How a former Ottawa Sun columnist built the city's hottest independent publishing company

Ron Corbett spent decades as the public face of Ottawa media—a longtime columnist for the Ottawa Sun and Ottawa Citizen, and host of Unscripted on CFRA radio. In 2017, when he left the radio station, he founded Ottawa Press and Publishing, finding his second wind in an industry many thought was in decline.

Eight years later, the company is booming, promoting local authors and producing bestsellers. Ottawa Press and Publishing has become the city's leading independent local book publisher, releasing four or more titles per year and reshaping how Ottawa stories are told, packaged and preserved.

Corbett got into the publishing business by accident. About twenty years ago, he wrote The Last Guide, about Frank Kuiack, a fishing guide in Algonquin Park. Penguin Canada published it, and the book did well. He wrote a follow-up, The Last Guide's Guide, assuming Penguin would be eager. Instead, every publisher he contacted passed on it.

"I couldn't get anyone interested in that book," Corbett recalls. "I finally realized, if I want to do it, I'll have to do it myself."

That decision became the foundation of Ottawa Press and Publishing. The first title was a hit, revealing something larger: there was still a real appetite for local stories in print. Encouraged, he took a risk on a second project that would define the company's future: Lost Ottawa, built around the wildly popular Facebook page of the same name, curated by David McGee. Another bestseller.

"That's when we realized we had a model," Corbett says. "Find a story that's uniquely Ottawa, often born digitally, and turn it into something lasting—something people can hold, keep, and give."

That philosophy has guided the company ever since. In an era dominated by scrolling, swiping and fleeting attention, Corbett believes physical books offer a different experience—calmer, more deliberate, more meaningful. The approach has led to a series of successful non-fiction titles: Best Hikes Ottawa-Gatineau by Vickie Lanthier, Ottawa Road Trips: Your 100k Getaway Guide by Laura Byrne-Paquet, and Ottawa Made by Sam Laprade and Caroline Phillips.

"If there isn't a clear reason why someone in this city would care, we don't do it," he says. "It's that simple. Local, local, local—that's the business model."