Paperbacks in stock!

After many plans and promises we have released paperback editions of Caterpillar Portraits by Joyce Jodie Kim and The Insomniac's Assistant by Sienna Tristen. Some of you may remember Caterpillar Portraits was our first project ever, sold out in September 2017. It launched Penrose Press as much as the other way around. We've dressed it up in an updated cover and included an introduction by Rahema Wahedi. 
The Insomniac's Assistant was an ambitious project in 2018. We were so inspired by Sienna's text that it grew and grew into an elaborate book duo with Sleep or Else. In keeping with recent Penrose tradition, we now have an accessible edition (including Sleep or Else!) available alongside the fine press edition. These two and the paperback editions of Carp Dreams and The Pink of the Seams all have the same profile and form a lovely little set, if you're looking for gift ideas.

Penrose Press: Canadian Micropublisher

We make really pretty books.

This is independent publishing for those who care deeply about the experience of the book in addition its contents. If we could make them smell just a little musty, we would, but in reality you're more likely to catch a whiff of rubber-based ink from the letterpress process. The Pink of the Seams by Sanna Wani is wrapped in an envelope that feels like a starchy quilt, and protects the vulnerable feelings expressed inside. The Midnight Garden by Gabrielle Crowley has been kissed, literally, twice on every copy. Let the body language of our books speak to you.

The Insomniac's Assistant

CA$50.00

The Size of Texas

CA$20.00

The Pink of the Seams- Complete Envelope Set

CA$100.00

The Midnight Garden

CA$20.00
Get updates about events and calls for submission and stay up-to-date with your favourite Penrose writers.
Hang out with Natalie while she networks
the literary field and drops hints about the writing submissions she wants.
Learn about printmaking and book production with Brianna. Watch the next project come together before your eyes.

Upcoming Events

Met the Presses Indie Literary Market
Trinity St. Paul's Centre
427 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Saturday November 16,
​11am - 4:30pm
Artist Pop-Up Holiday Market
Open Studio Toronto
401 Richmond Street West, Unit 104
Thursday December 5, 5 - 7pm
Friday December 6, 11am - 5pm
Saturday December 7, 11am - 5pm
Bound Book Arts Fair
Arts & Letters Club
14 Elm Street, Toronto (near Yonge and Dundas)
Sunday December 8,
​11am - 5pm
Penrose Readers getting comfy at the book launch for The Insomniac's Assistant in the Summer of 2018
Penrose Readers getting comfy at the book launch for The Insomniac's Assistant in the Summer of 2018
The Penrose Family (Publishers and Authors) at a writing Workshop in Open Studio Toronto in the Summer of 2018
The Penrose Family (Publishers and Authors) at a writing Workshop in Open Studio Toronto in the Summer of 2018

Dear Writers,
​Here's what we're looking for:

We publish fiction and poetry by Canadian writers. No non-fiction, sorry. We try to alternate: poetry, fiction, poetry, fiction... etc, so right now, while we're still accepting poetry submissions, we're really looking for FICTION. Give us short fiction, novel length fiction, flash fiction... give it to us as a one-off or as a collection. If you submit some fiction writing in the next couple months you have a better than average chance of having it accepted. That said, we've adopted a "hell yeah or no" mentality when it comes to submissions. Either we think that the published work could be ★ amaaaaaazing ★ or it's a no, so if we feel "okay" or "not bad" about your writing it doesn't move forward with us. Please email us at penrosepress@gmail.com to submit. Include a cover letter and a sample of your writing.

A note for writers who aren't sure if they're ready...

The nature of writing as an emerging creative is that your skill and style are probably evolving rapidly. If you're writing anything of significant length, you may reach the end and look cringingly back at the beginning, worse still, you may never reach the end because you're too busy rewriting the first three chapters. If you're writing shorter work, the body of it may feel stunted because your taste is developing faster than your skill #creativeproblems (that's pretty classic). We hear from a number of writers who have a lot of self doubt, who swing between wanting to share their work with the world and wanting to set it on fire. We hear you, we know that self doubt and we know all about pyro-inclinations. But take the guess-work out of it! Let us tell you if we think you're ready or if we think you should keep trucking. We're always nice, even if we're not interested. 

