From Byline to Publisher
Ottawa has always had a knack for producing storytellers, but few have made the leap from telling stories to building an entire company around them quite like Ron Corbett.
For years, Corbett was a familiar name in Ottawa living rooms — a longtime columnist for both the Ottawa Sun and the Ottawa Citizen, and the host of Unscripted on CFRA radio. He spent decades crafting the kind of deeply reported, human-centred journalism that made readers feel like they knew their city a little better. Then he decided to do something unexpected: step back from the newsroom and bet on himself.
Building Something New
Corbett's pivot into independent publishing wasn't just a career change — it was a statement about where storytelling is heading. With major newspaper chains cutting staff and local journalism shrinking across the country, Corbett saw a gap. Ottawa deserved more long-form, locally rooted stories. He set out to fill it.
His publishing company has since grown into what many in Ottawa's literary and media circles are calling one of the most exciting independent ventures in the city. It's the kind of operation that bets on writers, on readers, and on the idea that people still hunger for stories told with care and craft.
Why Ottawa?
It would be easy to assume a publishing venture like this would gravitate toward Toronto or Vancouver — cities with larger literary scenes and bigger pools of writers. But Corbett has stayed rooted in Ottawa, and that's no accident.
Ottawa punches above its weight when it comes to writers, journalists, and storytellers. The city has a federal public service full of policy wonks with stories to tell, a bilingual community with rich cultural depth, and a history that stretches back to Confederation. Corbett knows this territory. He's been writing about it for decades.
There's also something fitting about an Ottawa journalist building an Ottawa institution. The city has long been seen as a political capital rather than a cultural one, but local publishers, artists, and entrepreneurs have been quietly changing that narrative for years. Corbett's company is part of that shift.
What's Next
For Ottawa's independent publishing scene, Corbett's success is a signal. It shows that there's an audience here — and across the country — willing to support work that isn't filtered through the priorities of a national media conglomerate.
It also raises an interesting question about what Ottawa's media future looks like. As legacy outlets continue to struggle, local independent ventures may be the ones keeping quality storytelling alive.
Corbett spent a career asking other people about their lives and ambitions. Now, he's the one with the story worth telling.
Source: Ottawa Business Journal
