Freehand Books is a Canadian literary imprint started in 2007 by

Broadview Press Broadview Press is an independent academic publisher that focuses on the humanities. Founded in 1985 by Don LePan, the company now employs over 30 people, has over 800 titles in print, and publishes approximately 40 titles each year. Broadview's o ...

, a Canadian academic publisher. Freehand publishes literary fiction, literary non-fiction, memoir and poetry. In its first season in 2008, Freehand published ''Good To A Fault'', by

Marina Endicott Marina Endicott (born September 14, 1958) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer. Her novel, ''Good to a Fault'', won the 2009 Commonwealth Writers Prize for Canada and the Caribbean and was a finalist for the Giller Prize. Her next, ''The ...

. The novel won the 2009 Commonwealth Writers Prize for Canada and the Caribbean and was shortlisted for the 2008

Giller Prize The Giller Prize (sponsored as the Scotiabank Giller Prize), is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried competition be ...

. ''Tangles'', a graphic memoir by Sarah Leavitt, published in 2010, was the first graphic book shortlisted for the

Writers' Trust of Canada The Writers' Trust of Canada (french: La Société d'encouragement aux écrivains du Canada) is a registered charity which provides financial support to Canadian writers. Founded by Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton, Graeme Gibson, Margaret Laure ...

non-fiction prize. A 2014 Freehand book, Karyn L. Freedman's ''One Hour in Paris: A True Story of Rape and Recovery'', was the winner of the $40,0000 British Columbia National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction in 2015. It was also longlisted for ''

Canada Reads ''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the Frenc ...

'' in 2017. In 2018, Freehand published ''Homes: A Refugee Story'', by Abu Bakr Al-Rabeeah and Winnie Yeung. It went on to become a finalist for the

Governor General's Literary Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

for Non-fiction and is a 2019 ''

'' contender, championed by

Chuck Comeau Charles-André "Chuck" Comeau (born 17 September 1979) is a Canadian musician and drummer, best known for being the drummer of the rock band Simple Plan. He also founded the apparel company Role Model Clothing along with his bandmate Pierre Bouv ...

. Writers published by Freehand include

, Susan Olding,

Stuart Ross Stuart Ross is a Canadian fiction writer, poet, editor, and creative-writing instructor. Ross was born in Toronto's north end in 1959 and grew up in the Borough of North York. He began writing at a very young age and was first published at age ...

, Clea Roberts, Saleema Nawaz, Clem and Olivier Martini, Jeanette Lynes, Sarah Leavitt,

Yasmin Ladha Yasmin Ladha (born 1958) is a Tanzanian-Canadian writer of Indian descent. Life Yasmin Ladha was born to an Indian Muslim family in Mwanza, Tanganyika. She grew up in Africa, but often visited family members in India. When she was twenty she emigr ...

, Paul Hendrick, Joan Crate,

Jesse Patrick Ferguson Jesse Patrick Ferguson is a Canadian folk musician and poet. He was born in Cornwall, Ontario and has lived in Ottawa, Ontario, Fredericton, New Brunswick, and Sydney, Nova Scotia. He has produced 5 studio albums of folk music, most recently ''Folk ...

, Ian Williams, Elizabeth Philips,

Lorna Crozier Lorna Crozier, OC (born 24 May 1948) is a Canadian poet who holds the Head Chair in the Writing Department at the University of Victoria. She has authored fifteen books and was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2011. She is credited as ...

Keith Maillard Keith Maillard (born 28 February 1942 in Wheeling, West Virginia) is a Canadian-American novelist, poet, and professor of creative writing at the University of British Columbia. He moved to Canada in 1970 (due to his opposition to the Vietnam ...

and

Cary Fagan Cary Fagan (born 1957) is a Canadian writer of novels, short stories, and children's books. His novel, ''The Student,'' was a finalist for the Toronto Book Award and the Governor General's Literary Award. Previously a short-story collection, ''My ...

.Company web site
/ref> In 2016 Freehand (under the leadership of JoAnn McCaig) became independent of Broadview, though the two organizations have continued to work together in certain areas following the change in ownership structure. Melanie Little was Freehand's first managing editor; she was succeeded in that role first by Sarah Ivany and then by Kelsey Attard. Anna Boyar is currently acting as Managing Editor while Attard is on leave. Freehand Books is based in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

.Jones, S. (2008, May 16). Freehand announces inaugural lineup. Quill & Quire

References

{{Reflist

External links

Freehand Books
Book publishing companies of Canada