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, news ...
company, based in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
. The company publishes a broad range of titles in both fiction 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 ...
graphic novels
A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
,
visual arts
The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile art ...
, progressive and activist non-fiction and works in
translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
Established in 1971, Scriveners' Pulp Press Limited was one of several ventures in alternative arts and literature of the early 1970s. In addition to fiction, poetry and drama titles the Press issued a twice-monthly literary magazine, Three-Cent Pulp, from 1972 to 1978, which introduced a loyal readership to new writing and graphics from around the world. In 1977 Pulp held its first 3-Day Novel Contest, a literary marathon held over the Labour Day weekend during which registered contestants attempted to write a novel in three days. Pulp Press sponsored the event until 1991.
The press is located in Vancouver, BC in the city's historic Chinatown district, and employs a full-time staff of six. In 2012 it had five employees. Its main specialty is LGBT works; in 2012 it did not specialize in comics.
Arsenal Pulp Press publisher Brian Lam (co-owner of the press since 1992) has been honoured with multiple professional awards for his significant contributions to LGBTQ2s+ and BIPOC publishing in North America. In 2014 he won the Community Builder Award from the Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop. In 2018, Lam received the Ivy Award from the Toronto International Festival of Authors. In 2020, Lam was awarded the Lambda LiteraryPublishing Professional Award.
In the fall of 2011 Arsenal Pulp Press celebrated its 40th anniversary. The press celebrated its 50th anniversary in the fall of 2021.
In March 2021, Arsenal Pulp Press became the first Canadian small press publisher to have two books make the finale of CBC
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 ...
, Canada's national "battle of the books." The novel ''Jonny Appleseed'' by
Joshua Whitehead
Joshua Whitehead is a Canadian First Nations, two spirit poet and novelist.
An Oji-Cree member of the Peguis First Nation in Manitoba,Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs won the competition, beating the novel ''
Butter Honey Pig Bread
''Butter Honey Pig Bread'' is Francesca Ekwuyasi's debut novel, a contemporary novel published September 3, 2020 by Arsenal Pulp Press.
The book tells the story of three women, Kambirinachi and her twin daughters, Kehinde and Taiye, and takes p ...
Authors who have been published by Arsenal Pulp include:
The company has also published art books by or on the work of Stan Douglas, Peter Flinsch,
Attila Richard Lukacs
Attila Richard Lukács (born 1962) is a Canadian artist.
Lukács gained international attention via his ''E-werk'' series—a collection of very large figure paintings that he created in the 1980s and 90s, while living in Berlin.
The paintings f ...