Canadian poet and small press publisher bpNichol once said, “Supporting small press is supporting literature on the cutting edge. Small press is the guardian of literary culture and free speech.” At its heart, small press is about experimentation and community-building. It began as a cost-effective means of circulating innovative, fringe literatures, and in many ways, this scrappy, humble tradition has been preserved while also inviting new approaches to the craft, from the basement-produced zine to the carefully handcrafted, formally-interested art object.

This map, while not exhaustive of the small presses currently in existence in Canada, gives a taste of the ephemera and wonder on offer across the country. Happy reading!

—Kate Siklosi, Co-Founding Editor, Gap Riot Press