In our 49th year, we are excited to announce that Dundurn Press has rebranded and revitalized its mandate. Our fresh, new look seeks to recognize and honour Dundurn’s history, while signaling a change in the vision of the press, following the sale of the company in 2019.
Designed by David Taylor at Awake Studio, our new logo evolved out of Dundurn’s long-standing castle colophon by echoing the castle’s arched windows, creating a visual effect of a portal or beckoning hallway. A vibrant magenta along with youthful supporting colours has replaced a dated colour palette of mainly burgundy and beige.
Our new mandate reads:
Dundurn Press aims to publish contemporary trade fiction and non-fiction, focusing on works that amplify and elevate exceptional Canadian writers and important stories that reflect the world, satisfy curiosity, enlighten, and entertain. Our books will provide a portal into a place not yet known to the reader, where new voices and stories will be discovered. We invite readers and writers into a new home for previously underrepresented voices in our diverse cultural and literary community. Like our readers, we’re curious, courageous, and forward-thinking. Read with us. These are your stories.
“I’m excited that we’re becoming a contemporary, forward-facing business,” says Dundurn Press publisher Scott Fraser. “With a new street-level retail storefront opening later in 2021 [a safe date for opening TBD], we’re opening ourselves up to the community and publishing innovative books in a welcoming environment, instead of behind the walls of Dundurn as a castle.”
Our commitment to discovering new and underrepresented voices in Canadian trade publishing is clear in the new mandate. Dundurn Press remains dedicated to honouring its long history in trade publishing, serving its existing readership, and building on its strengths in the areas of authoritative non-fiction, lifestyle, memoir/biography, politics, Canadian history, genre fiction (mystery/thriller), and young adult and middle grade fiction.
In stride with the rebranding, we are also announcing a new literary imprint, Rare Machines, which seeks to publish works of literary fiction and poetic non-fiction that are playful, unusual, daring, or innovative. The first Rare Machines titles will be released in Fall 2021. A new e-commerce website, launching in March 2021, is the final element of our revitalized look.