History
Based in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Goose Lane Editions was founded at the University of New Brunswick in 1954 by a group of students and faculty members who were active in The Fiddlehead magazine. Originally a poetry press which published under the Fiddlehead Poetry Books imprint, the company quickly gained attention for launching the careers of significant writers including Al Purdy, Milton Acorn, Alden Nowlan, Marilyn Bowering, and Roo Borson.
By the late 1950s, Fred Cogswell, a member of the English faculty at the University of New Brunswick had assumed ownership of the press. Singlehandedly, he published more than 200 books of poetry in the following two decades. In 1981, Peter Thomas, a colleague of Fred's in the English Department, assumed ownership of the press, broadened the mandate of the company, and devised the Goose Lane Editions imprint. The company was then based in Peter's backyard on Saunders Street, known to locals as "Goose Lane," as geese had at one time been herded down that street. So, no, we've never published children's books, but the name did allow the company to reach beyond its poetry roots.
Ownership of the company changed once again in the late 1980s, when the shareholder base expanded to include Julie Scriver and Susanne Alexander, who continue to hold the torch high today as owner-managers, as well as Laurel Boone, David Hawkins, Douglas Lochhead, Gary Stairs, and Helen Thomas. The company continues to build on its legacy of publishing challenging, exciting Canadian writing.