Second Story Press wants your manuscripts - whether for kids or adults

Second Story Press

120 Carlton Street
Suite 412
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M5A 4K2

https://secondstorypress.ca/

Second Story Press is a Canadian feminist press.  It was founded in 1988 by Margie Wolfe, but in 2025, Phuong Truong became the new owner. Second Story’s list spans adult fiction and nonfiction; children’s fiction and nonfiction, board books and picture books to young adult books. They continue to look for stories that feature strong female and queer characters and that explore themes of social justice, human rights, equality, and ability issues.

Second Story is committed to finding authentic voices, and like everyone else, they seek to publish creators from communities who have been traditionally underrepresented in books. “These include (but are not limited to) works by creators who are Indigenous, Black, people of colour, people with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community.”

Second Story focusses on Canadian authors (either citizens or permanent residents of Canada who are currently living in Canada), and almost all their authors are women. They do not publish poetry, short story collections, traditional romance novels, rhyming picture books, or books with anthropomorphized animals. Second Story Press does not accept any submissions that have been created using artificial intelligence.

Note: If you’re interested in meeting an agent and in getting published, don’t miss our online How to Get Published workshops, with literary agents as guest speakers. See what's coming up here. 

In addition to your query letter, include a brief biography, a brief summary of your book, and why you’re the best person to write it. For all juvenile work, identify the intended audience or age range for your book. 

Consider how your book fits into Second Story’s list, how it’s different from similar or competing titles published by Second Story or any other press, and how your book fits into the marker; i.e., who is it written for? Include a C.V. with information about any relevant work, previous publishing credits, and academic history (where applicable) particularly for nonfiction. 

If you don’t have any publishing credits, don’t worry. Second Story happily publishes new authors.

Include a synopsis of your work (500 words maximum).

For adult fiction and nonfiction and for books for children and teens send the first three chapters.

For children's picture books, please send the entire manuscript. You do not need to include illustrations if you are not a professional illustrator.

Note: Second Story publishes a lot of picture books for the 6–8-year-old age group, in addition to some picture books for the more usual 3– -year-old age group, which is the more usual target for picture books.

Email your submission to: submissions@secondstorypress.ca

Format the subject line thus: ADULT/JUVENILE FICTION/NONFICTION, AUTHOR NAME, PROJECT NAME; e.g.: Juvenile nonfiction, Erin Silver, What the Kids Did

Books for teens are classified as juvenile. For all juvenile books, specify the intended age range in your query letter.

Your query letter may be in the body of your email, but attach your C.V., synopsis, and sample chapters as a Word document or a PDF.

Please note that it can take a period of 7–10 months to receive a response.

Illustrators:

Second Story accepts portfolios only from Canadian illustrators. Send samples of your work and a C.V. either by mail or by e-mail to: illustrators@secondstorypress.ca

Please put Attn: Illustrator’s Portfolio on the package or in the subject line.

See full submission guidelines for writers and illustrators here.

See all of Brian Henry’s upcoming weekly writing classes, one-day workshops, and weekend retreats here.

Navigation tips: Always check out the Labels underneath a post; they’ll lead you to various distinct collections of postings. For more publishers of children's and young adult books, see here {and scroll down}. For book publishers in general, see here {and scroll down}.

We've go the trailer for Tres's forthcoming picture book!

Hi, Brian.

Thank you so much for arranging such a lovely reading event. I loved hearing so many great pieces.

[Our Author Reading Day was this past Saturday – what a wonderful afternoon! If anyone has a nice party room at their condo or other suggestion of where we might have our next reading day, please let me know ~Brian]

As promised, here’s the book trailer Plumleaf Press recently released for my upcoming picture book  Nahliya and the Lady.

Please share :-)

Thank you for all that you continue to do.

Treslyn

Note: You can read more about Nahliya and the Lady and pre-order your copy here.

For information about submitting to Plumleaf Press, see here.

See more new books by your fellow writers  here (and scroll down).

If you’ve had a story (or a book!) published, if you’ve won or placed in a writing contest, if you’ve gotten yourself an agent, or if you have any other news, send me an email so I can share your success. As writers, we’re all in this together, and your good news gives us all a boost. Email me at: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

See all of Brian’s upcoming weekly writing classes, one-day workshops, and four-day retreats here.

 

Congratulations to Lenore, Dianne, and Lenna!

Note: If you’ve had a story (or a book!) published, if you’ve won or placed in a writing contest, if you’ve gotten yourself an agent, or if you have any other news, send me an email so I can share your success. As writers, we’re all in this together, and your good news gives us all a boost. 

