About

I am a Montreal-based writer, and more recently a web-guy. I am the founder of LibriVox.org, a project to make audio versions of every public domain book in the universe, and give them away for free; and the co-founder of Collectik Software Inc, makers of earideas.com, a collection of the best audio on the web; and Collectik.net, a slightly-broken web-based on-demand media manager.

Collectik built the Canadian Cultural Podcast Directory, for the NAC and Culture.ca (a project of the Department of Canadian Heritage). See: podcasts.culture.ca …

We have a few other commercial web projects underway, more news coming soon.

On the writing front I’m just finishing up a second novel, a book about sex and God and plate tectonics. I have an unpublished first novel that I plan to put up on the net sooner or later. I write the occasional book review for Books in Canada, put the odd piece in Huffington Post, and do other writing gigs once in a while.

Here are some press articles/interviews about LibriVox, the most successful project I’ve been involved with:

• Reason Magazine
• Los Angeles Times
• Montreal Gazette
• New York Times
• red hat magazine
• The World - BBC Radio
• wired.com
• IT conversations (audio)
• creative commons
• wikinews
• Les Echos [fr]

I’m an engineer by training, and have worked in the energy sector, mainly in environmental policy/climate change. I worked for a while in New York City trying to get financing for greenhouse gas reduction projects (using the Kyoto Protocol’s financial mechanisms). We were a few years ahead of the curve; and I left NYC a couple of months after September 11 (I watched the towers come down from about 20 block away). Since then I’ve: done business development consulting in the alternative energy sector; written museum exhibits; done project management; developed a number of websites; among other things.

I consult on web projects, especially on open project development, internet communities, and distributed media. My experience with LibriVox has given me some important insights into how to make big open projects work. I like to talk and write about that stuff.

I have a degree in Mathematics and Engineering from Queen’s University; as well as a Philosophy degree from the same place. I play rugby with the Westmount Rugby Club, the oldest rugby club in North America.

Here are some otther URLs for projects I am involved in:

• Atwater Library: president, board of directors
• Atwater Digital Literacy Project: chair, advisory committee
• datalibre.ca: editor, writer
• CivicAccess.ca: a founding member
• Westmount Rugby Club: past-president, and current player
• poeticspam.com: editor

You can contact me at: hugh AT hughmcguire DOT net

[pic by Shawna]