The Ape and the Peacock
June 10th, 2016
Ralph Hancox’s third novel in two years, The Ape and the Peacock (Fictive Press $17.99), emanates from his social conscience. Set in the fictional Canadian province of Superior, his story spans a few days in November of 1957, following the paths of two miscreants and their differing fates. As the lives of several high-level government officials and a colourful cast of “destitutes” are forever altered, Hancox explores unequal consequences for the privileged and the dispossessed. After some 50 years in the publishing industry in the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, and Italy – – including 16 years as CEO, chairman and president of The Reader’s Digest Association (Canada) Ltd. – – Hancox taught Topics in Publishing Management at SFU’s Master of Publishing program for almost ten years upon his retirement.1927663334
In 2009, the Canadian Centre for Studies in Publishing, under the aegis of Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada, also published Hancox’ Managing the Publishing Process, a 250 page text. The book, an outcome of his lecture and seminar notes, is organized along the lines of the Topics seminars. It opens with the Nature of Management that, says Hancox, must take into account not only societal and ethical values, but at the same time produce an efficient organization, achieve results in ways that optimize the requirements of employees and, for profitability and survival, achieve the objectives of the organization’s purpose and mission . The Topics to achieve these ideals of management dealt with the details of: Management Strategies, Publishing Functions, Organization of the Enterprise, Motivation, Salary Structures, Financial Models, Publishing Markets, Production Management, and Business Environments.
In his Foreword to the book, Dr. Rowland Lorimer, Founding Director of the CCSP, said: “(Hancox’s) influence has been felt, not just by students, but by the (Master of Publishing) program as a whole. A concern for helping management permeate the program, not only in courses that deal directly with management, but in courses on editorial; design and production; law, policy, and practice; history; and technology, as applied to books, magazine, and on-line publishing.
“Managing the Publishing Process,” says Professor Lorimer, “preserves the foundation of Hancox’s valued contributions. It brings research, and theory to publishing management, as befits professional training. No book can embody the richness of the experience Hancox brought to his classes, but this one – – – with its theoretical models and real-life examples – – – provides a foundation and inspiring environment for instructors and students to learn management principles and practices.
As Managing the Publishing Process makes clear, in publishing, it is the process that must be managed – – – not the people, nor the various tasks that make up the process. Hancox never tires of pointing our that purpose and mission drive strategy; strategy drives operational planning; operational plans drive management; management drives process organization; effective organization drives results; and results drive survival and continuity. His success as a manager and mentor is a tribute to this philosophy.”
BOOKS:
Managing the Publishing Process (Canadian Centre for Studies in Publishing 2009)
Knock, Knock — “Who’s there?”
HV Press, Victoria, BC – – 2010
Print on Demand
Island Blue/Printorium Bookworks
978-0-9866334-3-0
Dear Mr Porter, Sir
HV Press, Victoria, BC – – 2010
Island Blue/Printorium Bookworks
Print on Demand
978-0-9866334-0-9
The Latte Project
HV Press, Victoria, BC – – 2011
Island Blue/Printorium Bookworks
978-0-9866334-2-3
Con Job (Book I of The Fabufestan Exposés) Fictive Press 2015
Scandalous (Book II of The Fabufestan Exposés) Fictive Press 2015
The Ape and the Peacock (Fictive Press 2016) ISBN 1927663334, $17.99
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