Also, be sure to let know if you're looking for a writers' group or beta readers; a notice in Quick Brown Fox, will help you find them. 

Email me at: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

 

Hi, Brian:

Hope you and the family and dogs are well. I just wanted to share that my short story “The Wow of the Pow” has been accepted to the upcoming Beaver Moose Canoe anthology being published by Lintusen Press. It will be published this summer. It's the story of what happens when two hockey fans try to work a spell to ensure a win for the Leafs. 

Thank you.

Lenore Butcher

For more about Lintusen Press, see here.

And check out Lenore’s books here.

 

Hi, Brian.

I'm supposed to be doing my taxes, but I just received an exciting email that is leading me on another path this afternoon.

I'm thrilled to announce that my TV sitcom pilot, Moosekeg County FM, is a Quarter-Finalist in the ISA Emerging Screenwriters Comedy Screenplay Competition!  

Thanks for cheering me on in all my writing endeavours.

Dianne Koebel-Pede

  

Hi, Brian.

I would like to begin by extending my deepest gratitude to you for editing the second edition for my children's book, Penelope the Miner.

Since the second edition came out, so much has been happening with my book. Penelope has travelled to different parts of Canada, Australia and the USA. This spring it is going to Egypt and South Africa.  

And now, I have some exciting news for you, that has received media recognition. Here I go...

Young Mining Professionals (YMP/ Toronto) plans to bring mining and metals education to elementary schools using Penelope the Miner. With financial sponsorship from the Ore Group, 1,000 Penelope books will be shipped to elementary schools in different parts of Ontario and Quebec. 

The following quote is from the Northern Miner newspaper in a recently published article, that explains the initiative:

“This is about reclaiming the narrative on metals and mining," said Stephen Stewart, a director of YMP and chairman of the Ore group. We want young Canadians to understand how critical this industry is, not just for jobs and economic development, but for the infrastructure, healthcare, clean water and fresh air that we all depend on.” 

This story began when Stephen Stewart went into his child's kindergarten class last year to read Penelope the Miner and witnessed how captivated the youngsters were.  Stephen appreciated that I’ve spent decades of work educating young people about mining and its role in northern communities. He saw my passion for writing a children's book, to help children better understand where everyday materials come from and how mining underpins modern life. 

Like me, Stephen realized that by the time students reach university, many have formed opinions about mining or haven't considered it at all. Penelope the Miner aims to change that for youngsters.

When I was a child, I didn't know anything about mining, even though I was raised in Schefferville, a mining town in northern Quebec.  After completing my university studies in Montreal, I only discovered what a geologist was, when I moved to Chibougamau for my first teaching job. The very place where I met my husband, a geologist. Penelope the Miner, aims to have young children learn about career options such as geology well before university.  

I could never have dreamed about getting 1,000 books distributed to elementary schools in Ontario and Quebec, without this generous sponsorship.

Lenna Rhodes

***

See where else your fellow writers are getting short pieces published here (and scroll down).

See new books by your fellow writers here (and scroll down).

See all my upcoming weekly writing classes, one-day workshops, and four-day  retreats here. ~Brian

Join us in Algonquin Park for a Summer Serenity Writing Retreat

Summer Serenity Writing Retreat

 ~ at Arowhon Pines Resort in Algonquin Park

Sunday, August 30 – Wednesday, September 2, 2026
Arowhon Pines Resort
Arowhon Pines Road
Little Joe Lake, Algonquin Park
Ontario, Canada

Note: We also have a retreat coming up this June at Arowhon Pines in Algonquin Park. Details here.

Stretch out your summer and give yourself the time to write – four days of instruction, inspiration and creativity. Award yourself with time away from distractions, with no dishes to do and wonderful food at every meal, as you sit with your feet up and write in the most beautiful wilderness setting in Ontario. This is where the Group of Seven got its inspiration (Tom Thompson is buried just a couple of lakes over); it’s a wonderful place for you to find your inspiration, too.

The retreat will feature both instruction and guided writing exercises, plus one-on-one critiquing and coaching from Brian.  You’ll also have lots of time to relax, rejuvenate, and reconnect with your creativity.

All writing levels welcome. Whether you are just beginning or have a novel in progress, please join us. 

The retreat will be limited to ten or eleven participants. This will mean plenty of one-on-one time with the instructor.

The setting: Arowhon Pines is a peaceful, quiet resort nestled in the woods on Little Joe Lake inside Algonquin Park. There are no motorboats on the lake, except for the resort’s own pontoon boat which takes guests on occasional wildlife tours.

