Second Story Press

01/27/2025

This month, the Women’s Fiction Writers Association puts a spotlight on stories with older narrators. So many stories are written for young people that we often forget to turn our eyes toward the enriched lives of the middle-aged and elderly — especially women. From tender romances and crime thr...

01/27/2025

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest N**i concentration and extermination camp. Auschwitz-Birkenau started in 1940 and operated for five years, closing in 1945 when the N**is were defeated. More than 1.1 million people were murdered there: over one million were Jews, along with Poles, Roma, Sinti, and other prisoners, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people, and others whose lives were considered worthless. This anniversary marks the end of the camp and the end of the Second World War. It does not mark the end of hatred.

To gain understanding of the Holocaust, we can learn from the stories of survivors, very few of whom are still living. At Second Story, we have documented these true stories and personal experiences in books, for all ages, over many years. We encourage you to learn about the Holocaust through these stories as we remember the lives lost and those forever altered.

This is a collection of our books that feature true stories of Auschwitz-Birkenau:

Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine

To Look a N**i in the Eye by Kathy Kacer and Jordana Lebowitz

The Promise by Pnina Bat Zvi and Margie Wolfe, illustrated by Isabelle Cardinal

Fania's Heart by Anne Renaud, illustrated by Richard Rudnicki

The Magician of Auschwitz by Kathy Kacer, illustrated by Gillian Newland

Witness: Passing the Torch of Holocaust Memory to New Generations by Eli

Rubenstein with March of the Living

01/22/2025

We are hiring a Marketing and Promotions Manager! Join our team at Second Story Press and be ready to talk about books all day, every day. The application deadline is Friday February 7, 2025.

We are looking for a highly organized, enthusiastic book lover to join our sales and marketing team in downtown Toronto. Reporting to the Publishers, the Marketing & Promotions Manager is responsible for the marketing and publicity of all Second Story Press titles and products, and all distributed titles. You will be working with our small, collaborative team, and closely with our authors to effectively promote book sales and brand recognition across North America.

Click the link below to learn more about the position and how to apply. We look forward to meeting our new team member!

https://loom.ly/cZIVnQo

Second Story Press publishes feminist-inspired books for adults, teens, and children. We look for stories that feature diverse, strong female characters and explore themes of social justice, human rights, equality, and ability issues. Known for our Holocaust education titles and Indigenous authored....

01/16/2025

CONTEST UPDATE! We are thrilled that celebrated author and storyteller Richard Van Camp will be helping to judge Second Story's Indigenous Writing Contest. Richard will be joined on the jury by Sandra Samatte of GoodMinds.com and Jordan Ryder, Managing Editor at Second Story Press.
Richard Van Camp is the bestselling author of thirty books for both children and adults. He is a proud member of the Dogrib Tłı̨chǫ Nation from Fort Smith, Northwest Territories. Second Story Press is honoured to have Richard’s help in judging this contest. He brings to the process his years of experience as an author, as well as his experience as a mentor for developing writers. Richard’s writing crosses ages and genres and includes beautiful baby books like Little You and Welcome Song for Baby and the powerful novels The Lesser Blessed and Three Feathers.
Sandra Samatte is Anishinaabe and a member of Ne-biimiskonaan (Skownan) First Nation, Treaty 2 Territory. Sandra has a Bachelor of Education degree. She is an author and is currently the CEO of Indigenous Education Press (IEP). Through Indigenous Education Press Sandra works with well-known and new Indigenous Authors and illustrators, publishing Indigenous Stories for all readers. Her passion for Indigenous Education has been focused on creating Indigenous books and resources that are respectful, are culturally appropriate, and hold cultural integrity for educators, children, and young people.
Jordan Ryder is the Managing Editor at Second Story Press. She earned her Master’s in Publishing from the National University of Ireland, Galway in 2018, before moving back home to Toronto, and has been working in feminist-focused publishing ever since.
Second Story Press' fourth Indigenous Writing Contest, in partnership with GoodMinds.com, is open now. Deadline is January 31st, 2025. Entries via Submittable. Full details on our website https://loom.ly/IkMAY8s.
Thank you to everyone who has submitted so far, please be in touch if you have any questions!

