More independent Alberta book publishers – looking for fiction and nonfiction, science fiction, short story collections, graphic literature, poetry, and drama

Redemption by Yvonne Harris
published by Dragon Hill

Dragon Hill Publishing

Edmonton, Alberta

http://dragonhillpublishing.com/

Established in 1993, Dragon Hill publishes books for the popular adult and youth markets in Canada. Owner and President Marina Michaelides aims to produce books that help individuals better understand themselves and their place in the community and that increases understanding and tolerance among individuals and cultures.

Marian’s focus is on biographies, histories, and other works dedicated to a regional sense of place or a given community’s heritage. Under the Argenta Press imprint, she publishes both fiction and nonfiction.

Send proposals, including sample chapters to: marinam@dragonhillpublishing.com

Full guidelines here.

The Identity Shift by Arlene F. Marks
published by EDGE

EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing

P.O. Box 1714
Calgary, AB  T2P 2L7
Canada

http://www.edgewebsite.com/

EDGE is currently seeking high-quality novel-length science fiction and fantasy submissions of all types. Edge is not interested in erotica, strictly religious fiction, short stories (other than submission for a specific anthology), dark and gruesome fantasy, or poetry.

Manuscripts should be written in good taste and be aimed at a well-read, mature audience.

EDGE only accepts submissions of novels between 75,000 and 100,000 words. EDGE occasionally publishes YA speculative fiction; however, any YA submissions must meet all the regular guidelines, including the length requirements and must be aimed at a well-read, mature audience.

Mail your submission to the Acquisitions Editor. Include a query letter, synopsis, title page, and first three chapters. But be sure to consult their submissions page first; they’re fussy about manuscript set up, etc. See here.

Agnes, Murderess by Saah Leavitt
published by Freehand

Freehand Books

515, 815 1st Street SW
Calgary, AB T2P 1N3

https://freehand-books.com/

Freehand publishes innovative and literary novels, short story collections, graphic literature, and works of creative nonfiction.  Freehand does not currently publish poetry, young adult fiction, or children’s books. Freehand only publish Canadian authors. At this time, they’re particularly interested in submissions of graphic literature (memoir, etc).

Like everyone else, Freehand Books supports and is deeply interested in diversity and welcomes and encourage submissions from Indigenous writers, writers of colour, writers from the LGBTQ2S community, writers with disabilities, and women. Freehand is especially open to work that challenges expectations and expands readers’ empathy and knowledge. Freehand is also interested in publishing Western Canadian writers, as they are proudly based in Calgary. Most of all, Freehand looks for well-crafted work of exceptional literary merit.

Submit your work by mail. Full submission guidelines here.

The Cine Star Salon by Leah Ranada
published by NeWest

NeWest Press

#201 8540 – 109 Street
Edmonton, Alberta

https://newestpress.com/

NeWest is looking for outstanding literary works by established and emerging Canadian authors. On average, NeWest publishes 10 to 12 books a year. Their list includes fiction (including mysteries), poetry, drama, and nonfiction works with literary merit.

NeWest is especially interested in publishing books by Western Canadian authors or which explore Western Canadian themes. And, like everyone else, they welcome submissions from people of colour and Indigenous authors, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and writers with visible or invisible disabilities. 

Email your submission to: submissions@newestpress.com

Include a cover letter, synopsis, CV, and your full manuscript. See their submission guidelines here.

Note: This is Post #2 of Independent Alberta Publishers. See post #1 here and post #3 here.

Author Tanya Bellehumeur-Allatt
will be the guest speaker for the 
Writing Personal Stories class

Brian Henry’s schedule continues to take shape...

One-day Workshops:

Online: Writing for Children and for Young Adults workshop, with guests Patricia Ocampo, senior editor, Kids Can Press, and young adult author Tanaz Bhathena, Saturday, January 15, 2022. Details here.

Online: How to Make Yourself Write ~ A Creativity Workout, Sunday, Jan 23, 2022. Details here.

Weekly Classes (see details of all winter classes here):

New – Online: Writing Personal Stories, Monday evenings, 7 – 9 p.m., January 17 – March 28, 2022 {no class Feb 21 or March 7}. Details here.

Online: Exploring Creative Writing ~Discover your creative side, Tuesday afternoons, 1 – 3 p.m., January 25 – March 29 {no class March 8}. Details here.

Join us for fine dining and fine company
at the Briars Retreat

Writing Retreats:

Jackson's Point on Lake Simcoe: Writing Retreat at The Briars Resort and Spa. Get away to this modern lakeside resort built around a historic country estate.  Friday, March 4 – Monday, March 7, 2022. Details here.

