2021-04-28

Community mourns passing of Lunenburg publisher

The Nova Scotia literary community is mourning the death of the co-founder, publisher and editor of Lunenburg's Nevermore Press, Ernest (Ernie) Hadley.

The publishing company of fiction and creative non-fiction, which Hadley and his wife, Annie Mullins, founded just a few years ago, announced his "sudden passing" with "great sadness" on social media April 12.

"We ask for your patience and understanding for the next little bit," the short announcement concluded.

The reason for Hadley's death is not being made public.

"It's a big loss. It was quite shocking," commented Andi Bulman, Nevermore's sales and marketing manager.

She herself was only hired about three weeks before Hadley passed. Nonetheless, she said she had "a lot of wonderful things to say about him.

"He was patient and kind, sort of inspiring... He was in it to get those authors out into the world. He wasn't, it wasn't a money-making venture for Ernie."

Starting in 2016, the company, which is based in the historical Lunenburg Academy building, has published 11 books so far, "all beautiful," reported Bulman.

One of these, The Dome Chronicles, by Garry Leeson, has been nominated for an Atlantic Book Award.

A saying by Edgar Allan Poe was the mantra of the company: "They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who only dream by night."

The saying also described the journey that Hadley and Mullins took to move to Nova Scotia from the eastern seaboard of the United States.

"We've been trying to move here for 30 years," Hadley told LighthouseNOW in an interview in 2018. "We finally did under the Nova Scotia's Entrepreneur Stream program."

Under the entrepreneurship stream an applicant must start off buying an existing business and must actively participate in the day-to-day management of the business and invest a certain amount of money into the venture.

Hadley and Mullins are both lawyers by trade. Mullins, who is the assistant editor, has worked in the summer writing and visual arts programs at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Maine.

Hadley had worked as a labour lawyer representing federal workers in employment discrimination cases and whistle blower cases. He helped produce more than 30 annual edition of a guide on the subject; publishing was something that he knew. He had also worked as a journalist.

Hadley had explained to LighthouseNOW that, as new publisher, "we're looking for stories that explore and celebrate the vast cultural and ethnic diversity of Nova Scotia and the Atlantic provinces; stories that serve as both a window and a mirror for our readers – a window to see into another world and a mirror for our readers – a window to see into another worlds, and a mirror for those underrepresented in literature."

Hadley elaborated: "One of the things we're attracted to is the opportunity for previous unpublished work, not that there aren't other publishing companies in Nova Scotia or in Canada, but writing's a hard market to break into. The more opportunities there are for writers the better."

Thirty-seven comments followed the announcement of Hadley's passing on Nevermore's Facebook page.

Writer James Case said the news was "heartbreaking."

"Ernie was such a fine man and such a kind soul."

R.E. (Ron) Stansfield, whose first book, Twenty-One Ways to Die in Saskatchewan, was published by Nevermore Press, was "devastated."

"He will be sadly missed by all who knew him. His support for the Nova Scotia literary community was unmatched and we are all better writers and better people by knowing him. This will be his lasting legacy," said Stansfield.