Second Story Press is pleased to accept online submissions for the Indigenous Writing Contest via Submittable. The press is excited to hold this new contest in partnership with GoodMinds.com –– a First Nations–owned business based on the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory in Brantford, O...

01/10/2025

We would like to share that Margie Wolfe has transferred ownership of Second Story Press to Phuong Truong.

In a letter to authors Margie Wolfe writes: “I can hardly believe that I am telling you I will no longer be at the helm of Second Story Press. I have transferred ownership of the company to Phuong Truong who has been our General Manager for twenty years. I trust her to guide the company as its Publisher in a way that respects and also enhances its history and its vision. And who will also bring her own priorities and perspectives to the work.” Wolfe adds she will remain involved in acquiring titles, focusing on international rights, anti-hate and social justice special initiatives, and overseeing a portion of the list.

Second Story Feminist Press was founded in 1988 by Wolfe together with Liz Martin, Lois Pike, and Carolyn Wood, all of whom had come from Women’s Press. They believed that by marrying great storytelling with important content, books could influence readers to help create a more just, equitable, and compassionate world. Along with the adult titles for and by women, they supported writers who wanted to address issues of social concern, diversity, and equity in children’s literature, which was not standard at the time and often considered inappropriate for youth. But it worked. Second Story Press’s acclaimed books have been sold into more than forty languages and are used by educators in many parts of the world. For her leadership, Margie Wolfe has received recognition and awards, including from the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, the Association of Canadian Publishers, the National Jewish Book Awards, and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. Recently, she was inducted into the Order of Canada:

“Margie Wolfe is a leading women’s and social justice advocate in the world of Canadian publishing. A trailblazer of second-wave feminism in Canada, she co-founded Second Story Feminist Press Inc., a company committed to equity, inclusion and diversity in authored works. As its president and publisher, she advanced Holocaust literature for children, and promoted Indigenous and 2SLGBTQI+ communities in books. Through a collection of award-winning adult and children’s books recognized for their reach within minority communities, she successfully showcases Canadian authors and illustrators on an international stage.”

“I asked Phuong to join me at the ceremony because I was receiving the award on behalf of Second Story Press, and she will determine its future,” says Margie. “This change is very hard for me. My work has been a gift that I have loved and cherished. I believe Phuong, who has spent two decades involved in building the list, is the right person to enhance and enrich and add new priories to the legacy.”

“In addition to the very important work that Margie has done that has benefitted all independent Canadian publishers, she has been instrumental in changing the way that we introduce difficult topics to children. I am grateful to have learned from her over the past 20 years,” says Phuong Truong. “I am so honored that Margie has entrusted me with guiding Second Story Press into the future and I am excited to see what that future holds.”

The illustrated portraits of Margie Wolfe and Phuong Truong in this graphic were created by Qin Leng.

01/06/2025

Spotted at Pearson Airport!
Barcelona Red Metallic is available in airports across Canada. Keep an eye out for this shiny red cover!


Toronto Pearson Christine Cosack - writer

12/21/2024

Bookseller Stephen Davidson of The Spaniel's Tale in Ottawa chose Barcelona Red Mettalic, the debut so-much-more-than-a-mystery by Christine Cosack, as his pick in Quill & Quire's Best Books of the Year List. What a thrill to see this book chosen, and it means a lot when it's a list from the book community.

"A thought-provoking read that illustrates the complexities of families, the secrets they keep, and the lengths they will go to protect their own."


Quill & Quire The Spaniel's Tale Bookstore

12/18/2024

We would like to congratulate our beloved author, Karen Levine, for her appointment to the Order of Canada!

