Small Press Saturday: Arsenal Pulp Press
Covers for Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi, Shut Up You're Pretty by Tea Mutonji, and Arborescent by Marc Herman Lynch published by Arsenal Pulp Press. Photo models courtesy of Owl’s Nest Books.
Happy Small Press Saturday!
This Saturday I thought I would feature a small press that celebrates diversity and does it incredibly well.
Arsenal Pulp Press is an award-winning press based in Vancouver, British Columbia, and will be celebrating their 50th Anniversary this year. They publish a variety of books including literary fiction, poetry, biography, memoir, cooking, cultural studies, graphic novels, and even some children’s and Young Adult titles. The plethora of awards their books have won is impressive and includes Governor General’s Awards, Lambda Literary Awards, Amazon Canada First Novel Awards, BC and Yukon Book Prizes, Prix Trillium Awards, longlisted and shortlisted for Giller Prizes, and more.
They gravitate towards books that explore social issues, gender studies, and books written by LGBTQ2S+ and BIPOC authors. They actively seek works that will have the reader questioning the world they live in and that challenge the reader on different levels. You can learn more about Arsenal Pulp Press and browse their impressive list of over 400 titles on their website.
Cover for Raziel Reid’s When Everything Feels Like the Movies
Despite the press being around for a very long time, they only crossed my radar back in 2014 when Raziel Reid’s young adult novel When Everything Feels Like the Movies won the Governor General’s Award for English Language for children’s literature. The pastel blue and hot pink colours on the cover and those sparkly lips grabbed my attention right away. I binge read it one sitting and still actually don’t know how I feel about it. The book is gritty, the character building is excellent and visceral, and the plot pulls you toward the end with great intensity. It had me thinking for several weeks about the main character, Jude. He is simultaneously glamourous, edgy, sweet, unlikeable, and a hot mess. I loved him, hated him, worried about him, and FELT so much for him. It was thrilling to see such a powerful book about a flaming gay boy win a prominent Canadian award. Consider giving it a read if you haven’t already.
Since then I have paid attention to Arsenal Pulp Press and have read more of their stellar novels including Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead and Little Fish by Casey Plett. And I have more on my staggering to-be-read list.
Check out what Arsenal Pulp Press has to offer and grab one of their books for your to-be-read pile. Be ready to be challenged and be ready for an excellent book.
Happy Reading!
– Stacey