About Us

Broadview: An Introduction

The word “broadview” expresses a good deal of the philosophy behind our company. Our focus is very much on the humanities—especially literature, philosophy, and history—but within these fields we are open to a broad range of academic approaches and political viewpoints. We strive in particular to produce high-quality, pedagogically useful books for higher education classrooms—anthologies, editions, sourcebooks, surveys of particular academic fields and sub-fields, and also course texts for subjects such as composition, business communication, and critical thinking. We continue to build a strong list of publications by women authors, and we are expanding our list of works by authors from marginalized or racialized groups. Our publishing program is internationally oriented, and our books are available world-wide, but as a Canadian company we also publish a select list of titles with a specifically Canadian emphasis.

Broadview: The Company

Founded in 1985, Broadview Press remains a fully independent academic publisher owned by approximately twenty-five shareholders—almost all of whom are either Broadview employees or Broadview authors. As a company, we strive to produce high-quality, pedagogically useful books, while upholding fair business practices in relation to our authors, our staff, the academics who choose Broadview books for their courses, and the students and others who purchase and read our books.

We at Broadview believe that ethical and socially responsible conduct is an essential obligation. This commitment underlies all aspects of our operations, from the selection of books that we publish to the choice of paper on which we print those books. Read more about our charitable donations and our use of recycled paper on our environmental and social commitments page.

Broadview handles production and distribution of its books through its Peterborough, Ontario, facility. Sales and editorial acquisitions are carried out through its offices in Guelph, Ontario; Wolfville, Nova Scotia; Calgary, Alberta; and Nanaimo, British Columbia. The company has over 800 titles in print, and currently publishes approximately 35-40 new titles per year. Broadview Press was incorporated in 1985; since then the company has grown steadily and now employs over 30 people.

Territorial Acknowledgement

Broadview Press wishes to acknowledge that our Guelph office is located on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, and Métis Peoples, while our Peterborough office is located on the traditional territory of the Mississauga Anishinaabeg. Our Calgary office is on the traditional territories of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) and the people of the Treaty 7 region in Southern Alberta, which includes the Siksika, the Piikuni, the Kainai, the Tsuut’ina and the Stoney Nakoda First Nations, including Chiniki, Bearpaw, and Wesley First Nations. The City of Calgary is also home to Métis Nation of Alberta, Region III. Our Nanaimo office is located on the traditional territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation. Our Wolfville office is located on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People.

Board of Directors

Broadview Press is governed through a board of directors. This board is responsible for supervising management in carrying on the business and affairs of our company.

Internal members

Christine Handley
Stephen Latta
Don LePan
Marjorie Mather

External members

David Chariandy
Amanda Claybaugh (on leave)
Leslie Dema
The Hon. Roy MacLaren P.C.
Linda McCollum
Ian Rhind
Carolyn Wood
Alex Sager

Comments about the Press

On our books, and on Broadview’s approach to publishing

“Broadview is a company of people who love books. This is expressed through everything Broadview does: its close collaboration with authors throughout the writing process and its expert editorial staff; its commitment to providing faculty and students with high quality, reasonably priced texts; and its pioneering efforts to expand the canon through the Broadview Editions series, which combines scholarly excellence with sensitivity to student needs.”—Alex Sager, Portland State University

“… The Broadview Anthology of American Literature should be the new gold standard for scholars and teachers alike.” – Michael D’Alessandro, Duke University

“[In Beyond the Binary: Thinking about Sex and Gender] Shannon Dea has written an amazing book. When you see the table of contents you might think, ‘she can’t possibly do all of this.’ But she does it very well. She discusses a wide variety of historical authors and contemporary topics about sex and gender in a lucid, informal style that students and faculty alike will enjoy.” – Ann Garry, California State University, Los Angeles

“Broadview Press is not only my first stop when crafting book lists for my courses; it is also where I send the many general readers who are excited to encounter ‘new’ texts from the past. Broadview’s work combining well-annotated editions with excellent supporting primary sources makes for some of the most enriching reading experiences available, both in and out of the classroom.” – Emily Friedman, Auburn University

