Site Profile
House of Anansi Press is an independently-owned Canadian Publishing House that was founded in 1967 by writers David Godfrey and Dennis Lee who were frustrated with the cultural norms of their time and place and shared an aversion towards “the establishment.” Originally, Anansi’s mandate focused on publishing only Canadian writers, and they garnered recognition for publishing well-known and critically acclaimed authors. This initiative has allowed Anansi to maintain a backlist of culturally significant authors such as Margaret Atwood, Northrop Frye and Michael Ondaatje.
In 2002, House of Anansi was bought by Scott Griffin, the founder of the Griffin Poetry Prize. Anansi now focuses on finding and developing new and promising Canadian writers of literary fiction, poetry and non-fiction. Looking at some of the recent titles, it is clear that Anansi is doing just that. Titles published by Anansi are frequently nominated for (and win) prestigious awards, both nationally and internationally, including The Man Booker Prize, The Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, The Governor General’s Literary Award, The Trillium Book Award, The Giller Prize and The Writers’ Trust Award. Many of their books become bestsellers and are seen on “the best of the year” lists in national and international newspapers as well as popular literary blogs. Some more recent titles enjoying such accolades include The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt, The Antagonist by Lynn Coady, Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman, Far to Go by Alison Pick, The Cello Suites by Eric Siblin and Annabel by Kathleen Winter.
House of Anansi is also responsible for publishing the immensely popular and prestigious CBC Massey Lectures, an annual publication that is subsequently broadcasted on CBC’s radio program Ideas. The books and lectures are staples for many Canadians and explore a multitude of subject matter surrounding Canadian culture and issues, solidifying Anansi's position as an an innovative and culturally supportive press. Recent authors who have participated include Adam Gopnik, Douglas Coupland, Margaret Atwood, Thomas King and Wade Davis.
House of Anansi continues to grow, in 2005 they acquired the children’s publisher Groundwood Books and in 2010 they launched two new imprints. Spiderline exclusively publishes literary crime fiction and Anansi International has allowed the house to expand into publishing the best new voices from around the world. House of Anansi is a unique, powerful and culturally important addition to independent Canadian publishing. Laura Repas, the Publicity Director since 2002 said of the press, “I think we benefit from a company-wide, enthusiastic approach to everything we do, and I suspect that enthusiasm is contagious. We have a great reputation in the industry and with writers due to our long history of discovering and breaking out exciting new writers.”
For more information check out their amazing website here
House of Anansi Press
