House of Anansi Press
Encyclopedia
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
, and non-fiction
.
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
, Marian Engel
, Erin Mouré
, Paulette Jiles
, George Grant
and Northrop Frye
. The company also published many translations of French language
works by Québécois
authors such as Roch Carrier
, Anne Hébert
, Lise Bissonnette
and Marie-Claire Blais
.
Anansi publishes the transcripts for many of the Massey Lectures
.
House of Anansi Press was purchased in 1989 by Stoddart Publishing. In June 2002 it was acquired by Scott Griffin
, founder of the Griffin Poetry Prize
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
publishing company, founded in 1967 by writers Dennis Lee
Dennis Lee (author)
Dennis Beynon Lee, OC, MA is a Canadian poet, teacher, editor, and critic born in Toronto, Ontario. He is also a children's writer, well known for his book of children's rhymes, Alligator Pie.-Life:...
and Dave Godfrey
Dave Godfrey
Dave Godfrey is a Canadian writer and publisher. His novel The New Ancestors won the Governor General's Award for English language fiction in 1970....
. The company specializes in finding and developing new Canadian writers of literary fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
, poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, and non-fiction
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
.
Anansi started as a small press
Small press
Small press is a term often used to describe publishers with annual sales below a certain level. Commonly, in the United States, this is set at $50 million, after returns and discounts...
with only one full-time employee, writer George Fetherling
George Fetherling
Douglas George Fetherling is a Canadian poet, novelist, journalist and essayist. One of the most prolific figures in Canadian letters, he has written and edited more than fifty books, including more than a dozen volumes of poetry, two novels, and a multi-volume memoir...
. It quickly gained attention for publishing significant authors such as Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood, is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history; she is a winner of the Arthur C...
, Matt Cohen, Michael Ondaatje
Michael Ondaatje
Philip Michael Ondaatje , OC, is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian novelist and poet of Burgher origin. He is perhaps best known for his Booker Prize-winning novel, The English Patient, which was adapted into an Academy-Award-winning film.-Life and work:...
, Marian Engel
Marian Engel
Marian Engel, OC, née Marian Ruth Passmore was an award-winning Canadian novelist.-Summary:Born May 24, 1933 in Toronto, Ontario, to teacher parents Frederick Searle and Mary Elizabeth Passmore...
, Erin Mouré
Erin Mouré
Erin Mouré is a Canadian poet and translator of poetry from languages which include, French, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish to English. Her mother Mary Irene was born 1924 in Galicia, Poland and moved to Canada in 1929. Erin’s father is William Moure born in Ottawa Canada in 1925...
, Paulette Jiles
Paulette Jiles
Paulette Jiles-Johnson is an American-born Canadian poet and novelist. Born in Salem, Missouri, she was educated at the University of Illinois in Spanish literature...
, George Grant
George Grant (philosopher)
George Parkin Grant, OC, FRSC was a Canadian philosopher, teacher and political commentator, whose popular appeal peaked in the late 1960s and 1970s. He is best known for his nationalism, political conservatism, and his views on technology, pacifism, Christian faith, and abortion...
and Northrop Frye
Northrop Frye
Herman Northrop Frye, was a Canadian literary critic and literary theorist, considered one of the most influential of the 20th century....
. The company also published many translations of French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
works by Québécois
French-speaking Quebecer
French-speaking Quebecers are francophone residents of the Canadian province of Quebec....
authors such as Roch Carrier
Roch Carrier
Roch Carrier, OC is a Canadian novelist and author of "contes" . He is among the best known Quebec writers in English Canada....
, Anne Hébert
Anne Hébert
Anne Hébert, CC, OQ , was a Canadian author and poet. She is a descendant of famed French-Canadian historian Francois-Xavier Garneau, "and has carried on the family literary tradition spectacularly."...
, Lise Bissonnette
Lise Bissonnette
Lise Bissonnette, OQ is a Canadian writer and journalist.Born in Rouyn, Quebec, Bissonnette studied education science at the Université de Montréal from 1965 to 1970. She later pursed doctoral studies at the University of Strasbourg and the École pratique des hautes études in Paris. In 1974, she...
and Marie-Claire Blais
Marie-Claire Blais
Marie-Claire Blais, is a Canadian author and playwright.- Life :Born in Quebec City, Quebec, she was educated at a convent school and at Université Laval. It was at Laval that she met Jeanne Lapointe and Father Georges Lévesque, who encouraged her to write and, in 1959, to publish her first...
.
Anansi publishes the transcripts for many of the Massey Lectures
Massey Lectures
The Massey Lectures are an annual week-long series of lectures on a political, cultural or philosophical topic given in Canada by a noted scholar. They were created in 1961 to honour Vincent Massey, Governor General of Canada...
.
House of Anansi Press was purchased in 1989 by Stoddart Publishing. In June 2002 it was acquired by Scott Griffin
Scott Griffin
Scott Griffin is a Canadian businessman and philanthropist best known for founding the Griffin Poetry Prize, one of the world's most generous poetry awards in 2000. Celebrating its tenth year in 2010, the Griffin Poetry Prize has become known as the most adventurous international literary award...
, founder of the Griffin Poetry Prize
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. The awards go to one Canadian and one international poet who writes in the English language....
.