Hear and Now

An Interview with Whitney French on Founding Hush Harbour Press and Publishing Black Books in Canada

Authors

  • Monique Lee-Vassell
  • Whitney French

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14288/canlit.vi264.201945

Keywords:

Black publishing, Canadian literature, independent presses, Black feminist practice, queer literature, literary communities, publishing industry, decolonization, Hush Harbour Press

Abstract

This interview, “Hear and Now,” features Whitney French, a Black Canadian writer, editor, and founder of Hush Harbour Press (est. 2020). Focusing on Black publishing, independent presses, and Canadian literature, the conversation examines what it means to publish Black, queer, and feminist work within the Canadian literary landscape. Drawing on Black feminist and decolonial frameworks, the interview situates Hush Harbour Press in relation to earlier Black publishing initiatives in Canada, including Sister Vision Press, and addresses the historical gap between 2001 and the early 2020s. Through reflections on naming, artistic labor, and author-centered collaboration, French articulates a “slow publishing” ethos that challenges dominant industry models. The interview foregrounds publishing as a relational and community-based practice grounded in care, integrity, and artistic risk.

Author Biographies

Monique Lee-Vassell

Monique is a writer and multidimensional artist working at the threshold of language, memory, and spirit. Based in Ontario, she is the co-founder of Th1rd Space, a living platform for artists, storytellers, and cultural curators. Her practice oscillates across poetry, editorial work, and digital creation, tending to Black and diasporic expression as both archive and incantation. She is the co-author of The Woman with Three Eyes, and her work is guided by a devotion to articulating the unseen architectures that shape how we move through the world.

Whitney French

Whitney French (she/her) is a writer, educator and publisher. She is a certified arts educator and an assistant professor in Creative Writing at the University of British Colombia. Her novel-in-verse, Syncopation (Wolsack and Wynn Press, 2026) was recently published. She is also the co-founder and publisher of Hush Harbour, the only Black queer feminist press in Canada.

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Published

Jul. 16, 2026 (UTC)

How to Cite

Lee-Vassell, Monique, and Whitney French. “Hear and Now: An Interview With Whitney French on Founding Hush Harbour Press and Publishing Black Books in Canada”. Canadian Literature: A Quarterly of Criticism and Review, no. 264, July 2026, pp. 140-53, doi:10.14288/canlit.vi264.201945.

Issue

No. 264 (2026): Solidarity: Aesthetics, Politics, Pedagogies

Section

Forum