Here's the next in a series of Canadian small press roundups.

🍁 Aboriginal-owned Eschia Books publishes children's, young adult, fiction, and non-fiction by First Nations, Métis, and Inuit voices. They say, "Eschia is an expression meaning 'oh, wow!' or 'oh, my gosh!' in the northern Dëne Sųłiné or Chipewyan, language." Their titles include Spirit Gifting: The Concept of Spiritual Exchange by Elmer Ghostkeeper, Little Red River Cree Nation Nature Guide by Kevin Kuipers, and Nitisîh: My Belly Button and Wâspison: The Moss Bag, both by Darlene Pearl Auger and illustrated by Chloe "Bluebird" Mustooch.

🍁 First Nations-owned and operated Kegedonce Press is based in Neyaashiinigmiing, Ontario. Since 1993, Kegedonce has published writing by some of the most celebrated Indigenous writers and storytellers in Canada, including Cherie Dimaline (short story collection A Gentle Habit), Marilyn Dumont (poetry collection That Tongued Belonging), Basil Johnston, Daniel Health Justice (best known for his Wilfrid Laurier UP title Why Indigenous Literatures Matter, his Kegedonce titles comprise epic Indigenous fantasy The Way of Thorn and Thunder Trilogy), and Richard Van Camp (a 20th Anniversary edition of his classic short story collection, Angel Wing Splash Pattern). Recent titles include:

• Blue Marrow and The Crooked Good by Canada's Parliamentary Poet Laureate Louise Bernice Halfe
• Commonwealth by poet D.A. Lockhart
• Children's books Counting at Kits Beach by Oliver Moss Warawa McDonald, Amik by Sharon King, and Nipugtug by Emma Metallic and illustrated by Natalie Laurin (who also work together for Strong Nations, see below)
• Secrets of Stone (Book One of A Wolf in the Sun), fantasy by Coltrane Seesequasis
• Wrist, an Indigenous monster story written from the monster's perspective by Nathan Niigan Noodin Adler, and its companion volume Ghost Lake, winner of the 2021 Indigenous Voices Award in Published English Prose
• Zegaajimo: Indigenous Horror Fiction

🍁 Nanaimo, BC's Strong Nations is an Indigenous-owned and operated publishing house. Their titles include: Celebrating Potlatches by Nisga'a/Ts'msysen author Samantha Beynon and illustrated by Cree artist Carla Joseph, Powwow Dancing With Family written and illustrated by Salish/ Shuswap writer/artist Perry Smith, the Strong Science – Animals series including Baby Beaver, Baby Deer, and Baby Raccoon written and illustrated by Kim Soo Goodtrack, and the Cedar School Decodables series of Mi’gmaw teachings for preschool and kindergarten, including A Game on the Ice, A Forest of Numbers, and Bannock for Lunch, all by Mi'kmaq writer Emma Metallic and illustrated by Métis artist Natalie Laurin.

🍁 First Nations-owned and operated Theytus Books is based in Penticton, British Columbia. Titles include: Original People, Original Television: The Launching of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network by Jennifer David, a novel of the dark legacy of the residential school system, Porcupines and China Dolls by Robert Alexie, Okanagan Women’s Voices: Syilx and settler writing and relations, 1870s to 1960s edited by Jeannette Armstrong, Lally Grauer, and Janet MacArthur and featuring writing by Susan Moir Allison (1845-1937), Josephine Shuttleworth (1866-1950), Eliza Jane Swalwell (1868-1944), Marie Houghton Brent (1870-1968), Hester Emily White (1877-1963), Mourning Dove (1886-1936), and Isabel Christie MacNaughton (1915-2003), oral narratives, Indigenous stories, and legends about the salmon and the Fraser River River of Salmon Peoples edited by Jeannette Armstrong and Gerry William, and the Schchechmala Children's Series, which includes a middle reader novel of the pre-contact customs and ways of the Okanagan First Peoples, Neekna and Chemai by Jeannette Armstrong, illustrated by Barbara Marchand, picture books by artist Clayton Gauthier, Sus Yoo / The Bear's Medicine (Dakelh translation by Danny Alexis & Theresa Austin) and The Salmon Run (Dakelh translation by Francois Prince), and rhyming nature picture book Just a Walk by Jordan Wheeler and illustrated by Christopher Auchter.

Also, see #1 which listed Inhabit Media and #15 which listed Medicine Wheel Publishing.

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Where to Buy: Directly from the publisher typically supports small presses the most, and then there's All Lit Up, managed by The Literary Press Group, a non-profit association of Canadian literary publishers. Bookshop gives Metafilter a small (but real) commission as an affiliate, so if you’re in the States, start there. Local independent bookstores can be found at Bookmanager (Canada and USA), Indie Commerce (USA), or Red de Librerías Independientes de México/Network of Independent Bookstores in Mexico (obvs Mexico). And around the world.