2023

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"Over the past twenty years, Karen Schindler has made substantial and distinguished contributions to the vitality of the literary arts in London, Ontario as the former director of Poetry London (now Antler River Poetry), an expertly run poetry reading series highly esteemed by the country's leading poets largely because of Karen's efforts, and as the founder and publisher of Baseline Press, a consistently bpNichol-award-winning poetry chapbook press of incomparable quality and reputation, and as a tirelessly engaged mentor and exemplar of community-building in the arts in London, Ontario.
 

Karen is a community-builder and collaborator, nurturing relationships with nascent publishers like 845 Press and Rose Garden Press, both of which continue to produce chapbooks to this day influenced by the example and mentorship Karen provided directly. And through Baseline launches and Poetry London-related activities, she has engaged a variety of organizations throughout the city including Words Festival, Brown & Dickson Bookshop, DNA Gallery, and TAP Centre for Creativity. And she has served and continues to serve as a mentor and liaison to the national literary community for dozens of writers and publishers in London, Ontario.
 

Karen has cultivated a stellar reputation for the city, Antler River Poetry (formerly Poetry London), and Baseline Press among more than hundreds of the leading writers in Canada.
 

Ms. Schindler continues to actively advocate on behalf of London’s art sector. For these reasons and more, Karen is named to the 2023 Mayor’s New Year’s Honour List in the category of Arts."

(Mayor's New Year's Honour List Archive)