“This unique book quite bowled me over, both intellectually and as a gorgeous literary feast. [In The Grasshopper: Games, Life, and Utopia] Bernard Suits not only makes philosophy enjoyable, as it should be, but does so without any compromise in philosophical profundity.” – Simon Blackburn, Cambridge University

The Broadview Anthology of British Literature is a compelling alternative to the established anthologies from Norton and Longman. … This is a very real intellectual, as well as pedagogical, achievement.” – Nicholas Watson, Harvard University

The Broadview Anthology of American Literature is more than just my new favorite anthology—it’s a perfect encapsulation of how Broadview Press balances all the needs of a scholarly press. It’s practical and affordable for students and teachers alike, but doesn’t sacrifice content or rigor, presenting true breadth and depth. It’s engaged with the long traditions of both anthologies and American literature, while breaking new ground in what gets included in those conversations. It’s part of our increasingly digital and multimedia moment, while refusing to give up on the power of print. That’s all true of this great anthology, and it’s true of Broadview Press as well!” — Benjamin Railton, Fitchburg State University

“Broadview Press editions—which I have used in class and for which I have written press reports–are excellent. Besides being meticulously researched, edited, and produced, they remain affordable at a time when textbooks most often are not. … Finally, the Press is run and represented by truly humane people who are a pleasure to work with.” — Peter Platt, Barnard College

“Thanks to Broadview for publishing Stephen Guppy’s Writing and Workshopping Poetry. It’s rare to find a poetry textbook with so much Canadian content, let alone one that is so excellent, diverse, and current. I’m loving teaching from it. My students are keenly responsive to the poems and writing prompts. And, most of all, the chapters are thorough, entertaining, and clear. Guppy keeps surprising me with insights.” — Michael V. Smith, University of British Columbia Okanagan

“Koritha Mitchell is a brilliant literary historian and theorist. With breathtaking sensitivity…, Mitchell here breathes new life—and brings deeper understanding and refreshing insight—into Harriet Jacobs’ classic narrative. … Through Mitchell’s keen critical lens, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl remains relevant and impactful.” – Imani Perry, Princeton University

“When I am teaching a literary text that is available in multiple different editions, I almost always assign the Broadview; Broadview editions are models of helpful, scrupulous editing and responsible production.” – Erik Gray, Columbia University

“… an excellent classroom edition of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s key political works. It features [Ian Johnston’s] clear, accessible translations of important texts … and a well-chosen set of passages from canonical works designed to encourage comparisons….  In addition to providing important biographical details, the introduction beautifully situates the texts within the history of political thought.” — Melissa Schwartzberg, New York University

“It is difficult to imagine a more complete or authoritative edition of Heart of Darkness…. [The Broadview] will probably become the standard edition for both the general reader and the scholar.” – Caryl Phillips, Yale University

“… [Broadview Editions]is a series in which the editing is something of an art form.”—Washington Post

“Broadview has helped redefine the eighteenth-century novel by making it possible for the first time to reach and study texts that have been unavailable for generations in well edited, affordable, attractive paperbacks.” — Brian Corman, University of Toronto

“With their reliable commentaries and excellent historical appendices, Broadview Editions are invaluable for introducing students to the diverse social worlds in which literary works have emerged and intervened.” — Hsuan Hsu, University of California, Davis

“Daniel Burgoyne’s Broadview edition of A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder is a refreshing, re-energised insight into an old classic. It is both scholarly and accessible, bringing important scholarship, key graphics, and of course the work itself, into fresh perspective. … The volume will appeal to both general readers and critics.”—Gerry Turcotte, President, St. Mary’s University College, Calgary

“… Forty-five years [after publication], The Norton Anthology of English Literature remains the 800 lb. gorilla in the classroom. But it faces vigorous and growing competition from other anthologies, notably The Longman Anthology of British Literature and The Broadview Anthology of British Literature…. The most recent entry in the field, the Broadview, [is distinguished by its] selections, longer introductions, more visual material, and a souped-up Web component.” – The Chronicle of Higher Education

