TLAC Studios are proud sponsors of BookMachine Toronto on 25th September. They provide digital and print publishing services to socially responsible professionals across North America. Tahira Rahemtulla interviews them, to find out more…

1. How did TLAC get started? What was the driving force behind its creation?

In 2005, Miraz graduated from the University of Toronto and wanted to open a business that could both support the community and the advancement of Canadian innovation. Miraz had excelled in Computer Science, Commerce, & Law and his father was a naturally gifted entrepreneur who never finished high school. His father and he had a couple of ideas, and decided to move ahead with affordable tutoring and editing services for students struggling to make the grade. They discovered very quickly that this service alone was not enough to pay the bills, and began restructuring the company starting with printing equipment and custom coded artificially intelligent software to produce edited works. The market response was huge, and quickly printing and publishing became the service that was in highest demand. They continued to adapt and restructure the company to meet demands and eventually renamed the company TLAC which stands for Technology Leaders & Awesome Company.

2. Some say that self-publishers have a growing responsibility to selectively publish, for the sake of quality, especially in this era of self and e-publishing. What are your thoughts on that?

Great question! The era of self-publishing provides writers and content creators with the control to ensure the end result best represents the vision they had for their product as well as avoid the sometimes agonizing process of dealing with the selectivity of commercial publishers. Publishing technologies like Youtube and Wordpress have offered the public a platform to explore and share their creativity. We see these technologies creating a complementary space that will enhance self-publishing without the limitations of selective publishing. We respect and value the written word but we also know that sometimes great ideas,inspiration and world changing views can come from an unsuspecting author. We say publish away self-publishers!

3. TLAC collaborates with many different partners in the publishing industry. What would you say has been the most exciting collaboration you’ve participated in, so far?

You mean besides our partnering with BookMachine? We really are grateful and excited to be invited again to connect with some of the most talented and gifted writers in Canada and abroad, can you tell! Beyond that we’ve worked with a very diverse crowd of writers and publishers in the last few years. Kevin O’Leary comes to mind as our most interesting project to date. You may know him as the stern, disciplined investor on Dragon’s Den, but we know him as an incredibly gifted and artistic storyteller. Since the 1970s, Mr. O’Leary has been shooting his life on film, from the beaches of Paris to the Glaciers of the North Pole. The work we’ve seen from Kevin is some of the most incredible art we’ve seen to date and we value having this unique opportunity to work closely with his team throughout the publishing process.

4. For the most part, it seems most of your collaboration seems to be with writers. What other area of the publishing industry would you like to collaborate with, or do you feel could benefit from more collaboration?

Right now we’re looking to collaborate with producers of content and digital media platforms. Individuals who are skilled in transforming content into web media can collaborate in our studio on University Avenue and learn about the latest standards in web and style scripting. We’re working with students in high schools and colleges, but believe there are those who cannot afford formal education while they still have the talents to be successful. We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with all students and professionals who want to master the art of code and style.

5. What do you hope to see for the future of collaboration in publishing, in the industry generally, as well as for TLAC?

We hope to see the industry continue to work together to bring the best possible solution to the market for our writers. As the demand for digital publishing services grows every day, TLAC is joining forces with the most talented and experienced programmers, developers, and coders to deliver the best possible product on the market. Anyone interested in working together with us can join our new Meetup group, “Genius”, at meetup.com/Genius and follow our blog at tlac.ca/blog for more information about the direction we are heading, and links to contact us on opportunities available for collaboration.

From our beginnings we have always ensured that our success is shared in a sustainable way with the community. Our new studio at 525 University Avenue support SickKids Patient Care and part of our proceeds is donated to wellness foundations of hope. TLAC will continue to make a major difference in a more expansive manner as we expand our reach to include other like minded companies and brands, furthering our impact in the community, and leaving a lasting impression that can only be described with one word: AWESOME.