Kennedy Rooke has been promoted to Retail Director at Librairie Drawn & Quarterly Bookstore, effective immediately. Rooke has been with Drawn & Quarterly since 2017. They began as a part-time bookseller in D&Q’s brick-and-mortar shop, and subsequently held the positions of children’s coordinator and assistant manager before becoming the bookstore manager in 2021. Rooke is responsible for booking events and book clubs, as well as overseeing buying for all sections of the store.
“From curating the loveliest selection of picture books to shepherding our bookstore through the pandemic lockdown in 2020 when we suddenly had to switch all our bookselling to online, to leading a T4T book club and promoting a stellar lineup of book launches with local luminaries and internationally acclaimed authors, Ken has brought so much to our team,” said publisher Peggy Burns. “They’ve done it all with the calm grace and equanimity they bring to every challenge.”
Rooke graduated with a BA in English Literature from McGill University. They have served on the Quebec Writers Federation awards jury, and are a board member of the Mile End Business Association. Some of their recent favourite books are: Stag Dance by Torrey Peters, The Weight by Melissa Mendes, and Broken by X. Fang.