Fernwood Publishing and our literary imprint, Roseway, publish critical books that inform, enlighten and challenge. We are political publishers in that our books acknowledge, confront and contest intersecting forms of oppression and exploitation. We believe that in publishing books that challenge the status quo and imagine new ways forward we participate in the creation of a more socially just world. We are not afraid to take risks in this regard and are proud to publish those individuals or ideas that too often go unheard. While corporate giants act to silence dissent, we act to give dissent a voice. As an independent Canadian publisher, we also emphasize, though not exclusively, Canadian authors and the Canadian context. The quality of the books we publish and the relationships with our authors demonstrate that every member of our small team is dedicated to the publishing and political goals of social justice.
Fernwood Publishing Co. Ltd. was founded in August 1991 and published its first books in the spring of 1992. First located in Halifax, Fernwood Publishing now has an office in Black Point, Nova Scotia. In 1994, Fernwood Publishing expanded with the establishment of an office in Winnipeg. Since 1992, Fernwood and Roseway have published over 900 titles.
Historically, Fernwood Publishing has published primarily for an academic audience. To this end, we publish books intended for undergraduate university and college courses, and monographs intended as supplementary texts in all levels of undergraduate and graduate courses. Our main focus is in the social sciences, with an emphasis on criminology, aboriginal studies, labour studies, women’s studies, gender studies, critical theory, politics, political economy, cultural studies and social work.
In recent years we have expanded our publishing mandate with more books intended for an audience of general readers who are interested in social change and social justice. With the acquisition of the Roseway imprint in 2006 we have launched a modest publishing program more oriented toward fiction. All of our books, non-fiction, fiction and academic, are designed to appeal to critical readers.