Paul McAllister
Paul McAllister is an author, publisher, and arts activist. He began his career in the arts in 2003 as a commercial actor while also working as a knight at Medieval Times in Toronto. In 2007, he returned to his hometown of Fredericton and founded Feels Good Community Inc., a not-for-profit arts organization with the motto “Art. Music. Community.” As Executive Director of Feels Good, Paul aimed to foster community growth and positive change through cross-medium collaboration. This effort culminated in Feels Good Folly Fest, an annual music and arts festival that paired local artists and musicians with internationally renowned performers.
In 2015, Paul shifted his focus to the next generation, writing and publishing children's books under Monster House Publishing. To date, he has published four titles featuring a plucky little monster named Herman and has helped numerous Atlantic Canadian artists get their books on the shelves. Paul believes that presenting local literature and art on the international stage will inspire the next generation to develop a lifelong love of literature and the arts, ultimately fostering the empathy needed for societal progress.
What led you to become a writer?
In elementary school, I struggled to develop a love of reading. With ADHD and dysgraphia, the traditional models of literacy development in place at the time (early 90s) just didn’t mesh with my brain. Fortunately, I come from a family of educators, and they ensured I slowly but surely developed a love of reading.
An assembly when I was in grade five or six set the stage for this career. Sheree Fitch came to our school to read poems from her classic storybook, “Toes in My Nose.” And somewhere along the way, she let us know that she was from New Brunswick! Until then, I assumed all authors resided in one of the mythical Big Cities. Suddenly, there was someone, right there in front of me, from the same place I was from, telling me that anyone can be an author if they work at it.
That stuck with me, but it wasn’t until 2015 that I finally ran with the idea.
How did your training and experience help you to create and innovate in your artistic practice?
Few things have been constant in my life regarding a career path. The one consistent theme throughout is the arts. Whether visual, physical, or literary, artistic expression is as important to me as breathing.
I have been fortunate enough to pursue a career in multiple artistic disciplines, and each has invariably bled into the other. When I switched from acting to visual art, I kept the performance angle. I began getting on stage with bands to participate in the synergistic environment of music and audience, allowing my painting to be directed collaboratively by the artists I shared a canvas with, the musicians I shared a stage with, and the audience I shared an experience with.
When I shifted yet again to focus on writing, I kept a little piece of each discipline and added it to the mix. My stories always include a musical element, and I chose the picture book medium to ensure the story was told in as many ways as possible.
What stimulates you most about your practice?
For me, it’s always been the creation process that gets things moving. Using my imagination is imperative.
Growing up, I had a typical outlook on adulthood. I was terrified that something would shift as I grew, and the boringness and rigidity of grown-upness would infect me and turn me into the dreaded adult. I would only be able to talk about dreaded adult topics, viewing creativity and impulse as activities to be frowned upon.
Fortunately, this didn’t happen, and with the benefit of perspective, I now understand that this is not a symptom of aging but a symptom of not using one's imagination.
Like any muscle, it will atrophy if we don’t exercise our imagination, leaving the world dull and somewhat terrifying. The imagination allows the world to show us its fun side, its beauty and harmony.
The fear of losing the wonders of the imagination is one of my biggest motivators. The importance of literacy as a foundational building block of a functional society is another.
How has living and working in New Brunswick helped and/or inspired you on your journey?
When I left New Brunswick in 2003, I was never coming back. I viewed this province as a dead-end nowheresville. I figured going to the big city, where art was everywhere, was the way to go. I quickly discovered, as so many of us do, that I had, in fact, left one of the most wonderful places in the world.
There is something inexplicable about this place. We have a disproportionately large number of world-class artists for such a small population. Collaborating, and creating and making measurable change is much easier here than anywhere else I have lived.
What motivates your creativity?
That’s a tough one to answer. Creativity is such an integral part of my identity that I’m unsure whether there is a motivation beyond life. I have an undeniable drive to create. It has always been a part of who I am.
How does your creative process unfold as you create a story?
Like most things, it starts with an idea, a kernel of thought that rolls around in my noggin for some time before I finally set pen to paper or, more literally, fingers to keyboard. I’m a morning person, so most of my creative writing happens in the early hours. When I write, I’m not always sure which kernel of which thought will make its way on the page or whether the page will ever be anything more than an exercise in creation.
Why do you think it's important to create and pursue an artistic career?
A career in the arts isn’t for everyone–the lack of structure and stability can be daunting, and often it’s an exercise in stick-to-itivness. With that said, for those who don’t fit within the traditional workweek model, a career in the arts is as important to us as breathing. It’s not an easy life path, but the reward of creating and seeing the joy those creations bring others is much more valuable to me than job security.
What have you learned about yourself and New Brunswick's artistic community through your work?
We have such a strong community of artists here in New Brunswick and an industry that supports one another regardless of discipline. Over the years, I’ve discovered that I have an odd habit of falling into an organizational role, which tends to slowly shift my creative output to logistics and coordination. When I first started writing my Herman the Monster series, I aimed to produce a book a year. In 2019, after publishing my third book “Cornelius’s Conundrum,” Monster House Publishing was beginning to look like it could shift from a self-publishing to a traditional publishing model. As there was a distinct lack of New Brunswick anglophone children’s books in production at the time, I decided to shift my focus to helping other creatives in our community get their works published. Before I knew it, almost five years had passed, and Herman 4 had yet to show its face. Last year, I found myself struggling, and my wife pointed out that I was so focused on the publishing company that I had stopped writing for myself. As soon as I started again, my mood lifted.
So, while I love helping people achieve their artistic goals, I need to remember that If I don’t want to feel down in the dumps, I need to remember to focus on my creative output. Because of this, Herman 4, “Planes, Trains, and Monster-Mobiles,” will finally be published this fall!
What do you think is the impact of artists' work on communities?
Many don’t realize that artists’ work is part of our everyday lives–from the moment we wake up to the moment we lay our heads down, art is all around us. An artist designed the shirt you put on, the shows you watch, the music you listen to, the books you read, and even the packaging your food comes in. All are art.
I’ve been thinking a lot about literacy and its importance to society lately, and studies have repeatedly shown that a love of literary fiction from an early age helps develop a stronger sense of empathy. When you read a book, you experience someone else's life, and suddenly, it’s not me vs. you but us working together.
Describe what you are most proud of in your career.
I go to schools and do readings regularly throughout the year. I also host a Young Author program, where I work with a class to help them publish a book. During these sessions, I talk about my struggles with learning to read and my continuing struggle with spelling.
Every time I reach a student, and they tell me they also want to be a writer, that is the moment for me.
What advice would you give to people who want to become a writer?
To be a writer, you need to do two things. You need to write regularly, every day if possible, and you need to read. Read everything you can get your hands on, and as you’re exposed to different writing styles, try them out and see where it gets you!
