Two book publishers that favour older writers: House of Anansi and Book*hug

House of Anansi Press and Groundwood Books. 

Here are two Canadian book publishers that explicitly invite submissions from older writers:

House of Anansi Press is looking for literary fiction, especially from Canadian authors. Anansi is always open for submissions and they particularly welcome submissions from authors launching their literary careers later in life.  

Groundwood is looking for Picture Books, Middle Grade and Young Adult fiction and nonfiction. They open for submissions in August and September.

More about Anansi and Groundwood here.

Book*hug Press is a radically optimistic Canadian-owned publisher based in Toronto.

“We are deeply committed to advancing and integrating equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in all our publishing activities. We prioritize submissions from equity-deserving writers marginalized by attitudinal, historical, social, and environmental barriers based on race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, economic status, age, gender, and sexual orientation.”

Book*hug Press publishes contemporary, innovative, and boundary-pushing books of literary fiction, translated literature, poetry, and creative nonfiction.

They do not publish commercial fiction, thrillers, crime fiction, fantasy, children’s books, YA books, graphic novels, cookbooks, scholarly or academic texts, or self-help books.

Book*hug seeks to acquire innovative, groundbreaking, and adventurous literary books that thoughtfully engage with contemporary cultural and social issues. They’re most excited by bold, dynamic writing that challenges and pushes the boundaries of cultural expectations and conventions, and that offers new ideas and perspectives.

They love formally innovative writing that takes risks and plays with form and style, but we are not interested in experimentation for its own sake. We love hybrid, genre-defying writing. Above all else, they value the quality and craft of the writing. 

Book*hug books and authors receive regular recognition and acclaim in the media and from literary awards. Their authors have been nominated for and won national and international awards, including the Governor General’s Literary Awards, the Giller Prize, the Amazon Canada First Novel Award, the League of Canadian Poets’ Book Awards, the Griffin Poetry Prize and more.

Book*Hug will open for submissions Tuesday, September 29 to Tuesday, October 20, 2026. Full submission guidelines here.

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See all of Brian’s upcoming weekly writing classes, afternoon workshops, and writing retreats here.

For information about other publishers looking for manuscripts, see here (and scroll down).

Guernica Editions wants your manuscripts, plus Guernica Prize for Literary Fiction is open for entries

Guernica Editions

1241 Marble Rock Road
Gananoque, ON, K7G 2V4

https://guernicaeditions.com/

Guernica Editions was founded in Montreal in 1978 by writer and filmmaker Antonio D'Alfonso with the expressed mission to publish books that address social justice issues, discover and cultivate our innate humanity, and transcend individual cultures and nations.

n 1991, Guernica’s head office was moved to Ontario where. In 2010, writers Michael Mirolla and Connie Guzzo-McParland took over the reins from Antonio D’Alfonso, maintaining the same original commitment of tearing down borders and creating ties between cultural and social groups. Since its founding, Guernica Editions has published over six hundred titles. 

Guernica seeks out books that are fresh, terse, edgy and self-aware; that dare to cross boundaries and that speak to readers on a universal level.

Imprints:

Guernica Editions

This imprint features the publisher’s Essential Prose, Poetry, Essays, Writers Series, Anthologies and First Poets Series. Novellas.

Submission period: February 1st - February 28th

MiroLand

Created in 2013 under the management of Michael Mirolla and Connie Guzzo-McParland, MiroLand is an imprint for more commercial projects. Since its inception, MiroLand has published genre literature, including mysteries, thrillers, speculative fiction and fantasy, cookbooks, self-help and how-to’s, memoirs, political nonfiction, YA and children’s books, self-help books and more.

Submission period: February 1st - February 28th

Note: If you’re interested in writing for children or for young adults, sign up for our upcoming   “Writing for Children and for Young Adults” workshop, where we’ll have an industry insider (either an editor from a children’s publisher or a literary agent specializing in kid lit) as the guest speaker. Details here.

Guernica World Editions

Guernica World Editions is for authors outside of Canada’s borders. To date, Guernica has published authors from the US, the UK, France, Israel, Dubai, Italy, Switzerland, Japan, and many other countries across the world. 

Submission period: Year-round

Submitting:

Guernica will only accept manuscript queries by email. Please send manuscripts as Word documents (.doc or .docx) to michaelmirolla@guernicaeditions.com

The manuscripts should be single-spaced, in a 12-point easy-to-read type. If at all possible, please give the manuscripts a name that includes the title and the author: The Dubliners, James Joyce.

Please note: Guernica is not accepting nonfiction submissions for the 2026 submissions period. 

1366 Books

1366Books is home to works of accessible yet innovative and experimental fiction – works that challenge the conventions of narrative and form, and perhaps even challenge the conventions of the sentence or the page itself. 1366Books seeks to explode readers’ expectations and explore the possibilities of the novel and the short story.

