Read + Co takes a collaborative approach to bookselling. We share, connect and co-conspire with booksellers in communities across Western Canada to put books into the hands of readers. We rely on the expertise of an amazing support team, each of whom are creative, passionate, and forward-thinking. Here are some key people behind the scenes.
Renée Layberry: Editor
Renée Layberry is a Victoria-based writer, editor, project manager, and novice photographer, with over a decade of experience in digital, magazine, and book publishing. Whether it’s a professional or personal project, and everything in between, this is her why: communicate, collaborate, create. Connect with her at renee.layberry@gmail.com or find her here on Instagram.
Rick Wood: Marketing & Coop
Trained in writing, editing, and graphic design, Rick worked in magazine and book publishing since 2001 with Swerve, The Beaver, and Arbeiter Ring Publishing in Winnipeg before moving to Victoria in 2014 to join Rocky Mountain Books. In 2017 he returned to school to study marketing. A self-professed jack of all trades, Rick provides a range of support — WordPress sites, email newsletters, design, editing, content creation, administration, and tech support — to Read + Co and his clients through Crux Consulting.
Wren Wilde: Social Media Assistant
Wren is a voracious reader and book lover. She started working with books over 8 years ago at Talisman on Pender Island while in high school. Once graduated she worked full time at the store, was promoted to lead buyer, and did a stint at Munros in Victoria. She currently attends Camosun College for arts programs, including a stream in writing children’s books, while working on weekends. Wren is a trained actress, singer, and dancer with a passion for performance art; she stars in Heather’s music video Shoreline After a Storm. Acting caught her heart when she was a kid and she has been doing it ever since.
Megan Oriah: Education Specialist
Megan Oriah is a trained educator, Forest and Nature School leader, and a homeschool mom. In her early 20s she attended Vancouver Island University, majoring in Visual Arts and dabbling in literature and anthropology. She went on to study Early Childhood Education through Pacific Rim. She is currently writing a literature-based homeschool curriculum, spending a great deal of time correlating the BC Curriculum to living books and beautiful stories. She uses her background in education, a life-long love of books, and over a decade of working with children providing local programming and classes, to curate educational book lists as an Education Specialist for Read and Co.