House of Anansi Press is a Canadian publishing company, founded in 1967 by writers
Dennis Lee and
Dave Godfrey. The company specializes in finding and developing new Canadian writers of literary
fiction,
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
, and
non-fiction
Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with b ...
.
History
Anansi started as a
small press with only one full-time employee, writer
George Fetherling. It quickly gained attention for publishing significant authors such as
Margaret Atwood,
Matt Cohen,
Michael Ondaatje
Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer, essayist, novelist, editor, and filmmaker. He is the recipient of multiple literary awards such as the Governor General's Award, the Giller P ...
,
Marian Engel,
Erín Moure
Erín Moure (born 1955 in Calgary, Alberta) Erín Moure is a Canadian poet and translator with 18 books of poetry, a coauthored book of poetry, a volume of essays, a book of articles on translation, a poetics, and two memoirs; she has translated ...
,
Paulette Jiles
Paulette Jiles (aka Paulette K. Jiles, Paulette Jiles-Johnson) (born 4 April 1943) is an American poet, memoirist, and novelist.
Personal life
Paulette Kay Jiles was born in 1943 in Salem, Missouri. She attended college at the University of ...
,
George Grant and
Northrop Frye
Herman Northrop Frye (July 14, 1912 – January 23, 1991) was a Canadian literary critic and literary theorist, considered one of the most influential of the 20th century.
Frye gained international fame with his first book, '' Fearful Symm ...
. The company also published many translations of
French language works by authors such as
Roch Carrier,
Anne Hébert
Anne Hébert (pronounced in French) (August 1, 1916 – January 22, 2000), was a Canadian author and poet. She won Canada's top literary honor, the Governor General's Award, three times, twice for fiction and once for poetry.
Early life
Hébe ...
,
Lise Bissonnette and
Marie-Claire Blais
Marie-Claire Blais (5 October 1939 – 30 November 2021) was a Canadian writer, novelist, poet, and playwright from the province of Québec. In a career spanning seventy years, she wrote novels, plays, collections of poetry and fiction, newsp ...
.
Anansi publishes the transcripts for many of the
Massey Lectures
The Massey Lectures is an annual five-part series of lectures given in Canada by distinguished writers, thinkers and scholars who explore important ideas and issues of contemporary interest. Created in 1961 in honour of Vincent Massey, the former ...
.
House of Anansi Press was purchased in 1989 by General Publishing, parent of
Stoddart Publishing.
In June 2002 it was acquired by
Scott Griffin
Scott Griffin, (born 1938) is a Canadian businessman and philanthropist best known for founding the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2000, one of the world's most generous poetry awards, and Poetry In Voice, a bilingual recitation competition for Canadia ...
, founder of the
Griffin Poetry Prize
The Griffin Poetry Prize is Canada's most generous poetry award. It was founded in 2000 by businessman and philanthropist Scott Griffin.
Before 2022, the awards went to one Canadian and one international poet who writes in the English language. ...
.
Select bibliography
*''
Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature'',
Margaret Atwood (1972)
References
External links
Official SiteList of references* Archives of the House of Anansi Pres
(House of Anasi Press fonds, R11750)are held at
Library and Archives Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:House Of Anansi Press
Book publishing companies of Canada
Publishing companies established in 1967
1967 establishments in Ontario