They welcome manuscripts that meet the above criteria by all Canadian writers, including writers of colour, Indigenous writers, LGBTQ+ writers, writers with disabilities, and others who identify as part of marginalized groups.

Manuscripts should be about 20,000 to 40,000 words.

Submission period: Year-round

Please email 1366 editor Stuart Ross at: 1366Books@gmail.com 

Include a brief cover letter and a PDF of your manuscript.

Note: If you’re interested in meeting an agent and in getting published, join us for a “How to Get Published” workshop where we’ll have a literary agent as a guest speaker. Details here.  

The Guernica Prize for Literary Fiction

Now open for submissions!

The Guernica Prize recognizes the best literary fiction novel that pushes boundaries and is cutting edge. Each entry must be an unpublished novel of at least 40,000 words. A $50 entry fee (online submission through Submittable only) must accompany each submission. Authors may submit more than one manuscript but each manuscript must include a separate entry fee. The name of the author or anything identifying the author should appear nowhere in the manuscript.

The prize consists of $1,000 and a publication contract with Guernica Editions. The winning author agrees to publication with Guernica. Please name your file your manuscript title or the first three words of the manuscript title if the title is longer than three words.

The Guernica Prize is open to Canadian citizens and/or residents of Canada only. Please note that submissions to the prize are final. If a submission is retracted, there is no refund of the entry fee.

Click here to see a list of previous winners. 

Submission period: January 1^st – April 30th 

Note: For more children’s and young adult publishers, see here {and scroll down}. For book publishers in general, see here {and scroll down}.

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

 

Thistledown Press seeks Canadian fiction and nonfiction, plus some kid lit and poetry

Thistledown Press

220 20th Street West
Unit 222
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
S7M 0W9

https://thistledownpress.com/

Founded in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in 1975, Thistledown Press began as a venue for new Prairie writers and soon burgeoned into a publisher of emerging and established writers from across Canada. Thistledown has published more than 500 titles in its 45 years.

Thistledown has published work by Tanya Bellehumeur-Allatt, Lorna Crozier, Susan Juby, Patrick Lane, Alden Nowlan, Alistair MacLeod, John Lent, Angie Abdou, Harold R. Johnson, Susan Musgrave, Marty Chan, Devin Krukoff, Tara Gereaux, Rita Bouvier, Leah Horlick, and Dawn Dumont. 

The press came under new ownership in fall 2020, and the new team continues Thistledown’s commitment to publishing Canadian literary writing, with a particular focus on authors from Western Canada.

Thistledown publishes novels, short story collections, creative nonfiction, and collections of poetry they find irresistible. They will consider YA novels and – occasionally – books for younger children.

Thistledown is open for submissions September 1 – May 1.

All queries must be submitted by post, on paper. Thistledown does not return submissions. In your query package, please include:

A cover letter that describes your work and its appeal to readers of Canadian literature and which states clearly the genre of your submission

An author bio that includes your publication history

A brief marketing analysis

A selection of work from your manuscript: the first thirty pages of a novel or nonfiction manuscript, or two or three short stories, double spaced. For poetry submissions, please send fifteen to twenty pages, single-spaced, with each poem beginning on a new page.

Your contact information, including an email address.

See Thistledown Press’ full submission guidelines here.

See all 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. See information about other publishers looking for manuscripts here (and scroll down). If you’re looking specifically for publishers of children’s and young adult books or short pieces, see here (and scroll down).

Groundwood Books and House of Anansi Press will open for submissions on August 1

House of Anansi Press (for adults)

and Groundwood Books (for children)

128 Sterling Road
Lower Level
Toronto, Ontario

https://houseofanansi.com/

House of Anansi Press was founded in 1967 by writers Dennis Lee and David Godfrey to publish work by Canadian writers. The House got its start publishing authors such as Matt Cohen, Michael Ondaatje, Northrop Frye, Austin Clarke, Harold Sonny Ladoo, Daphne Marlatt, Roch Carrier, and Margaret Atwood (who also worked for the press as an editor).

Now under the ownership of Scott Griffin, House of Anansi Press aims to continue breaking new ground with award-winning and bestselling books that reflect the changing nature of the country and the world.

Anansi publishes about 35 books a year, including fiction, poetry, drama, French-Canadian writers in translation, lifestyle, and authors from around the world.  Anansi also publishes children’s literature under its Groundwood imprint….

Groundwood Books publishes literary picture books, fiction, poetry, nonfiction and graphic novels from Canada and around the world. The press is home to award-winning authors and illustrators, such as Deborah Ellis, Marie-Louise Gay, Sydney Smith and Jillian Tamaki, among many others. 

Groundwood is open for submissions August 1–September 30 and February 1–March 31.

