairs, Alberta, about an hour north of Calgary. We publish books about horses, cowboys, and western heritage — stories that leave a hoofprint on readers’ hearts. I work in the loft of an eccentric little shed house on a small acreage with two horses, a dog, my husband, and son.
2. What’s the single best thing you’ve done to promote your books to readers?
That’s a hard question! We’ve been on TV, radio, and national and community papers. We attend artisan markets. We’ve run two successful Kickstarters. We’ve Zoomed with 5,000 school students. We’ve had shout-outs on Twitter from the Alberta premier, Calgary mayor, and even letters of thanks from Buckingham Palace! So we’re quite well known within our niche, which is the education and ranching community in Alberta.
If I had to choose one thing, it’s probably making an animated edition of our book, Howdy, I’m John Ware. Thanks to a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, we were able to offer the animation for free on the Bibliovideo platform. The video has almost 7,500 views — by far the most-viewed story on the platform. We’ve heard that teachers as far away as Toronto screened Howdy, I’m John Ware in their classrooms during Black History Month.
Hugh Rookwood and Ayesha Clough photographed by Meghan Unger Photography
3. Describe the culture you’d like to foster among your colleagues and your readers?
We want kids to grow up with a strong Canadian identity, with pride in our western heritage, and with a deep connection to our land, history, and culture. We want to make cowboys cool again, and celebrate the old west from a modern standpoint. And we want to have fun, to help each other succeed, and to put something beautiful, lasting, and memorable into the world.
4. What topics would you like to see more often in the books you publish?
Diversity! Maybe it’s because I’m a first-generation immigrant, but I love learning about the diverse history right here where I live. Take our Howdy Books, for example. That’s a children’s biography series about the people who shaped our province and made Alberta what it is today.
We kicked off with Howdy, I’m John Ware about the legendary Black cowboy and pioneer rancher. The second book (coming out soon) is Howdy, I’m Flores LaDue about the world champion trick roper and co-founder of the Calgary Stampede who has always been overshadowed by her husband. Next up will be Howdy, I’m Harnam Singh Hari about Calgary’s first Sikh immigrant and a self-made millionaire. And, if we can pull it off, Howdy, I’m Tom Three Persons about the Kainai (Blood Tribe) rancher and champion bronc rider.
You don’t have to look very hard to find these amazing stories. But we need to do a better job of telling them, so that children in western Canada, and indeed across the country, grow up knowing these amazing role models.
Interior of Howdy I’m John Ware
5. What’s next for Red Barn Books?
Besides western-themed books, I have a wish list of stories about immigrant communities and personalities in Western Canada that I’d love to make kids’ books about. And I’d love to do more animations since that really connects with the YouTube generation. Of course, it will all come down to resources. I had no idea how tough it would be to make it in the publishing world, and I thank my lucky stars for support from family, our Red Barn community, and granting agencies like the Canada Council and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
BONUS: What do you wish you had known about publishing when you were starting out?
I wish I’d known how wonderful and supportive the publishing community is. I used to think literary types were quite snobbish and elitist. But everyone I’ve encountered through the Book Publishers Association of Alberta (BPAA) and the Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP) have been so helpful and encouraging. As a rookie publisher, I’m feeling the love!
What did BookNet read in 2024? We’re sharing some tidbits of data about our team’s reading habits this year.