FESTIVAL 2025  •  Sat, Nov 1  •  5:30pm

Small Press, Big Impact: Why Independent Publishing Still Matters

Hear from the indie publishers of Canada

Writer's Craft
Conversation
Free Event
No pass required
 
 

FESTIVAL 2025  •  Sat, Nov 1  •  5:30pm

Small Press, Big Impact: Why Independent Publishing Still Matters

Hear from the indie publishers of Canada

Writer's Craft
Conversation
Free Event
No pass required

About

Small press publishing is at a crossroads. More writers than ever are seeking to publish, yet fewer readers are buying books, leaving independent presses navigating shrinking markets and shifting landscapes. Still, they persist, driven by passion, creativity, and a deep commitment to voices and work that might otherwise go unheard. This event gathers three small press publishers for an honest conversation about the challenges they face and the reasons they carry on. Join us to explore how small presses are adapting, and why their role in the literary world remains vital.

Moderator:

Kate Siklosi’s work includes Selvage (Invisible 2023), leavings (Timglaset 2021), and seven chapbooks of poetry. Her critical and creative work has also been featured across North America, Europe, and the UK. She also curates the Small Press Map of Canada and is co-founding editor of Gap Riot Press.

Panelists:

Dani Spinosa is a poet, scholar, educator, writer, and programmer. She is a sometimes professor, a software developer, a digital and creative project manager, a co-founding editor of Gap Riot Press, President of Canthius, Managing Editor of the Electronic Literature Directory, and the author of two books: OO: Typewriter Poems (Invisible Publishing, 2020) and Anarchists in the Academy (U of Alberta Press, 2018). She has published several chapbooks of poetry and several more peer-reviewed journal articles on poetry. She lives in beautiful Wasaga Beach, Ontario.

Kirby is the author of She, Poetry Is Queer and This Is Where I Get Off. They are the publisher of knife | fork | book, a poetry press based in Toronto about to celebrate their 10th Anniversary.

Leigh Nash is the publisher of Assembly Press, which publishes Canadian and international fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Previously, she was the publisher at House of Anansi Press and Invisible Publishing, and managing editor at Coach House Books; she also cofounded editorial firm Re:word Communications and chapbook press The Emergency Response Unit. Leigh earned an MFA in creative writing from the University of Guelph and has published one poetry collection, Goodbye, Ukulele.

Dates & Times

Sat, Nov 1
5:30pm
6:30pm

Tickets

This is a FREE event

Venue

Northrop Frye Hall, Room 003

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