Maureen Phillips went to a Broadside open house in the early 80s with only the vaguest intentions. That afternoon eventually led to a position on the collective, an involvement in Otherwise: A Feminist Newspaper at U of T, and a part-time job delivering Xtra! in Toronto. Ultimately, that led to writing a book review column for Xtra for over 10 years and to a position as a member of the board of directors of Pink Triangle Press for almost 18 years.
If a long term involvement in community media is an obvious result of that casual visit, the less obvious result is that it inspired a career in community bookselling. A part-time job in Eve Zaremba’s second hand bookstore on Harbord Street created the opportunity for full time work at several independent bookstores in Toronto. For the past 18 years Maureen has worked at Parentbooks, one of the finest specialty bookstores in the city. She lives with her partner Amy and an assortment of cats and dogs.