You may find (as we have), that while quality will get you places, quantity will allow you to stay there, if you want. It’s like a blog, or a business, people want consistency, they want proof that you’re not a one-hit wonder. Collecting a small readership with your first, imperfect publication will mean that when you are ready to launch the perfect book (though they may all feel imperfect, if we’re being honest) you will already have a foundation to build on.

We wish you all the best,
Brianna & Natalie

Natalie's Reading List

As dedicated editor at Penrose Press, Natalie does a lot of reading. Here's what she's burned through (metaphorically) so far in 2018 and 2019.
Autumn 2018
>The Red Threads of Fortune by Jy Yang ★★★★★
> The Black Tides of Heaven by Jy Yang ★★★★★
> The Wicked + The Divine: The Faust Act by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie ★★★★
> The Sandman Volume 1: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman ★★★
> Us Against You by Fredrick Backman ★★★
> Beartown by Frederick Backman ★★★★
> My Grandmother Sends Her Regrets and Apologises by Frederick Backman ★★★★
> Britt-Marie was Here by Frederick Backman ★★★★
> Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman ★★★
> Happiness for Humans by P. Z. Reizin ★★
> The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James ★★
> All Out: The No-longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages, Edited by Saundra Mitchell ★★★
Summer 2018
> Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips ★★
> A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers ★★★★
> The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers ★★★★★
> A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab ★★★★
> A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab ★★★★★
> A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schawb ★★★★
> Home Fire by Camila Shamsie ★★★
> Seraphina by Rachel Hartman ★★★★
> The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern ★★★★★
​> Tin Man by Sarah Winman ★★★★★
> The Letters of Vita Sackville-West to Virginia Woolf edited by Louise DeSalvo ★★★★
> The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury ★★★
> Ready Player One by Ernest Cline ★★★★★
> Circe by Madeline Miller ★★★★
Spring 2018
> Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor ★★★★
> Miss You by Kate Eberlen ★★★
> A Lite Too Bright by Samuel Miller ★★★★★
> Vincent and Theo by Deborah Heiligman ★★
Winter 2018
> Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce ★★★★
> The Heretic's Guide to Homecoming by Sienna Tristen ★★★★★
> Selected Works by E E Cummings, edited by Richard S. Kennedy ★★★★★
> Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman ★★★★
> The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh ★★★
> Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley ★★★★
> The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh ★★★
> A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L'Engle ★★★★
WINTER 2019
> Art Matters: Because Your Imagination Can Change the World by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Chris Riddell ​★★★★★
> Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi ★★
> Girl Online by Zoe Sugg ★
> Captive Prince by C. S. Pacat ★★
> Prince's Gambit by C. S. Pacat ★★★
> Kings Rising by C. S. Pacat ★★★  
> All The Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater ★★★
> Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak ★★
> For a Muse of Fire by Heidi Heilig ★★
> Release by Patrick Ness ★★★★
> The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater ★★★★
> The Reader: Book One of Sea of Ink and Gold by Tracy Chee ★★★
> 500 Words or Less by Juleah Del Rosario ★★
>The Lumberjack's Dove by GennaRose Nethercott ★★★★★
>Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman ★★★
>The Man Suit by Zachary Schomburg ★★★
>And the Ocean Was Our Sky by Patrick Ness ★★★★
>The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe ★★★
>Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews ★★
​
SPRING 2019
>The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (in progress)
>A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki (in progress)
>Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray (in progress)
>Salt by Nayyirah Waheed (in progress)
>Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente (in progress)
>American Hippo by Sarah Gailey (in progress)
>The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine (in progress)

Review Copies Available:

Hey book community!
We're making review copies available upon request. If you have a history of writing honest, long-form book reviews we'd love to hear from you. Send us an email at penrosepress@gmail.com and let us know which Penrose publication you'd like to review. We reserve the right to choose recipients for our limited number of review copies. 

Journal

Want to learn more? Head over to the Journal to peruse A Penrose Story as well as several entries in the categories "Nerd Time with Brianna" and "Book Reviews with Natalie". There is more detail here than you can find anywhere else, even if you read our social media histories like a textbook.

A ​Penrose Story

Project by project, read the short, ​colourful
history of Penrose Press. We've reflected on
the content, production, press goals,
turning points and particular achievements
of the past 2 years. ​In hindsight, we've been
so lucky ​to work this way.
All works © Penrose Press 2019. Please do not reproduce.