Small Press Saturday: Portage & Main Press and HighWater Press
The cover of This Place: 150 Years Retold.
Happy Saturday!
It has been a week and this post is coming late in the day, but better late than never. This week less is more – the post is short, but the press is awesome and does incredible work that you need to check out.
The offices of Portage & Main Press and HighWater Press in are located on Treaty 1 Territory as well as the homeland of the Métis Nation. As Portage & Main they focus strictly on educational resources. They are an independent Canadian press that has been women-owned since 1967. Their books are written by experts in their subject and are child-centric and inclusive while prioritizing Indigenous and marginalized voices.
The HighWater imprint publishes gorgeous and educational books by Indigenous creators. I grabbed myself a copy of This Place: 150 Years Retold, a graphic novel anthology that explores the past 150 years through the eyes of Indigenous creators, when it was first released in 2019 and it is one of my most favourite graphic novels. The stories are important, the differing art styles from story to story are amazing, and each style contributes to the story it is helping to tell.
I could wax on about how beautiful HighWater books are and how educational Portage & Main books are, but really, if you are seeking to read more Indigenous author, just head over to their website and browse their books. I’ve just added Sugar Falls by David A. Robertson to my wishlist, and if you have never read David A. Robertson before, go grab Strangers which is book one in his YA trilogy – highly recommended!
Enjoy browsing through the Portage & Main/HighWater website – you won’t regret it.
Happy Reading!
– Stacey
Find Portage & Main and HighWater Press books at your local Canadian indie bookseller
The covers for Siha Tooskin Knows the Nature of Life and Siha Tooskin Knows the Best Medicine, by Charlene Bearhead & Wilson Bearhead, and illustrated by Chloe Bluebird Mustooch.
Cover for The Grizzly Mother, by Hetxw’ms Gyetxw (Brett D. Huson) and illustrated by Natasha Donovan
Cover for Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Métis, & Inuit Issues in Canada, by Chelsea Vowel.
Cover for When We Were Alone by David A. Robertson and illustrated by Julie Flett.