Founders
Allison Alexander (Editorial Director) is an earthbending bard from Hoth who loves other-worldly stories. After studying English and Publishing at university, she found her home in books, and now she writes and edits full time. Her favourite parts of working at Mythos & Ink are overseeing projects, collaborating with other creatives, and making words come alive. In her book SUPER SICK, Allison explores living with a chronic illness and how pop culture’s representation of disability perpetuates the stigmas associated with it. In her newsletter, INVISIBLE INK, she discusses writing and media from a disabled perspective. During chill time, Allison can be found in Hyrule, Middle-earth, or a galaxy far, far away, probably in the company of her husband and imaginary pet owl.
Kyle Rudge (Marketing Director) has over ten years of experience in marketing and has been the program director and morning show host for two successful radio stations. He loves giving authors the individual attention they deserve and is passionate about working with science fiction and fantasy projects. A geek through-and-through, Kyle loves Ender’s Game, Battlestar Galactica, and Firefly. He’s also a jungle main, a Ravenclaw, and The Wayfarer’s Guide to Worldbuilding podcast host! He’s a husband and father of 2 humans and retains guardianship over 2 furry companions. And he’s someone who loves seeing others reach their full creative potential.
How did you start? Who are your influences, in Canada and beyond? What is your mission?
Previous to Mythos & Ink, Alexander and Rudge founded a project that built community around geek and comic-con culture. Inspired by that community, they wanted to focus on publishing due to their skills and passions, and Mythos & Ink was born in December, 2018. The partnership became a corporation in February, 2020.
Our mission is to publish sci-fi, fantasy, and geek-related nonfiction. We’re passionate about other worlds—tales of the impossible, broken, and lovely—told by unique voices. We’re also an author-focused press; we take the time to mentor our writers and work closely with them throughout the entire publication process. We’re transparent about our contracts and ownership of Intellectual Property.
What about small press publishing is particularly exciting to you right now?
Small presses have the unique opportunity to work closely with authors from pitch to publication. We work together to fine-tune their story and love seeing how it grows. We also love the flexibility of working at a small press and the creativity it enables.
How does your press work to engage with your immediate literary community, and community at large?
We’re excited that we can focus on community-building in addition to publishing great books. We have a Discord community for SFF readers/writers and a Patreon that allows us to provide unique resources and opportunities for discussion. We’re also in the process of recording the first episodes of a podcast on worldbuilding.
How have the current multiple global crises impacted your work with the press?
Printing advanced copies and shipping them in time has become a challenge. With various shutdowns and other COVID-related challenges, it’s difficult to predict when our books will be delivered to us or to reviewers. Fortunately, readers can order the books after the publication date without difficulty.
We’ve been hosting book launches online instead of in-person. These events have actually been incredibly fun and valuable; people who could not attend an in-person launch because they’re in another city (or another continent) can come. We’ve been able to be creative, planning interviews and creating videos (like this dramatic preview for What Will Not Last). We will be continuing to host online book launches even after COVID is over!
As far as the regular work day goes, many of our staff meetings were already online due to personal preference and our project tracking done through online software—so most of our process has not slowed at all.
Under the Lesser Moon
Shelly Campbell
November 7, 2020
Under the Lesser Moon is a tribalistic, survival fantasy by a stunning new voice in Canadian fiction. In a society where firstborn sons are sacrificed to the Goddess, Akrist is cursed. Only his death can mend the relationship between his people and the dragons that used to guide them. But he doesn’t want to die. This story is brutal and doesn’t pull its punches, a much-need exploration of what it’s like to be shunned your entire life.
Super Sick
Allison Alexander
May 12, 2020
Super Sick: Making Peace with Chronic Illness is a geek’s guide to making peace with disability. This book is unique in how it gives examples from pop culture to demonstrate how sick characters should be portrayed in fiction. It doesn’t give an “answer” to chronic illness, because there is none, but outlines the struggles faced by the disabled community and affirms that they are not alone. Super Sick seeks to comfort those with chronic conditions and encourage them with stories of heroes from real life and fiction.
What Will Not Last
Written by Lyndon Radchenka
Illustrated by GMB Chomichuk, Steven Kaul, Zach Schuster, and Christopher Smith
July 2, 2020
What Will Not Last is a graphic novel anthology featuring four separate stories. Will a father let his son be sacrificed for the good of his people? Is a spandex suit and the love of Citiesville's people enough to make Hero-Man a real hero? Do nightmares come alive? Will a space exploration team find what they're looking for? This anthology offers behind-the-scenes pages and is a culmination of Canadian talent that showcases a variety of art styles and storytelling methods.