In Picture Books, Groundwood seeks beautifully written manuscript, featuring distinctive stories and children in real-life situations.

Groundwood is always looking for new authors of book-length middle grade and young adult fiction. Their mandate is to publish high-quality, character-driven literary fiction with a strong narrative voice. They do not generally publish stories with an obvious moral or message, or genre fiction such as horror or high fantasy.

Groundwood is also looking for nonfiction for children of all ages, from informational picture books to issues-driven works for middle grade and young adult readers.

For middle-grade and YA nonfiction, they do not require a completed manuscript. Please submit a proposal that includes a compelling introduction to and argument for the book, followed by a chapter outline that conveys the proposed content of the work, plus one or two sample chapters that convey the proposed tone and approach. 

Please also include a bio and/or previous publishing credits that demonstrate credentials relevant to your book or give you authority on the proposed subject.

Groundwood is also looking for Canadian illustrators. 

Submit to Groundwood through their submissions  portal here.

But first, look over their detailed submission guidelines here.

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Note: We always have a one-day “Writing for Children and for Young Adults” workshop coming up, with an editor from a children's publisher or a literary agent who specializes in kid lit as the guest speaker. 

We also, always have a new weekly Kid Lit course starting soon.

Check out all upcoming one-day workshops, four-day writing retreats, and weekly courses here.  

And if there isn't an upcoming kid lit workshop or course listed, email me, to get to the front of the line for when I post the next one: brianhenry@sympatico.ca ~Brian

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House of Anansi Press is open for direct submissions from authors {as opposed to agented authors} only in August and February. In all areas, they’re open to submissions from new authors, as well as established authors.

In fiction, they seek literary, upmarket, and genre novels, plus short story collections.

In nonfiction, they look for creative nonfiction, essay collections, “book-length deep dives,” and life-style oriented projects. Currently they’re not looking for personal memoirs or autobiographies.

In poetry, they’re pursuing “experimentations with lyric traditions.”

Like everyone else, they especially welcome “work by writers from historically underrepresented communities, including—but not limited to—those who are Black, Indigenous, people of colour, disabled, neurodivergent, and LGBTQIA+.”

Anansi is also particularly interested in authors debuting later in life or without an MFA.

Full guidelines here.

Note: If you’re interested in meeting an agent and in getting published, don’t miss our upcoming “How to Get Published” workshop. Details here.

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

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

Brucedale is a small press with a cool contest

The Brucedale Press

Box 2259
Port Elgin, Ontario N0H 2C0

https://www.brucedalepress.ca/  

Note: To get new postings delivered to your Inbox when they go up, visit the Quick Brown Fox substack page and subscribe: https://brian999.substack.com/ 

The Brucedale Press is a small independent publisher that produces books of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, historical, and pictorial works with a strong focus on the Queen's Bush (the area between Waterloo County and Lake Huron) and the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario, Canada. Brucedale publishes books both for children (up to grade 5) and adults. All books must be from Canadian authors and illustrators. 

Unless responding to an invitation to submit, query first by Canada Post with outline and sample chapter for book-length manuscripts. Send full manuscript for work intended for children. A brief resume of your writing efforts and successes is always of interest, and may bring future invitations, even if your present offering is not accepted for publication.

See Brucedale’s full submission guidelines here.

Brucedale also publishes The Leaf, a twice-yearly literary journal. The Leaf presents poetry, short fiction, reviews, essay, and author profiles from the Bruce Peninsula & Queen's Bush, traditional territory of the Saugeen Anishinaabek. Read more about The Leaf here.

Finally, Brucedale holds one of the coolest writing contests in Canada – their annual Acrostic Contest, which requires you to write a story in 26 sentences. For this year, you must begin with the phrase: X-rays cannot show… Then use 25 more sentences to tell your story, going through the alphabet in reverse order. So your second sentence begins with a W, and so on. After A, then a sentence beginning with Z, and ending your story with a sentence that begins with Y.

Entry fee is $5 for each story. First prize: 25% of the entry fees; second prize: 15% of the entry fees; third prize: 10% of the entry fees. The judge may award up to three honorable mentions. Authors of all published stories will receive a one-year subscription (two issues) of The Leaf.

Deadline: You must submit by mail and your entry must arrive by January 31, 2025

See the full contest guidelines here.

Note: If you’re interested in meeting an agent and in getting published, don’t miss our upcoming “How to Get Published” workshop. Details here.

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

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

Two small independent Canadian publishers looking for authors

Love and Other Disappointments
by Heather Paul
published by NON

NON {Now or Never} Publishing

901, 163 Street
Surrey, BC  V4A 9T8
Canada

http://www.nonpublishing.com/

NON is a small independent publisher that’s looking for Canadian fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. The publisher is Chris Needham. Here’s what they have to say:

“Okay, so we’re ready to start looking at book submissions again. But we expect to fall behind almost immediately, so before you send anything, please make sure you’ve looked at (and maybe even read!) our other books.

