Staff and Board Members

The Literary Press Group has a small and dedicated staff, including:

Lauren Perruzza, Executive Director

After a long term as the LPG's Engagement Manager, Lauren Perruzza now serves as the organization's Executive Director. Her decade-plus years in publishing has taken her to Raincoast Book Distribution, Random House of Canada, and Owlkids Books, and she's also worked outside of the industry in various sales and marketing roles. She holds a Masters of Publishing from Simon Fraser University.

When she's not working with our members or dividing her time between book clubs, Lauren navigates her relationship with the family's ornery tabby cat, Finnegan, and prepares for the coziest kind of apocalypse by knitting, volunteer beekeeping, and attempting to garden.

Barb Phillips, Business Manager

Barb Phillips became the Business Manger for the Literary Press Group in 2011. Her job involves all things financial, but she keeps her fingers in all the LPG pots. She decided to do a career change shortly after moving to Toronto, and attended the inaugural year at Humber's Creative Book Publishing program. After that, Barb worked at McClelland & Stewart for four years.

When not at work, Barb enjoys reading all the beautiful books that come into her office daily, and looks forward to summers on the dock with a pile of LPG books at hand. She also belongs to a longstanding book club – 15 years and counting!

Mandy Bayrami, Marketing Manager

Mandy Bayrami is the marketing manager at the LPG. She previously worked at the Association of Canadian Publishers and Playwrights Canada Press, both of which solidified her enthusiasm for the literary community, as well as various editorial and marketing roles outside of the industry. 

In her spare time, Mandy enjoys reading (obviously), vintage shopping, and exploring new places to eat.

Tan Light, Sales Manager

Tan Light joined the LPG as Sales Manager in early 2013 after 5 years with Random House of Canada. In this role, Tan manages all aspects of the LPG's Sales Force Project, which includes working closely with the Canadian Manda Group, who represent over 30 of the LPG's member publishers, in order to develop seasonal catalogues and sales conference events. Additionally, Tan contributes content to the LPG's digital project, AllLitUp.ca.

When not at work, Tan sits on the board of advisors for Found Press and co-chairs the CanPBA Executive Committee, the peer-education & industry event gurus behind BookCampTO, The Mentor Mash and Poetry Karaoke.

Colleen Cade, Engagement Manager

Colleen Cade is the Engagement Manager at the LPG. With a background in content marketing, she understands how thoughtful communication builds meaningful connections. Before joining the LPG, she worked with a wide variety of businesses to develop strategies that elevated their brands and voices. Colleen holds a Publishing Certificate from Toronto Metropolitan University where she cultivated her passion for supporting Canadian literature and the people who bring it to life.

When not at work, Colleen can be found starting a new craft (collages are her specialty), scouring secondhand stores for overlooked vintage, or exploring the outdoors searching for the next beautiful place to read.

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Providing oversight, guidance, and support is our volunteer Board of Directors, including:

Karen Green, Anvil Press (Chair)

Bio to come.

Aimée Dunn, Palimpsest Press (Vice-Chair)

Aimée Dunn (she/her) is the owner and publisher of Palimpsest Press, an award-winning independent literary press located in Windsor Ontario. Aimée has a honours degree in English Literature and Language from the University of Windsor and a graduate certificate in Publishing from Toronto Metropolitan University. She is the fiction editor at Palimpsest Press, with over 15 years of editing experience. She is currently serves on boards for the Literary Press Group of Canada, Literary Arts Windsor, and Franco-Sol Guarderie. She lives in Windsor with her husband and two children.

Norm Nehmetallah, Invisible Publishing (Past Chair)

Norm Nehmetallah is the publisher of Invisible Publishing. He was born into a large Arab Canadian family and grew up in Windsor, Ontario. He has performed various roles in Canadian publishing—some more dignified than others—at Penguin Random House Canada, Coach House Books, and Biblioasis.

Kelsey Attard, Freehand Books (Treasurer)

Kelsey Attard is the managing editor of Freehand Books, a literary publisher in Calgary. She has a master of publishing degree from Simon Fraser University, and she has worked for more than a decade in Alberta’s writing and publishing industry. She also sits on the board of the Book Publishers Association of Alberta.

Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, Kegedonce Press (Member-at-Large)

Bio to come.

Irene Bindi, ARP Books (Member-at-Large)

Bio to come.

Marc Côté, Cormorant Books (Member-at-Large)

Marc Côté is the president and publisher of Cormorant Books. He has worked in various capacities in the publishing industry and related granting bodies, including as Senior Officer, responsible for prizes at The Canada Council for the Arts, and Marketing Manager at Stoddart Publishing.

He became publisher of Cormorant in January 2001 and since that time has overseen the development of the list to include serious non-fiction, including the national bestseller, Claws of the Panda, and an imprint of books for young readers, DCB, under which the much-awarded and national bestseller, The Marrow Thieves, was published.

He has served the industry in various ways, including as president of The Word On The Street, and helping to found The Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction, later known as the RBC Taylor Prize.

Mel Marginet, Great Plains Press (Member-at-Large)

Mel Marginet is the publisher of Great Plains Press. Mel is a lover of stories and how they create compassion and understanding between people from all over the world. Mel has an honours arts degree and is a theatre creator, professional actor and sustainable transportation advocate. She fell into publishing when she took a maternity leave Managing Editor position, and has never left! She’s served as president of the Association of Manitoba Book Publishers and recently joined the board for the Literary Press Group.

Robert Morgan, Bookland Press (Member-at-Large)

Bio to come.

Rebecca Rose, Breakwater Books (Member-at-Large)

Rebecca Rose was born and raised in St. John’s and is the President/Publisher of Breakwater Books, Newfoundland’s oldest publishing house. Having grown up inside the publishing industry, she purchased Jesperson Press in 2002 and purchased Breakwater in 2009. Under her guidance, Breakwater has gradually rebranded to focus almost exclusively on the literary trade market.

In May of 2017, Breakwater acquired Creative Book Publishing to become the island’s foremost literary publisher. Rebecca has served as the President of the Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association, a board member of the Association of Canadian Publishers, a board member of LitDistCo, and is currently a board member of the Literary Press Group of Canada. In 2013, she co-founded Ochre Fest – a cultural festival celebrating the unique literature, music, art, and food of Newfoundland and Labrador - which takes place every June in a revitalized church in Ochre Pit Cove, NL.

Sasha Tate-Howarth, Coach House Books (Member-at-Large)

Bio to come.