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After more than a decade of helping readers find the perfect book and organizing literary events in Ottawa, longtime Prairie Fox Books manager Dylan Conmy is stepping away from the bookstore to focus full time on nonprofit work.
Conmy announced that he is leaving his position to dedicate his efforts to the HumanKIND Initiative, the nonprofit group behind the annual Family Pride Festival in Ottawa.
“This is a bittersweet departure, but my work with the HumanKIND Initiative is on the forefront now,” Conmy said in a statement. “My focus needs to be dedicated solely on the LGBTQ+ community that my nonprofit serves.”
Conmy began his book-selling career in 2012 at The Book Mouse, a now-closed Ottawa bookstore.
When that store closed in 2016 and Prairie Fox Books opened in its place, Conmy became the store’s manager.
Since then, he has played a role in building the bookstore’s community presence, organizing events such as Harry Potter birthday celebrations and the annual Children’s Business Fair, as well as running book fairs for local schools.
Mary Olson, owner of Prairie Fox Books, said Conmy’s energy and creativity were important to the store’s identity.
“He’s very fun to work with, very supportive of the bookstore’s mission, very knowledgeable about how to do things around here – just a good friend in general,” Olson said.
Olson said that although it’s difficult to see Conmy go, she’s proud of the influence he’s making beyond the bookstore.
“I personally will miss him here, of course, but I think the work he’s doing is very important, and he certainly has embraced that role in the community, and they embrace him right back,” she said.
Looking ahead, Conmy will continue building up HumanKIND’s community presence with the addition of a community center on the south side of Ottawa.
“I am looking forward to watching the community center grow with every new individual and family we are able to impact in a different way,” Conmy said. “We have so much work to do, and I will keep raising money year-round to make sure we never stop making positive impacts.”
Conmy confirmed that he will be working closely with the Starved Rock Country Community Foundation moving forward.
“It means so much to me to work with them because it is their organization that helped make Ottawa Family Pride Fest possible in the first place,” Conmy said.
He also confirmed that HumanKIND Initiative’s board is planning a strong base of programs and activities that are expected to start by late July.
“While the bookstores in town have been my home for a long time, the nonprofit work I’m doing now has become my heart – and I am going to follow it the rest of the way now," Conmy said.