The resort is without TV and is far from the roar of traffic. The cry of a loon is the loudest noise you’re likely to hear all day.

Rates include charming accommodation (rooms have a mix of queen beds for one person or couples or twin beds for two people rooming together, and a private bathroom of course, and each cabin has a lounge with fireplace to share with your fellow writers). 

Three all-you-can-eat gourmet meals per day are provided, featuring an abundance of fresh food prepared by master chefs and an inspired kitchen staff. (Bring your own wine or beer!)

All activities included. When you’re not writing or for spouses who accompany you, there is plenty to do: canoe or kayak a series of lakes or hike trails to see wildlife (moose, loons, beaver, turtles, fox, deer), swim in the lake, sail, stand up paddleboard, play tennis or pickleball, enjoy a sauna, and simply relax.

For indoor activities there is a games room with table tennis, shuffleboard, books, and board games. Your stay also includes access to all Algonquin Park programs and activities including a car pass for you to fully enjoy the park.

Check-in isn’t until 3 p.m., but guests can arrive in the morning to fully take advantage of the facilities (though the meals included in your package don’t begin until after check-in time, so lunch on Friday is extra if you arrive early). Each guest will have a day pass for Algonquin Park.

The formal retreat will begin late Friday afternoon. On Monday, we’ll have our last formal get-together in the morning. Check out time is at 12 noon p.m. Then enjoy lunch while the bellhops load the car. But once you’ve eaten, don’t feel you have to rush off!

Participants are welcome to bring spouses, partners or friends, as there will be plenty to do while you’re writing – canoeing, kayaking or sailing, swimming, pickleball, reading and just plain resting and unwinding, enjoying the wilderness.

Read about a stay at Arowhon Pines here, and scroll down for more pieces about or inspired by retreats at Arowhon.

Instructor Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He publishes Quick Brown Fox, Canada's most popular blog for writers, teaches creative writing at Ryerson University and has led workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Saskatoon, to Toronto, to Saint John. 

But Brian's proudest boast is that he has helped many of his students get their first book published and launch their careers as authors.

For more pieces about, or inspired by,  Brian’s writing retreats, weekly courses and Saturday workshops, see here (and scroll down).

Seminar fee:
For the full 4-day, 3-night retreat: $243.36 plus hst

Accommodation fee (including accommodation and food, plus use of all the resort’s facilities): $637 per night for single occupancy; $510 per night per person for double occupancy, plus 15% service charge (in lieu of tipping), then plus 13% HST. 

Book early – space is strictly limited! Full receipts issued.

For more information or to register, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

If you have questions or need more information about the accommodations,
phone the resort: 1-866-633-5661

Who can attend the retreat?

Everyone interested in developing their writing skills is welcome to attend, whether you're aspiring writer or an accomplished author or simply enjoy writing as a hobby. There is no requirement for you to have been previously published or even to have an intention to publish.

I'm a poet / playwright / other writer. Is this retreat for me?

The retreat is open to anyone who enjoys writing. Instruction will focus on narrative writing; i.e., stories, whether fiction or memoir. But if you’re an essayist or poet or whatever, you’re entirely welcome.  

Should I bring my work in progress?

Yes! If you have an on-going writing project, bring it with you. Bring more than you expect to get to; you'll have lots of time for writing. Besides, you may want to switch projects or share a project that’s just started or one that’s all done, except for reading it to a small, appreciative audience. If you’re not currently working on anything, don’t worry, we’ll get you writing.

Should I bring my laptop?

Yes, if you prefer to work on your laptop. If you prefer to work on paper bring that. Or go crazy and bring both your laptop and your notebook. Bring everything you might want.

Can you cater to specific dietary requirements?

Yes, just let the staff at Arowhon Pines know beforehand about your needs.

I want to stay longer or arrive early. Is that possible?

Yes, absolutely. There is plenty to see and do in the park, and Arowhon Pines is a lovely base from which to explore. Arowhon will keep the same rate throughout your stay.

Is there cell phone reception and WIFI?

Arowhon Pines is an island of luxury, but in the midst of wilderness, so spotty cell phone at best and no WIFI, though there are landlines and there’s access to the resort’s Internet connection. (Contact the resort for details.) But be sure to have your writing projects on your laptop or on paper when you come, not stored in the Cloud.

How about alcohol?

Arowhon does not serve alcohol, but guests are welcome to bring their own wine, beer or whatever to have with meals or back at your cabin or wherever. (Though do note that Hemingway’s advice to write drunk, mostly produces drivel.)

Can I bring my spouse?

