ILAB Congress Scholarship - Part 3 of 4 - Aimee Peake (Canada)

Aimee Peake has been active in the antiquarian book business for over 20 years. She got her start in the business during her days as a philosophy student at the University of Manitoba, as an apprentice to Michael Park, proprietor of one of Canada’s premier Antiquarian bookstores, Greenfield Books. After several years of part-time tutelage, in 2001 she undertook management of the newly-opened Bison Books. Here she spread her wings and eventually took over, becoming a partner in 2007 and assuming sole proprietorship in 2010. Over the years she has had the benefit of many professional development seminars, including the Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar.

You will find Aimee in the shop most weekdays, attending to all aspects of the business with a focus on acquisitions, collections development, client relations, and appraisals. On behalf of Bison Books, Aimee has exhibited at book fairs in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver; she has also attended fairs in New York and Boston, and is eagerly anticipating attending the 2018 ILAB Congress in Pasadena.

Aimee is President of the Winnipeg Association of Secondhand Bookstores, a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of Canada, and an affiliate of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers.

She also manages Dominion Auctions, a long-established and well-reputed art and antique auction house, which also offers appraisal and estate dissolution services; and consults at the above-mentioned Greenfield Books.

“I am excited to be exposed to the “wider world” of bookselling and observe the possibilities that exist; meet like-minded people from far and wide; and when I return: distill the experience, adapt it to my own life and business, and share the experience with colleagues and employees. In addition, I hope to find a way to contribute to the fray, if only by dint of my perspective as a young(ish) Canadian female bookseller.”

Outside of her work life, Aimee is a dedicated mom to two beautiful kids, loves cooking and good restaurants, has an affinity for good scotch and wine, and yes, books.

Our sincere thanks go to the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America's Elisabeth Woodburn Fund who offered four young antiquarians the opportunity to participate in the 43rd ILAB Congress in February 2018 in Los Angeles, Pasadena.