About Groundwood Books

Groundwood Books was founded in 1978 by Patricia Aldana with a mandate to publish children’s books of the highest possible quality for all ages, which has grown to include fiction, picture books, graphic novels and nonfiction. Our award-winning, critically acclaimed list is known for being ahead of the curve, justice oriented, and unafraid of tackling stories that may be considered difficult or controversial — but always centered on a child’s point of view. We believe that books can be important without sacrificing warmth, beauty, playfulness and humor.

Our primary focus has been on works by Canadians, although we are often moved to publish outstanding literature from other countries. Many of our books tell the stories of people whose voices have been underrepresented or marginalized by traditional publishing channels. Books by the Indigenous Peoples of this hemisphere have always been of special interest, and since 1998, we have been publishing works by Latinx authors and illustrators in both English and Spanish. 

We believe that by reflecting intensely individual experiences, our books are of universal interest. The fact that our authors are published all over the globe attests to this and to their quality. Even more important, our books are read and loved by young people around the world.

Groundwood Books respectfully acknowledges that the land on which we operate is the Traditional Territory of many Nations, including the Anishinabeg, the Wendat and the Haudenosaunee. It is also the Treaty Lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit.

We gratefully acknowledge for their financial support of our publishing program the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, Ontario Creates and the Government of Canada.