Certainly. Just let them know you’ll be spending most of your time writing, (though you will have some free time every day), and make sure they enjoy superb food, beautiful wilderness, and relaxing on the deck or the dock or out on a canoe as they glide past a moose munching on water lilies.

For more information about the resort, visit their website here.

For more information or to register, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca 

To book your accommodation at Arowhon Pines, phone toll free: 1-866-633-5661
And be sure to tell them you're with the writing retreat!

Or you can book on-line here. ~ But be sure to also phone and tell them you're with Brian’s writing retreat!

See all of Brian’s upcoming weekly writing classes, one-day workshops, and weekend retreats here.

“Manifest Destiny” by Larissa Thomas

"Manifest Destiny" Larissa Thomas

Debra’s figured out the keys to the Universe. She’s practically an expert. Basically a physicist. Where attention goes, energy flows. What you focus on expands. She’s pirated every book and workshop by Hicks Goddard Dispenza Zenkina Frances Hay Hill. Her trailer park comrades don’t realize it, but she’s a fuckin’ genius and doesn’t belong in a place like that. Not with people like them.

Debra’s got enviable pin legs and her C-cups are dynamite. Lady’s a dazzler. A pleasure to behold. She’s the vibration of her dream home. She’s a lilac jacuzzi and a four-poster waterbed. The energetic match to a 1970 cherry red Buick Skylark. Atomic mirror for a dusty rose velour jumpsuit, sapphire piñata, scorpion-shaped fountain that eternally flows with champagne and never needs to be cleaned.  

Leaning back in her plastic chair smoking a Pall Mall, she spies a storm on yonder. Debra intuits it’s not just a natural disaster. She conjured it. Been practicing the Law of Attraction for weeks. A cyclone of yearning hurtles towards Camelot Toe Trailer Park at 88 miles an hour. Just like she scripted. Visualized. 369’d. Defined and declared. Everything she desires is nearly upon her.

“I fuckin’ told ya!” she screams. Ciggie half-spent, dangling from her frosted lips as she stands up, the lawn chair near snapping from the enthusiastic thrust of her thirty-five-year-old hindquarters. The soundtrack of Debra’s Best Life is an arrangement of airborne metal torpedoing single-pane windows, screeching tires on gravel and sticker-covered guitars percussively slapping vinyl siding. 

“Debbay, you shitstain bimbo!” JibJab hollers, tossing beers, tobacco products and binders indiscreetly bursting with his favourite porno mags into the back of his rusty Chevy. “There’s a fuckin’ tornado headed straight for us!” 

A tornado of everything Debra desires.

JibJab shakes his greasy head and spits out a hunk of chaw, going back for one last box of phlegmorabilia. His brother, Biggy Bag, ropes his prized possessions - poorly taxidermied roadkill and a papier mache beer fridge sculpture of their mother - into his matching rust-bucket.

Small minds. They couldn’t possibly understand Debra’s vision; quantum shifting out of a bunkie, wedged between Jib Jab the jumbo jack-off’s trailer and Biggy Bag’s converted car-zebo, into an aspirational micro-mansion subdivision. Transcendental she-bologna in a negative energy manwich, no more. Their jealousy won’t stop her.

She glides into her shanty and gracefully removes her prized mermaid costume hanging on the collapsed clothes rack. Dress for the job you want. Dress for the life you desire. Be your future self now. 

She exquisitely experiences abundance and freedom as she stuffs herself into a shimmering emerald tail and pink plastic shell bra. Deliciously embodies orgasmic lightness as she accentuates the look with a stunning zirconia shrimp necklace, places shimmering pins in still-processing just-permed hair, which burns from the anticipatory sweat. Twelve hours until it’s safe to get wet or suffer the frizziness. Sometimes one is limited by three-dimensional reality. She wasn’t expecting today to be Manifestation Day. 

But

You

Must

Trust

Divine

Timing.

Debra leaves behind her old life, and heads towards the squall with open arms. The constrictive mermaid tail slows her roll, thwarts her rapidity. Hipping and hopping won’t get her anywhere. It’s always toughest right before you get what is meant for you. Darkest before dawn.

“What would you have me do, Cosmic Daddy?” she yodels into the deluge. She struggles for a moment, but the Universe always provides a solution.

“Rip it!”

She follows the signs and tears the mermaid tail seam with her bare hands. 

“I said rip it out of here! You dumb fuckin’ bitch!” Biggy Bag yells from across the way. “Get your pimply ass outta the park, that twister’s gonna eat you!”

Debra snorts. “You see fear, I see opportunity.” 

And opportunity is headed straight for 32 Nirvana Ave in Camel Toe Estates, her dream home; the one with the big pool and peach bricks. The owners are long gone, it’s Debra’s now. 

