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The Founding College of the University of Toronto
Malcolm David Lester

Malcolm David Lester

BA 1959 UC - 2022 Award Recipient

After falling ill with a bout with mononucleosis, Malcolm David Lester (BA 1959 UC) took a break from rabbinical school and decided to change the course of his career. That decision led to him becoming a seminal figure in the expansion of the Canadian publishing industry and an advocate for writers across the country. Lester ended up becoming the owner and president of Lester & Orpen Dennys, one of Canada’s most significant publishing houses in the 1970s and ‘80s. Prior to that he worked with several other companies, including as general manager of Coles Publishing and managing editor of the educational publisher Holt, Rinehart & Winston. With Lester & Orpen Dennys, Lester was fearless with a strong sense of political and social justice, publishing many books that had been rejected by other publishers. Lester was thrice named Publisher of the Year by Canadian Booksellers and served as president of the Canadian Publishers Association in the mid-1980s. Humourous and humble, Lester was adamant about the importance of publishing Canadian writing for Canadian audiences.