Small Press Profile: Groundwood Books

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Independent Canadian children’s publisher Groundwood Books, an imprint of House of Anansi Press, publishes books across all genres geared toward children, middle grade readers, and young adults, offering a catalog of picture books, bilingual books for young readers, and graphic novels.

The 37-year-old Toronto-based company’s mission statement reads, “We look for books that are unusual; we are not afraid of books that are difficult or potentially controversial; and we are particularly committed to publishing books for and about children whose experiences of the world are under-represented elsewhere.”

One of the books exemplifying this embrace of difficult topics is Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress by Christine Baldacchino and Isabelle Malefant, a 2014 Stonewall Honor Book that was also selected as the Huffington Post’s Most Touching/Heartwarming Book of 2014 on its end-of-the-year book list.

The story, based on the author’s experiences working at a daycare, tells of a young boy who wants to wear a dress and is teased for veering from gender norms, but decides to be true to himself despite bullying from his peers.

“That’s what we try to do: to make sure that any book that does have a strong message [such as this one] is not didactic, that it’s kid-friendly, that kids love reading it, and adults love reading it to kids,” said Vice President of Sales and Licensing Barbara Howson, who has been working at Groundwood since 2009.

Morris Micklewhite is the kind of book you probably wouldn’t get in a larger house, but we’re willing to take a chance on something like this that stands out,” she said.

For the last 15 years, The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis, a picture book illustrating one family’s struggle under the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan, has been a great success for Groundwood. The publisher, which sells about 50,000 to 60,000 copies every year, has re-released the book with a new cover to celebrate its anniversary this year.

Last year, in an interview with the New York Times, Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai said The Breadwinner is one book all girls should read.

The Breadwinner is one of those classic books that just keeps going and going and going,” said Howson. “We’ve licensed the film rights, and the movie is going into production in a couple of months.”

At Groundwood Books, according to Howson, “the U.S. market is a big part of what we do.

“We’re based up in Canada, but we view ourselves as a North American publisher,” she said. “We don’t really think of ourselves, in many ways, as a Canadian publisher. Yes, we do look for Canadian authors and illustrators, but we look for those who we feel will travel down to the U.S. and internationally as well, since we sell our books on the international market.”

Howson said the publisher, which is distributed by Publishers Group West in the United States and receives some financial support from national arts groups like the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Canada Book Fund, goes out of its way to send authors and publisher representatives to the States as often as possible.

“We have been going to Winter Institute and Children’s Institute, which are just such fabulous opportunities to meet with booksellers and have that one-on-one time with them, and where we are able to tell them about our books and bring our authors down,” Howson said.

Frieda Wishinsky, author of the May 2015 book Avis Dolphin, about a young girl who experiences the sinking of the Lusitania, was one such author who attended this year’s Children’s Institute. Wishinsky got the chance to sit with booksellers at celebratory lunches and breakfasts, sign ARCs for them at the author reception and, later, thanks to some of the bookseller connections she made, even set up a short U.S. tour.

Another of Groundwood’s Canadian author-illustrators who recently traveled to the U.S. is Mary-Louise Gay, creator of the Stella and Sam children’s book series, who toured independent bookstores in California.

Some of the new books featured in Groundwood’s fall catalog include A Year without Mom by New York City-based artist Dasha Tolstikova, whose first graphic novel comes out in October. Howson said graphic novels are one area the publisher's list will continue to grow in future years.

Another book on Groundwood’s fall list is Buddy and Earl by Maureen Fergus and illustrated by Carey Sookocheff, the first book in a new series about a hedgehog and dog who are the best of mismatched friends, which publishes in August. The second book in the series, Buddy and Earl Go Exploring, is set for release in 2016.

One trend Howson said she has noticed in her conversations with independent booksellers is the desire for more diversity in reading choices. This is definitely something that Groundwood offers, she said.

“I think this is true in the institutional market, but it was also definitely brought up at Children’s Institute. There were a bunch of breakout panels and presentations about diverse books and how often they are overlooked because people think they are didactic or that they don’t necessarily appeal to kids,” said Howson.

She added, “I think there were some great talking points brought up [at Children’s Institute] about how a book can speak to universals — that it doesn’t matter who the main character is, necessarily, and also that a lot of these books can be used by families as a way to start talking about important issues.”

One book coming from Groundwood this fall that represents this value of diversity, and which has already received a starred review in School Library Journal, is Two White Rabbits by Jairo Buitraigo and illustrated by Rafael Yockteng. The title tells the story of a young girl and her father who immigrate illegally to the U.S. from Mexico.

“It’s a book that is going to possibly be very controversial. It’s obviously diverse and given what is happening in the buildup for [the U.S. presidential] election, I think that it is very pertinent and an important subject about all the kids who are migrating legally or illegally,” Howson said. “Groundwood looks for books that speak to kids’ experiences that might not otherwise be published.”