It was with great shock and sadness that I learned, in December 2020, of the sudden death of my beloved publisher and friend, Luciana Ricciutelli, editor-in-chief at Inanna Publications. In addition to being a good friend, Lu was a keen champion of my writing, as she was to so many others. She took a chance on an unknown author to publish Tell Anna She’s Safe in 2011, and I was so looking forward to working with her again on my memoir Tumblehome: One Woman’s Canoeing Adventures in the Divine Near Wilderness. (The beautiful photo of Lu on the right was taken at the Ottawa launch for Tell Anna by my sister Kathryn.)
Lu was a passionate, compassionate powerhouse who I think pretty much ran Inanna single-handedly. Her absence is being felt keenly in the publishing community, particularly the Inanna family of authors and the Inanna in-house team. I’m so grateful to Renée Knapp, Brenda Cranney, Claudia Costa, Ruth Dworin, and everyone else who is working so hard to keep the company going and to (try to) fill Luciana’s shoes.
As I said in the CIUT Radio tribute show to Luciana, I almost feel Lu is Inanna now—a goddess of powerful, nurturing, protective feminine energy. And I can’t help feeling she’s continuing to work behind the scenes—or maybe more accurately now above or beyond the scenes—to help Inanna keep publishing the wonderfully diverse range of books it does.
To read heartfelt tributes to this incredible woman, click here.
To make a donation to the Luciana Ricciutelli Memorial Fund, click here.
And click here to read the transcript of my tribute that aired along with many others on the CIUT radio program Howl, whose host, Valentino Assenza, dedicated the entire hour to Lu on March 9, 2021.
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