About

The Puritan is an online, quarterly publication based in Toronto, Ontario committed to publishing the best in new fiction, non-fiction, poetry, interviews, and reviews.

The Puritan seeks, above all, a pioneering literature. Submissions may push toward the symbolic frontier, challenging limitations and forging into previously unexplored aesthetic territory. But they may also revisit and revitalize traditional forms. We seek work wherever it lands on the conceptual spectrum, so long as it is original, intelligent, and engaging.

      These are of us, they are with us,
      All for primal needed work, while the followers there in embryo wait behind,
      We to-day's procession heading, we the route for travel clearing

Current Staff

Editors
      Spencer Gordon
      Tyler Willis

Web Design
      Derek McCrone
      Jamie Weir

Marketing & Publicity
      Andrew MacDonald

Current Readers
      Mat Laporte, Ashley McClare, E. Martin Nolan, Carmen Mathes, Carla Hartenberger

Past Readers
      Frances Taylor, Nicola Faieta

Contact

Send all submissions, queries, apologies, and appeals to puritanmagazine@gmail.com.

History

The Puritan was founded in late fall 2006 by then-University of Ottawa undergraduate students, Omid Amidi, Spencer Gordon, and Tyler Willis. Omid Amidi departed after the summer of 2007. During the winter of 2008, Nicola Faeita worked as Associate Editor.

From February 2007 to November 2008, The Puritan released seven print issues, which were available for sale at numerous book stores, cafes, and boutiques around the city of Ottawa, as well as at various book fairs, festivals, and readings across the province.

Throughout its tenure as an entirely independent, non-government funded magazine, The Puritan interviewed or published fiction by the following authors:

A. Alan Beck, Darryl Berger, George Bowering, David Burke, Brian Carr, Maria Cichosz, Keith Collier, Elizabeth Corcoran, Rebecca Cuttler, Cyril Dabydeen, Christina Decarie, Salvatore Difalco, Rachel Dugas, Steve Dunne, Amanda Earl, Zdravka Evtimova, Matthew Firth, j. fisher, Tony France, Dayle Furlong, Sarah Gibbons, Laurie Graham, Jeffrey Griffiths, Kate Heartfield, Blanche Howard, D. M. Jamieson, Jacqueline Kawaja, Jeanie Keogh, Theresa Kishkan, Robert Kroetsch, John Lavery, Stephen Leonard, Gerald Lynch, Colette Maitland, Steven Mayoff, Clay McCann, Patricia McCarthy, Mark McCawley, Elaine McCluskey, Drew McDowell, Scott McIntyre, rob mclennan, Michelle Miller, Nathaniel G. Moore, John Moss, Erich Mulhall, André Narbonne, Jim Nason, Natalie Neville, John Ottey, James Papoutsis, Charles Pinch, Jeffrey Ross, Stuart Ross, Wes Smiderle, J. J. Steinfeld, Paul A. Toth, Guy Vanderhaeghe, Steve Venright, Jessica Wilbanks, Annie Zhu, and Steve Zytveld.

The Puritan also worked with various talented visual artists, such as Juno-Award winning photographer James St. Laurent.

The Puritan and its editors were interviewed, featured, and/or reviewed by/in: Broken Pencil Magazine, The Ottawa Citizen, The Fulcrum, The Ottawa XPress, CBC Radio One's "All in a Day", CHUO Radio, CKCU Radio, The "Byline" CAA Newsletter, and Ottawa-Orleans EMC. Read some of those features and reviews in our PRESS section.

The editors were invited as guests to attend and/or speak at various events, such as the 2006 Governor General's Literary Awards, The Canada Council for the Arts 150th Anniversary Luncheon (Winter/Spring 2007), The 2007 Spring Ottawa Writers Festival, the Ottawa Arts Bazaar (Summer 2007), The 2008 Fall Ottawa Writers Festival, and the Toronto Meet the Presses Literary Fair (Fall 2008).

The editors of The Puritan also hosted the infamous "Throwdown in O-Town" between rob mclennan and Nathaniel G. Moore at Babylon Nightclub on June 28th, 2008.

Special thanks to the following people who went above and beyond to assist The Puritan during its print incarnation: Arjun Basu, Helen Belvin, George Bowering, Jaime Bowen, Arnaud Brassard, Anthony Bright, Rosemary Daniels, Phil deCosta, Amanda Earl, Nicola Faieta, Matthew Firth, Steve Flood, Lyse Freeborn, Marie-Elyse Gauthier, Emma Gordon, E. Gary Gygax, Evan Hazenburg, Marc Hewson, Sandie Jensen, Chunsai Kam, Theresa Kishkan, Michele Lamarche, Georg Lang, Gerald Lynch, Azar Malek, Paulina Malek, Adrian Maler, Dominic Manganiello, Patricia K. McCarthy, Derek McCrone, Brian McLellan, rob mclennan, Nathaniel G. Moore, John Pass, Bernhard Radloff, Sasha Rahaman, David Rampton, River City Junction, Ramon M. Sepulveda, Nicholas Smith, Madjid Soofi, Nasi and Soroush Soofi, David Staines, James St. Laurent, Claudia Tavernese, Andrew Taylor, Stas Tikhonov, Paul A. Toth, The UESA at the University of Ottawa, Sarah Weigum, Derek Wilson, Steve Zytveld, and all of our friends and family.

Special thanks to the following businesses who sold issues or purchased advertising with the journal: Abacus Trade, The Agora Bookstore, Armada Lounge, Book Bazaar, The Black Tomato, Britton's Glebe Inc., The Bytown Beer and Wine, Café Supreme, Chez Lucien, The Clocktower Brew Pub, Collected Works, Compact Music, Cuppedia, Katari Imaging, Lucas Nault Hair Studio, Mags & Fags, The Manx Pub, Market Cleaners, Patrick McGahern Books, Mother Tongue Books, The Ottawa Folklore Centre, Perfect Books, Royal LePage, Singing Pebble Books, Sunnyside Books, The Tea Store, Watson's Pharmacy and Wellness Centre, and The Wheat Berry.