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Lester & Orpen Dennys was a Canadian
book publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
company based in Toronto, originally as Lester & Orpen. It operated as a publisher from 1973 to 1991. Writers who published with the company included
Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...
,
P.D. James Phyllis Dorothy James, Baroness James of Holland Park, (3 August 1920 – 27 November 2014), known professionally as P. D. James, was an English novelist and life peer. Her rise to fame came with her series of detective novels featuring t ...
,
June Callwood June Rose Callwood, (June 2, 1924 – April 14, 2007) was a Canadian journalist, author and social activist. She was known as "Canada's Conscience". Callwood achieved acclaim and a loyal following for her articles and columns written for na ...
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Morley Torgov Morley Torgov (born 3 December 1927) is a Canadian novelist, humorist and lawyer. He was a partner in the Toronto-based legal firm Olch, Torgov, Cohen LLP. Torgov was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. He studied law in Toronto at Osgoode Ha ...
,
P. K. Page Patricia Kathleen Page, (23 November 1916 – 14 January 2010) was a British-born Canadian poet,Peter ScowenP.K. Page dies at age 93 ''The Globe and Mail'', 14 January 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2010. though the citation as she was inducted as a ...
, Anne Collins,
John Irving John Winslow Irving (born John Wallace Blunt Jr.; March 2, 1942) is an American-Canadian novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of ''The World According to G ...
,
Don DeLillo Donald Richard DeLillo (born November 20, 1936) is an American novelist, short story writer, playwright, screenwriter and essayist. His works have covered subjects as diverse as television, nuclear war, sports, the complexities of language, per ...
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George Jonas George Jonas, CM (June 15, 1935 – January 10, 2016) was a Hungarian-born Canadian writer, poet, and journalist. A self-described classical liberal, he authored 16 books, including the bestseller '' Vengeance'' (1984), the story of an Israeli ...
,
Modris Eksteins Modris Eksteins ( lv, Modris Ekšteins; born December 13, 1943) is a Latvian Canadian historian with a special interest in German history and modern culture. Born in Riga, Latvia, his works include ''Rites of Spring: The Great War and the Birth of ...
,
Gabrielle Roy Gabrielle Roy (March 22, 1909July 13, 1983) was a Canadian author from St. Boniface, Manitoba and one of the major figures in French Canadian literature. Early life Roy was born in 1909 in Saint-Boniface (now part of Winnipeg), Manitoba, an ...
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Alberto Manguel Alberto Manguel (born March 13, 1948, in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine-Canadian anthologist, translator, essayist, novelist, editor, and a former Director of the National Library of Argentina. He is the author of numerous non-fiction books such ...
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Joy Kogawa Joy Nozomi Kogawa (born June 6, 1935) is a Canadian poet and novelist of Japanese descent. Life Kogawa was born Joy Nozomi Nakayama on June 6, 1935, in Vancouver, British Columbia, to first-generation Japanese Canadians Lois Yao Nakayama a ...
and
Sandra Birdsell Sandra Louise Birdsell, CM (née Bartlette) (born 22 April 1942) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer of Métis and Mennonite heritage from Morris, Manitoba. Life and career Born in Hamiota, Manitoba, Birdsell was the fifth of eleven ch ...
. Lester & Orpen was established in 1973 by partners Malcolm Lester (27 August 1938 - 1 April 2022) and Eve Orpen, who died in 1978. It was renamed, reorganized, or succeeded as Lester & Orpen Dennys in 1979 by partners Malcolm Lester and Louise Dennys. It was sold to Pagurian Corp. in August 1988, and to Hees International in December 1988, with Lester and Dennys continuing as publishers. Publishing operations were suspended by Hees in 1991, with L & OD continuing as a backlist operation only, as a part of
Key Porter Books Key Porter Books was a book publishing company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1979 by Anna Porter, later well known as a writer, the company specialized in Canadian non-fiction, although it published some fiction too. It ceased ope ...
. Malcolm Lester and
Anna Porter Anna Maria Porter, is a Canadian publisher and novelist. Life and career Born Anna Szigethy in Budapest, she emigrated to New Zealand in 1956. She received a bachelor's degree and Master of Arts degree from the University of Canterbury. She star ...
of Key Porter established Lester Publishing, a new publishing company based in Toronto, announced 7 June 1991. The new company would hire many services from Key Porter Books. Its first catalogue was expected to be completed in July for Fall 1991. Kathy Lowinger, who had led the children's division at L&OD, continued in the same position at Lester Publ. Lester Publishing issued new editions of some books published by L&OD, such as ''D-Day at 50'' (1994; was 1984). Louise Dennys subsequently joined the Canadian division of
Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...
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References

Sources in 1991 newspaper coverage by ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'' (Toronto). # H. J. Kirchhoff, "L&OD suspends publishing: Financial backing is withdrawn", 10 January 1991, p. C1 # Kimberley Noble, "Publish and Perish", 19 January 1991, p. D1 # Val Ross, "Canadian publishers launch new firm", 7 June 1991, p. C6 – Lester Publishing Ltd. Book publishing companies of Canada Defunct publishing companies of Canada {{Publish-corp-stub