“I’ve been using Katherine Acheson’s Writing Essays About Literature in my courses for years now because it is by far the clearest, most direct, and most engaging explanation of the processes of literary analysis. It explains through demonstration, taking readers through each step with the genuine curiosity we want to encourage in our students.” — Kylee-Anne Hingston, St. Thomas More College

The Broadview Anthology of American Literature breathes new life into the American literature survey …. This anthology will be a gift to classrooms for years to come.” – Lara Langer Cohen, Swarthmore College

“Claire Grogan’s excellent edition foregrounds the range of historical and cultural references in Northanger Abbey, enriching the experiences of reading which are at the heart of the novel’s meaning. … As in all editions in this series from Broadview Press, the contextual material gathered in the appendices is rewarding. … A full bibliography completes this outstanding edition, making it the obvious choice for Jane Austen’s modern readers.” — Nicholas Roe, University of St. Andrews

“Broadview Press is such an integral part of my experience as a teacher and scholar that without its editions, I simply could not have taught the classes I’ve been teaching for the past ten years.” – Helen Thompson, Northwestern University

“… I hardly ever make a syllabus without one or more books from the Broadview list. Broadview more than any other press has radically expanded our students’ sense of the variety and complexity of the literary past.” – David Simpson, G.B. Needham Professor of English, University of California, Davis

“The Broadview series is not just great for teaching; it has also changed the way we do scholarship.” – Suzanne Daly, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

On publishing with Broadview

“The people at Broadview Press are, without exception, terrific. The editorial team are engaging and collaborative, and the entire process was enjoyable. My co-editors and I are very happy with the anthology and look forward to a long partnership.” — Shari Collins, Arizona State University (editor, Being Ethical)

“Broadview has been an utter model of rigor, creativity and encouragement in the publication process!” — K. Aaron Smith, Illinois State University, co-author, This Language, A River)

“I’ve been entirely happy with the copy editing and the compositional work at Broadview Press on my 2018 edition of Hamlet. My admiration is based on some fifty years of publishing in the United States and Britain and indeed around the world. My enthusiasm is part of my overall admiration for Canada and its intellectual world. Remarkable. Thanks.”  — David Bevington, University of Chicago, editor, Hamlet)

“Throughout the submission, acceptance, and publication process of my book, A Writing Studies Primer, the Broadview staff exhibited an ethic of care that was truly extraordinary. Every single interaction displayed warmth, generosity, and attention to detail and accuracy.” – Joyce Kinkead, Utah State University (author, A Writing Studies Primer)

“During my career I have authored or edited over 20 books and I can definitely state that no publisher I have worked with was as particular to get things accurate as you and your staff—and believe me that is intended as a compliment. I appreciate your attention, and that of your Broadview colleagues, to every slight detail and anything that might not be completely clear in the text, references, or meaning. I appreciated very much working with such a diligent group.” – James Pula, (editor, United States Immigration, 1800-1965)

Broadview values Indigenous content. From start to finish, my experience was supportive and encouraging. They were there to help navigate the whole process and were so respectful of my vision.”—Andrea Sullivan-Clarke, University of Windsor (editor, Ways of Being in the World An Introduction to Indigenous Philosophies of Turtle Island)

On Broadview’s Customer Service

“I don’t know if I can fully express how much this swift and efficient response means to me. I do know that I will have 28 grateful students. It says much about the press that you are so quick and willing to help out….” — Tiffany Werth, University of California, Davis

“I want to say how grateful I am that Broadview has been so helpful and accommodating during the pandemic… I think your press does important work by publishing many rare and marginalized texts, and I can tell that your publishing mission extends to your professional ethics as well.” — Megan Peiser, Oakland University

“Let me take this opportunity to say how impressed I was with the rapid response of Broadview Press… This was a large class of 160 students, and dealing with technical issues was a nightmare. Broadview made everything so smooth and easy for us! I’m a fan for life!” — Sofia Samatar, James Madison University

“As usual, Broadview is a cut above.” — Antone Lanatà Minard, Simon Fraser University

Broadview Press® is the registered trademark of Broadview Press Inc.