Will McClelland & Stewart Publish This Blog? The New Canadian Blog Series

This morning I got a call from Mary at McClelland & Stewart.

"Are you David Adler?"

"Yes."

"The David Adler who writes the Canadianist blog?"

"It's more of an online magazi--"

"We want to publish it."

"Really!" I was shocked.

"Do you write anything else? Fiction? Stuff like that."

"I write fiction. Academic criticism. Why?"

"We're starting a new series: The New Canadian Blog. I know, it sounds weird. Blog is singular, right. We're working on a name. Basically, it's a collection of Canadian blog posts--posts on Canadian literature. And we found your site. We love it. Everyone here reads it. I mean, you know Norman Levine? Well, he's dead now. But you knew Norman Levine. And all those things he said about Peggy...You're just about probably the funniest Canadian critic in Southern Ontario."

"Right. That's very kind of you. Thank you."

"And I remember that episode of Friends with David Chariandy. He was so tall!"

"May I ask how you found the site?"

"Oh, Annabel Lyon called. She said that we had to read it. Do you know her? She's really nice."

"We've never met."

"She said that you're a Jew. Is that true? Really? Do you know Irving Layton?"

"Irving Layton's dead."

"Oh, right. You probably just sat on him. For shiva, right."

"Look, I love the idea of working with M & S, but I'm not sure that you understand what this site's really about."

"Sure! Sure we do. You're in it. You're right in it."

"But it's not that simple."

"Can we see some of your fiction? Can you send it over? Douglas Gibson just retired, so we're finally looking to get away from that posthumous stuff."

"Oh? Whom did you publish posthumously?"

"Oh. Ha! Graeme Gibson. But don't say anything, he doesn't know yet."

So I sent them a couple things. Will it go well? If they can get past the part where Neil Bissoondath cuts down his jean shorts, making the world's only Speedo with a button-down crotch, I think this blog's going hardcover.