“We will probably take forever to respond, and we do apologize for that. However, if you’re still interested, please send us the complete manuscript; it’s tough to consider sample chapters or poems when you’re just not that bright. We’ll see how it goes. Thanks for letting us see your work.

“Oh yeah, and we’re apparently a “literary publisher interested in contemporary Canadian fiction and poetry,” whatever the heck that means. It probably means that, at present, we only consider work by Canadian authors.”

Submit your manuscript to NON publisher, at: chris@nonpublishing.com

Full submission guidelines here.

Kaddish for My Mother
by Marsha Barber
published by Borealis Press

Borealis Press

8 Mohawk Crescent
Nepean, Ontario K2H 7G6

https://borealispress.com/index.php

Borealis Books, a division of Borealis Press Ltd., was founded in 1972 to encourage and publish new Canadian writers who demonstrate talent and potential for significant growth (e.g. Carol Shields, Giorgio Di Cicco, Cyril Dabydeen, Kenneth Radou, Guy Vanderhaeghe, among others).

As it grew, Borealis published established authors as well (e.g. Jan Drabek, Fred Cogswell, Hugh Garner, among others). The Press expanded further to include "series" such as New Canadian Drama and The Journal of Canadian Poe

try (annual). The Press has met the on-going need for critical works on established early Canadian writers such as Archibald Lampman, L.M. Montgomery, Isabella Valancy Crawford, E.J. Pratt, Susanna Moodie, among others.

Borealis also pays attention to aboriginal peoples through books on Northern Canada (Northern Studies), the Dogrib (Tale Spinners in a Spruce Tipi), Inuit People (Inuk), Cree People (Payuk and the Polar Bears), Indian Legends (Peter and the Water Manitou, an Indian legend of Lake Superior), Micmac People (From My Vantage Point), Algonkin People (Menominee, The Wild River People), the Metis (The Riel/Real Story), among many others. 

Borealis publishes most genres including both fiction and nonfiction, plus some books for children and young adults. But it specializes exclusively in Canadian authored or oriented material.

“The press accepts for appraisal material that seriously involves the human situation, in a mature, skilful manner and interesting, well written style.”

Please query first, including a synopsis and/or outline and a sample chapter or equivalent, together with return postage or international postal coupons, and adequately sized return envelope or package. Material arriving without such pre-paid return is scrapped.

Full guidelines here.

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

Navigation tips: See information about other publishers looking for manuscripts here (and scroll down). If you’re looking specifically for publishers of children’s and young adult books or short pieces, see here (and scroll down).

Pajama Press is open for Middle Grade manuscripts

The Only Lonely Fairy by Lana Button
illustrated by Peggy Collins, 
published by Pajama Press

Pajama Press

11 Davies Ave., Suite 103
Toronto, ON M4M 2A9

https://pajamapress.ca/

You can now get new postings on Quick Brown Fox delivered straight to your Inbox as they go up. Subscribe to the new Quick Brown Fox page on Substack here: https://brian999.substack.com/

Pajama Press publishes books for children of all ages and backgrounds, both fiction and nonfiction

Their books take a child-centred approach to big topics like conservation and social justice, or focus on family and friendship, and address everything in between.

Their aim is to work with skilled authors, illustrators, editors, and educators to craft books that will spark curiosity, develop empathy, and grow joy and self-empowerment.

They have been closed to submissions from new, unagented authors for ages, and still are for picture books, primary stories, and early chapter books. But, Pajama Press is now accepting middle grade manuscript submissions (24,000–40,000 words). 

Email your submission to: info@pajamapress.ca 

In the subject line, put: MG-Submission.

Include:

A brief summary of your book. Remember that this is a summary, not marketing material – please don’t leave us in suspense about how the story’s conflict is resolved.

An excerpt. The first three chapters of your middle grade manuscript.

Information about your writing background.

Full submission guidelines here.

Nan Froman editorial director
at Groundwood Books

Note: If you’re interested in meeting an agent and in getting published, don’t miss our online How to get Published workshop Sunday, July 21, with guest speaker Gordon Warnock of the Fuse Agency. Details here.

If you’re especially interested in Kid Lit, don’t miss our one-day day “Writing for Children and for Young Adults” workshop, with Nan Froman, editorial director at Groundwood Books, Sunday, Sept 22. Details here.

Also, be sure to check out our weekly course, “Writing Kid Lit ~ the next level,” on Monday evenings this fall. Details here.

See all 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. See information about other publishers looking for manuscripts here (and scroll down). If you're looking specifically for publishers of children's and young adult books or short pieces, see here (and scroll down).