She runs straight into the superstorm. Her vision board’s coming to life. Sucked up in the interstellar swell. Spinning and twirling; a siren in a frothing sea. Her fantasy smells like grass and sulphur. She barely registers the gravel lacerating her frosty flesh or the microwave that smashes her hip bone or the nail sticking out of her thigh. Obstacles are simply tests. The injuries are a sign that Debra’s about to break through her upper limits.

Everything she yearns for is within reach. 

A brand new Macbook careens into her welcoming arms.

Shovel.

Deluxe lawnmower. 

Hotdog.

This is the moment before the moment she has it all.

Wind stops. Mid-air, everything freezes. 

Debra savors the milliseconds as the clouds part and the sun breaks through, kissing her skin like pieces of broken glass. 

And then she’s falling. 

Into the Universe’s bountiful breast. 

She strikes water, sinking to the bottom of 32 Nirvana Ave.’s impressive in-ground pool.

Debra’s perm is ruined!!!! 

She didn’t think this through. The chlorinated water fills her lungs and everything stings. For a moment she doubts the megacosm, but any manifestor worth their salt knows that’s the kiss of death. Never doubt or limit what comes through. Debra will attract a hairdresser later. She’ll co-create some oxygen now.

Mesmeric ribbons of red casually engulf her; a symphony of disembodied fish dancing for their Mermaid Queen.

The Universe isn’t done, though. More gifts fall from the sky. Just for Debra.

Her dream car. 

Titanium rake.

Spinning clothesline.

Imported trees.

Terra cotta roof tiles.

They’re all hers.

***

Larissa Thomas is a writer, artist, Enneagram aficionado and tarot reader toiling melodramatically in an endless pocket of tornado manifestations in Ontario. She's currently working on an illustrated collection of strange tales. Subscribe to her Substack for work-in-progress here.

For more short stories, poetry, and essays by you fellow writers see here (and scroll down).

See Brian Henry's upcoming weekly writing classes, one-day workshops, and four-day retreats here.

Bill Wodhams has a new book out: Thirty Feet Under

Hi, Brian.

Thrilled to announce that my latest book, Thirty Feet Under, has just been published by ECW Press. It’s a tale of lost kings, mad emperors, international smugglers and an FBI Art Crimes Team that will stop at nothing to track down the missing treasures of an ancient empire. Publishers Weekly wrote that “this screen-ready adventure offers a welcome dose of escapism.” It’s available in many stores and through all your favourite online retailers.

Thanks!

Bill (William) Wodhams

Note: For information about submitting to ECW Press, see here.

If you’re interested in getting published, join us for an upcoming “How to Get Published” workshop with a literary agent as the guest speaker. See here.   

 *** 

Thirty Feet Under, a mystery 
   ~   by William Wodhams

For readers of Dan Brown comes a thrilling tale of lost kings, mad emperors, international smugglers, and an FBI Art Crimes Team that will stop at nothing to track down the missing treasures of an ancient empire.

When a museum in Italy is robbed and the guard murdered, the Carabinieri Art Squad ask for Kate Taylor’s help searching for the thieves. After working in the FBI Art Crimes Team for years, doing little but updating files and computer work, she is thrilled to work on a real case.

Yet there’s something unusual about their request. It’s a small, unremarkable marble sphinx that was stolen — why would the Carabinieri care? Still, she’s looking forward to some excitement and adventure. Besides, Luca, the Carabinieri’s agent, has big, beautiful eyes.

Kate finds out the sphinx is the key to unraveling one of the greatest mysteries in archeology: the lost tomb of a legendary king. Before long, she’s searching for suspects in an international smuggling ring. People are dying. She doesn’t know who she can trust, including Luca. And time is running out: Kate has two weeks to solve a 3,000-year-old mystery before its treasures are looted and vanish forever.

Back in New York, Paul Klugman is about to give up his dream of becoming a dealer of ancient art. Then he gets a call from an eccentric art collector that will change his life forever. He soon finds the success and wealth he’s always wanted, but the price is higher than he ever expected. And the truth is buried deeper than the artifacts.

Available from Chapters / Indigo here.

See more new books by your fellow writers here (and scroll down).

Note: If you’ve had a story (or a book!) published, if you’ve won or placed in a writing contest, if you’ve gotten yourself an agent, or if you have any other news, send me an email so I can share your success. As writers, we’re all in this together, and your good news gives us all a boost. Email me at: brain.henry123@gmail.com

See all of Brian’s upcoming weekly writing classes, one-day workshops, and four-day retreats here.