Algonquin Park: Writing Retreat at Arowhon Pines Resort, Friday, June 3 – Monday, June 6. Details 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}.

Writing Kid Lit, an online workshop with guests Patricia Ocampo, senior editor, Kids Can Press, and YA author Tanaz Bhathena Saturday, Jan 15

The Serpent's Fury by Kelley Armstrong
a New York Times #1 bestselling author
and one of Brian's students

Writing for Children and for Young Adults

  with Kids Can Press Senior Editor

     ~ Patricia Ocampo

  and author ~ Tanaz Bhathena 

Saturday, January 15, 2022
1:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Online via Zoom and accessible wherever there’s Internet

If you want to write the next best-selling children’s books or just want to create stories for your own kids, this workshop is for you. Learn how to write stories kids and young adults will love and find out what you need to know to sell your book. Be sure to bring all your questions – we'll have lots of time for interaction.

Special option: Participants are invited to submit the opening couple pages (first 500 words) of your children’s book or young adult novel (or up to 1,000 words if that gets you to the end of your picture book or to the end of your first chapter). Email your pages to me prior to our workshop. Patricia and I will publicly critique half a dozen submissions so everyone can see what works, what doesn’t, and how to improve your story-telling. If you’re not currently working on a children’s story, don’t worry, we’ll get you started! ~Brian

Patricia Ocampo is Senior Editor at Kids Can Press. Since 1973, Kids Can has published award-winning, best-selling books for young readers, including series such as Franklin the Turtle, Scaredy Squirrel, and CitizenKid.

Patricia acquires books for children and teens with a particular interest in laugh-out-loud stories and those that tackle STEM, socio-emotional learning, and perspectives that have not traditionally been represented in publishing.

She has worked at HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group, Annick Press, and Simon and Schuster, working with authors such as Lemony Snicket, Kenneth Oppel, and Olympian Clara Hughes. She was also a literary agent at Transatlantic Agency. Patricia served five years on the International Board on Books for Young People, including two years as president of the Canadian chapter. She teaches a course on editing books for children at Ryerson University’s Chang School of Continuing Education.

Guest speaker Tanaz Bhathena writes books for young adults. She is the author of Rising like a Storm, the sequel to the 2021 White Pine Award winning novel, Hunted by the Sky, which was also named a Best Book of the Year by the CBC and USBBY. 

Her novel, The Beauty of the Moment, won the Nautilus Gold Award for Young Adult Fiction. Her acclaimed debut, A Girl Like That, was named a Best Book of the Year by numerous outlets including The Globe and Mail, Seventeen, and The Times of India.  

Her short stories have appeared in various publications including The Hindu, Blackbird, Witness, and Room. Born in India and raised in Saudi Arabia and Canada, Tanaz lives in Mississauga, Ontario, with her family. 

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor, author, and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He publishes Quick Brown Fox, Canada’s most popular blog for writers and is the author of a children’s version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Tribute Publishing Inc). But his proudest boast is that he’s has helped many of his students get published.

Read reviews of Brian’s classes and workshops here.

Fee: $43.36 + 13% hst = $49 paid in advance by mail or Interac

To reserve a spot now, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

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

Three Alberta Book Publishers looking for literary fiction & nonfiction, poetry, and children's fiction

All the Night Gone by Sabrina Uswak
published by Stonehouse

Stonehouse Publishing

PO Box 68092
Bonnie Doon Shopping Centre
Edmonton, AB  T6C 4N6

https://www.stonehousepublishing.ca/

Stonehouse Publishing is a new Canadian Publishing House, publishing 4–6 titles per year. Their focus is on literary fiction with commercial appeal. They aspire to publish the best in Canadian fiction, but not necessarily Canadiana. They publish both new and established authors but, at this time, only Canadian submissions.

If you have written something creative, appealing and truly original, they would love to hear from you. Specifically, they’re looking for literary fiction and non-formulaic fiction in general. Thrillers, humour, mysteries, historical fiction, and so forth. They would love to read more everyday stories written by and about Canadians from the many diverse backgrounds which make up our country.

Submissions are open between December 1st 2021 and January 31st 2022.  

Mail the first 30 pages of your manuscript by mail, Attention: Netta Johnson.

Submission guidelines here.

our bodies' unanswered questions
by wendy donawa
published by Frontenac

Frontenac House

37 Westridge Crescent
Okotoks, Alberta
Canada

https://www.frontenachouse.com/ 

Frontenac House was founded in 1999 with the express purpose of publishing poetry that pushes boundaries and challenges preconceptions. Like everyone else, Frontenac embraces diversity, and has published (and continue to publish) Indigenous writers, Black writers, LGBTQ2S writers, writers of colour, writers with disabilities, cis, and white writers. 

