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Nestled in Tors Cove, about 40 minutes from St John’s, Running the Goat Books & Broadsides has grown into a nationally-recognized micro press and independent bookstore.
Named after a traditional and complicated Newfoundland dance, Running the Goat is operated almost entirely by founder and owner Marnie Parsons. Curiously, she didn’t intentionally plan to launch a print company. Instead, it grew organically from her gradual acquisition of three letterpresses. One came from a restored-press dealer in Ontario, another from a printer in England, and a third—an 1880s treadle press—from a neighbour who purchased it from a printer on Prince Edward Island.
“I bought a house in Tors Cove in the hope of having a weekend getaway, but ultimately moved here with presses in tow,”
—Marnie Parsons, Running The Goat owner/operator
“I bought a house in Tors Cove in the hope of having a weekend getaway, but ultimately moved here with presses in tow,” said Parsons. “[I] had to build the printshop to house the presses before I could close the sale of my house in the city.”
She started modestly, with letterpress printing—producing chap-books and broadsides (i.e. small format publications with limited print runs) in collaboration with local writers and artists. Parsons’ background in children’s literature, which included teaching courses at Western University, also influenced the business.
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