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COLUMN: Literary agent Morty Mint was a friend, advocate to Nelson writers

Mint brought expertise in the international literary world to Nelson and inspired many local authors
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Morty Mint with his wife of 56 years, Marilyn, arriving at an Elephant Mountain Literary Festival event in 2015. A celebration of his life takes place on Saturday, Feb. 8 from 2 – 5 p.m. at the Hume Hotel.

When Morty Mint came into the Nelson Library one day in 2004, he blew in. I came to understand that Morty entered most rooms in that way — larger-than-life.

Morty, who became my literary agent and my friend, passed away with his family by his side on Jan. 25.

I was working at the circulation desk that day Morty blew in looking for information about the local literary community. As we talked, he dropped phrases like “when I was president of Penguin,” and names like “Mordecai” and “Tiff.” I knew enough to know he was referring to literary greats Mordecai Richler and Timothy Findley, and I’ll be honest: I thought he was having me on. So after he left, I did what anyone would do: I Googled him.

Morty had indeed been president of Penguin Canada, and also Penguin U.S.A. He now had his own company, distributing The Guinness Book of World Records and Ripley’s Believe-it-or-Not. He had offered to look over a publishing offer I’d received, knowing, as he did, a thing or two about the business. Of course, I called him right away.

I declined that publisher’s offer and went with Morty, never quite getting over the thrill of saying, “I’m having lunch with my agent.”

“Friend,” he’d correct me.

Morty was all about encouragement. He encouraged me through four novels from shaky start to book-in-hand, and I was far from the only writer in the Kootenays or beyond who experienced the force that was Morty Mint. Cyndi Sand-Eveland, Jennifer Craig, Vivien Bowers, Antonia Banyard, Judy Toews, Holley Rubinsky, and Donna Macdonald were among the writers Morty represented.

Former Nelson Daily News editor Bob Hall experienced the Morty Effect when, one morning, Morty knocked on his door. Morty had an idea for a book about Hockey Day in Canada’s choice of Nelson for its all-star event, and before the coffee cooled, Bob was in.

“Hockey Day in Nelson: A Celebration in Photos will be one of the most tangible accomplishments of my career as a writer. It was difficult and it was scary, but you made it a reality through your beautiful trust in those you work with and your incredible abilities to make something like this happen,” he wrote in a message to Morty, shared here with permission.

The literary community experienced it, too. Tom Wayman, prolific author and co-founder of the Kootenay Literary Society, put it this way:

“Morty's arrival among us can only be described as electrifying — the wealth of imaginative and practical experience in the larger literary world he brought to Nelson and surroundings has been invaluable, in my view. And with all his energy and ideas he has served as a one-man literary ambassador to not only the powers-that-be but also the general public.”

The Kootenay Literary Society, which sparked the revival of post-secondary writing instruction in Nelson, was also the birthplace of the Kootenay Literary Competition and the Elephant Mountain Literary Festival, and in all of these Morty’s influence was felt.

Things can get testy when passions are high. Morty, who had a propensity for speaking without a filter, could certainly ruffle feathers if not blow them around the room. He could also be hugely irreverent and very funny. But passion was always at the core, things got done, and the Kootenay literary landscape blossomed. In 2018 Morty, along with writer and publisher Ernest Hekkanen, received the Richard Carver Award for his contributions to Nelson’s literary sector.  

Morty’s community involvement also included the City of Nelson Cultural Development Committee, Oxygen Art Centre, the resurrection of the Civic Theatre, little league hockey, and the list goes on. 

Morty, my agent and my friend, lived with dementia through the final years of his life, and withdrew into the comfort and privacy of family. At the time of his passing I had not seen him for a year. But for me, he was always there.

I have a Morty memory from when I was a very new author, flown by my publisher to Toronto to make some sort of impression. I was a small-town girl in the Big City, both literally and metaphorically: I felt awkward and out of my depth. Hurtling along through six-lane traffic en route to another terrifying event, Morty turned, grinned, and said: “You’ve got this, kid.”

Those words — in Morty’s voice — have an uncanny way of turning up in my head when I need them. I’m certain I’m not the only one. Morty’s belief in people, in their abilities and their creativity, leaves an enduring legacy.

A celebration of his life takes place on Saturday, Feb. 8 from 2-5 p.m. at the Hume Hotel.