Small Press Saturday: Goose Lane Editions
The cover of Out of Mind by David Bergen, published by Goose Lane Editions. Books photographed, here and below, courtesy of Owl’s Nest Books.
Happy Saturday!
Not the happiest Saturday given today is the 20th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and because the home province of the Butterflies & Aliens Library is rife with Covid 19 and a critically endangered health care system leading us to wonder if we will ever escape from this dystopia? Both of these things are important but also super depressing. So, to provide a nice homebound and safe distraction from all that, I am super happy to introduce you to the East Coast press, Goose Lane Editions!
Goose Lane Editions is an independent press located in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Founded in 1954 in Fredericton as Fiddlehead Poetry Books by Fred Cogswell and a group of students and faculty from the University of New Brunswick, the press was renamed Goose Lane Editions in 1981 when Fred Cogswell retired and his successor Peter Thomas took the helm. The Goose Lane of today is headed by publisher and co-owner Susanne Alexander.
While they are located in the Maritimes, they publish far more than local interest stuff. They specialize in Canadian literary fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Their poetry has its own imprint called icehouse poetry. Overall, Goose Lane has an impressive list ranging from trail guides, queer lit, literary fiction, Indigenous lit, art, nature, business and politics, to the very niche New Brunswick military history books they publish. Chances are they have a book for almost any reader, such is the breadth of their publishing program, except that they don’t do children’s books.
Goose Lane editions is also no stranger to winning awards – lots of them! Their titles have won Governor General’s Awards, Giller Prizes, Commonwealth Book Prizes, and the Shaughnessy Cohen Award for Political Writing to name a few.
Cover of Like Rum-Drunk Angels by Tyler Enfield, image courtesy of the Goose Lane Editions website.
Currently on my wish list from Goose Lane is RLike Rum-Drunk Angels by Tyler Enfield. It is a retelling of Aladdin as an American western and has been longlisted for the 2021 Leacock Award for Humour – I am all about funny these days.
So, if you have some time this rainy Saturday, perhaps you might take a scroll through the offerings of Goose Lane Editions and find your next great Canadian read <3
Happy Reading!
– Stacey
Cover of Walls: Travels Along the Barricades by Marcello Di Cintio.
Cover of On Opium: Pain, Pleasure, and Other Matters of Substance by Carlyn Zwarenstein.
Cover of Pay No Heed to the Rockets: Palestine in the Present Tense by Marcello Di Cintio.