Frontenac is based in Okotoks, just south of Calgary, Alberta, but has published authors from almost every part of Canada. Canadian residency is not required, but they are only able to publish authors who are deemed by the government to be Canadian citizens or landed immigrants. {Government grants depend on this.}

Frontenac does not publish chapbooks as part of their regular programme. Manuscripts must be at least 48 pages.

Frontenac will be accepting manuscripts between January 4 and April 30, 2022, for publication in 2023.

Titles will be selected from manuscripts received during thier submission period. Note: You may submit a poetry manuscript outside the submission window if you wish. However, it will be filed and read only when the next reading period opens after May 1. Frontenac does not encourage multiple submissions. Please pick only your best work to send.

Manuscripts are selected by a panel of readers, including the publisher and editors. Manuscripts are read blind, and titles are selected by a majority decision of the panel.

Over the years, Frontenac has – on rare occasion – published art, aviation history, children’s books, anthologies, drama, and other genres. These titles are selected on an individual basis, and Frontenac does not have a formal submission period for them. If you wish Frontenac to consider such a manuscript, please make the genre clear in your email subject line, otherwise it will be filed with manuscripts in the poetry submissions pool.

Send submissions to: submissions@frontenachouse.com

Attach cover letter, curriculum vitae, and full manuscript. Before submitting, see full guidelines here.

Green Parrots in my Garden by Jane Ross
published by Bayeux Arts

Bayeux Arts 

2403, 510-6th Avenue, SE
Calgary, Canada T2G-1L7

https://www.bayeux.com/

Bayeux publishes books for both adults and children. In 1994, Bayeux's very first title, “Beside the Ocean of Time” by the Scottish writer George Mackay Brown, was short-listed for the 1994 Booker Prize. Since then, Bayeux has continued to publish eight to ten titles a year and has entered the turbulent world of ePublishing.

Bayeux remains committed to producing books of beauty that build bridges across cultures. As its name was intended to suggest, the artistic nature of its books represents the cornerstone of its publishing program. Our list is deliberately eclectic and contains books that other publishers often shy away from. “We publish these books because they deserve publication and because they deserve to be read.”

Bayeux’s other imprints include GONDOLIER, and ODD LITTLE BOOKS. GONDOLIER highlights subjects related to Management and Social Sciences. ODD LITTLE BOOKS brings together visual artists, dramatists, poets, puppeteers, playwrights, musicians in a charming collection of pocket-sized gems.

Bayeux Arts is interested in finding new authors. Please do not send complete manuscripts, unless requested. Instead, send a synopsis of your work, no longer than 200 words in length.

For Children’s books, please include with the synopsis a sample of no more than 2 illustrations.

Email: ashis.bayeux@gmail.com

Submission guidelines here.

This is Post #1 of Independent Alberta Book Publishers. See Post #2 here and post #3 here. 

If you’re interested in Kid Lit, check out our online weekly Writing Kid Lit, Picture Books to Young Adult Novels  course on Monday afternoons, 1 – 3 p.m., January 10 – March 28, 2022 {no class Feb 21 or March 7}. Details here.

And the Writing for Children and for Young Adults workshop with Patricia Ocampo, senior editor, Kids Can Press, and young adult author Tanaz Bhathena, Saturday, January 15. Details here. 

Beyond that, Brian Henry’s schedule continues to take shape...

More Weekly Classes (see details of all winter classes here):

Online: Writing Kid Lit, Picture Books to Young Adult Novels, Monday afternoons, 1 – 3 p.m., January 10 – March 28, 2022 {no class Feb 21 or March 7}. Details here.

New – Online: Writing Personal Stories, Monday evenings, 7 – 9 p.m., January 17 – March 28, 2022 {no class Feb 21 or March 7}. Details here.

Online: Exploring Creative Writing ~Discover your creative side, Tuesday afternoons, 1 – 3 p.m., January 25 – March 29 {no class March 8}. Details here.

Online: Intensive Creative Writing ~ 3 different sessions: 

Tuesday evenings, 6:30 – 8:45, January 11 – March 22. Details here. Still space in this session!

The Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning sessions are full. 

More One-day Workshops:

Online: How to Make Yourself Write ~ A Creativity Workout, Sunday, Jan 23, 2022. Details here.

Writing Retreats:

Jackson's Point on Lake Simcoe: Writing Retreat at The Briars Resort and Spa. Get away to this modern lakeside resort built around a historic country estate.  Friday, March 4 – Monday, March 7, 2022. Details here.

Algonquin Park: Writing Retreat at Arowhon Pines Resort, Friday, June 3 – Monday, June 6. Details 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}.