Arts and Entertainment

Nancy Frater reflects on 36 years of owning Orangeville’s Booklore

January 3, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

In an extensive email interview with the Citizen, Nancy Frater walked us through a history worthy of one of the very books she sells.

In preparation for their opening, they did extensive research and “planned, planned, planned,” but even then, they were overwhelmed on opening day.

She and her late business partner, Ellen Clare, had long wanted to open a bookstore, and, as opposite personalities, they worked really well together. They both believed in putting their “very best effort into producing a good bookstore, to be inventive and to roll with change.”

Expressing only praise for, as she put it, “BookLore has been blessed with a great staff who share these ideals – my manager Brenda Juno and bookstore besties Jan, Jadea, Kristen and a few treasured former staff who often return to help us out.”

“Of course,” she admitted, there were “heart-pumping moments – the rise of mammoth stores, the internet, digital readers, Amazon, two recessions, when the dollar was at parity, when the dollar was low,” but they managed to stay on course.

Reflectively, she finds it comforting to know that independent bookstores are now making a comeback, “I think folks want their dollars to stay in their community and they want personalized service.”

Frater wants their store to be about community.

“People move here because they want the friendliness, the support and the quality of life offered by a strong community. What you put into your community always comes back to make your life better” is her philosophy.

Part of Frater’s stunning achievements has been bringing established authors to town. Recently, she was “so proud to hold up a t-shirt advertising the tour of Chris Hadfield with his latest book.”

“The third stop on his tour was Orangeville mixed in with large cities such as Toronto, Vancouver and Halifax,” Frater explained.

The extended list includes some of the who’s who of the literary world, such as David Suzuki, Margaret Atwood, Timothy Findley, Peter Mansbridge, Adam Shoalts, Allan Doyle, Marc Garneau and many more.

“My absolute favourite events were two events with local authors,” Frater wrote in an email to the Citizen. “One event was with WWE great, Adam Copeland. Over 300 people showed up at BookLore, lining up on a cold November evening to get him to sign his autobiography. The WWE sent eight security guards for crowd control.

“Little did they know we had it under control. Little did they know he was in his hometown!

“The other event was an evening on stage at the Opera House, an event produced by Sofie Weber. They featured acclaimed choreographer Roland Kirouac and rising comedian Michael McCreary who were releasing their autobiographies. There was an electricity in the air that was magical.”

Frater wants to champion local, independent authors. She says she is “in awe of people who have (the) courage to put pen to paper to tell a story… and we all have stories.”

There is every reason to come to a bookstore.

“There’s always a book for everyone,” Frater is sure, promising, “we just have to find the right fit. There’s always a desire for the classics, but support for the growing trends in anything Canadian, fantasy, romance and romantasy, plus teen books.

Some years ago, Signe Ball, founder and owner of the beautiful magazine In the Hills, told the Citizen about the magazine’s very early days and Frater’s contribution at its outset. She had taken her nascent magazine to Frater to tell her about how it would focus on the broader community and the arts, with the plan to publish quarterly. Ball was asking her to place her first advertisement.

Ball said, “Nancy didn’t even hesitate. She said yes right away, and she was the first person to place an ad in In the Hills.

“This was a fine example of how Nancy Frater has always been a tremendous support of the arts.”

From Frater herself, “I hope bookstores like BookLore will continue to thrive; all I know of is that I will always have many heartfelt memories of this great experience.”

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