Peter Taylor

Photo by Susan Walker 

For nearly 50 years, Peter Taylor has spent much of his time and energy peddling words. Taylor cut his teeth as a journalist, writing for the Ottawa Citizen and Saint John Telegraph over a 15-year period. But it was a brief stint running a Halifax-based PR firm that lead to Taylor’s introduction to publishing.

His debut novel, Watcha Gonna Do Boy . . . Watcha Gonna Be?, was published by McClelland & Stewart in 1967. So commenced a working relationship with the publisher that would last 12 years. Taylor served as vice president and marketing director as well as co-chair of the editorial committee. The experience and acumen he acquired during this time would serve him well in his later roles.

Taylor returned to writing books after leaving McClelland & Stewart. By then a single parent, Taylor wrote six humour books. One of these titles was How to Make Love to a Lobster, originally published by Macmillan Canada and being printed for the third time in the spring of 2013. A collaborative effort with Globe and Mail columnist Marjorie Harris, Lobster is a welcome addition to the Whitecap Books catalogue: witty, sensual and mouth-wateringly readable.

Since 1999, Taylor had served as an independent writer’s agent.