Karen Levine is recognized for her four-decade-long career at CBC Radio where her program leadership and amplification of women’s voices made an unmistakable and much-heralded impact. She has also been honoured for her internationally renowned book, Hana’s Suitcase, one of the most awarded children's books in North America, and has educated young readers worldwide about the Holocaust. Karen is the only Canadian to have won two Peabody Awards for her radio documentary work at the CBC, including one for the Hana's Suitcase documentary.

Her newest book, The Lightkeeper, (co-written with Sheila Baslaw) is a gentle tale of bravery, empowerment and community, and the thrill of transformation.

12/06/2024

Today marks the 35th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre on December 6, 1989 at École Polytechnique. Fourteen young people were murdered that day, targeted only because they were women. Their deaths forced a reckoning with violence against women in our culture. The killer was motivated by misogyny, the roots of which go far beyond one man and one day.
Today is also the 12th day of the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence, a campaign led be the UN. The global movement calls for the following actions:
1. End impunity by advocating for and establishing laws and policies that hold perpetrators accountable.
2. Adopt, implement and fund National Action Plans to end violence against women and girls. These plans define policy and investment decisions that governments make.
3. Invest in prevention and women’s rights organizations to ensure rights and access to essential services for survivors.
To learn more, please visit this link: https://loom.ly/bACqDxw

And to learn more about how the tragedy on December 6th precipitated a cultural shift in thinking around gender-based violence, consider reading Josée Boileau’s book, “Because They Were Women." Boileau, a Québec-based journalist, was witness to the event from its beginning. Her book captures the struggle in the media and in the culture to situate the crime in a context much broader than a single "angry young man's" act of rage.

12/05/2024

Spotted: Karen Levine at the book launch for The Light Keeper!
Head on over to Book City on the Danforth to do some holiday shopping and pick up a signed copy of The Light Keeper.

About the book:
An enterprising boy keeps the electricity working in his shtetl and helps his poor family in 1900s Eastern Europe.

Book City

11/29/2024

The holiday season is upon us, and we know gift giving can be tough! But what’s better than giving a book? Books are a wonderful way to bring us together (and give us some much needed alone time). We’ve put together a Second Story Press Holiday Gift Guide to make your shopping as easy as possible for all your loved ones (or yourself!).

Visit our website and use the code HOLIDAY24 at checkout to take 20% off your order! The discount code applies ONLY to the books listed in the gift guide.

Whether you’re looking for fiction, memoir, history, teen, or children’s books for a specific age range, we have suggestions for you. Swipe to check out some of our exciting reads. For more info visit our website: https://loom.ly/4N8Go_k

We want to support the Canadian Union of Postal Workers who are going on strike at Canada Post as much as possible. However, as a small, independent publisher, we have little choice but to work with other couriers for direct orders placed through our website until a resolution is reached. Courier companies are experiencing higher-than-normal volumes at this time. We cannot guarantee orders will arrive by a certain date, but we will be shipping orders until December 17, 2024. Any orders placed afterwards will be fulfilled in the new year. We apologize for any shipping delays that may occur that are beyond our control.

If you would like to support the Canada Post strike, we strongly recommend shopping for Second Story Press books at your local independent bookstore (if they don’t have a specific book in stock, they can order it in!) https://loom.ly/zouIQ_4

11/27/2024

With over a dozen books for children published and admired internationally, Shenaaz Nanji is an author who has found a distinct way to capture the minds ...

11/27/2024

Crime and Consequence

Barcelona Red Metallic (Second Story Press, 2024) by Christine Cosack.

“Barcelona Red Metallic is both a mystery and thoughtful character study that satisfies on several levels.”

Reviewed by Trish Bowering.

Clickable Link in Bio: https://thebcreview.ca/2024/10/22/2331-cosack-bowering/

11/27/2024

Second Story Press is happy to announce the launch of its fourth Indigenous Writing Contest. The press is excited to hold this new contest in partnership with GoodMinds.com. We are looking for contemporary writing that reflects the experiences of Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) Peoples...

11/27/2024

When the world feels like it’s turning too fast, pause and take time to read together.