Northern Quill Publishing

15/09/2025

Congratulations to Derek Wagner, the first place winner of our first ever flash fiction contest. Derek's submission, Edgework, is in the fall issue of Up Here Magazine. Find it on newsstands (or in the mail) OR on line at www.uphere.ca/issues.

Derek Wagner is an author of speculative fiction, horror, and fantasy. He is a graduate of the Odyssey Writing Workshop, a member of Codex, and his fiction has appeared in Factor Four Magazine and Neon Dystopia. He loves to read, lose at basketball to his son, and eat ice cream while he licks his own wounds. He was born and raised in Yellowknife, NT, located in Chief Drygeese Territory, the traditional land of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. He can be found online on Bluesky .bsky.social, and in his house wasting copious amounts of time watching old sports highlights.

Curious about our second and third place winners? Check in here. We'll be celebrating their pieces soon!

There were so many wonderful submissions our judges struggled to narrow down their choices. We are so thankful to everyone who submitted this year and encourage you to keep writing.... We hope to see your name on the entry list next time.

This contest was a collaboration with NorthWords NWT and Northern Quill Publishing. Submissions needed to be under 1,000 words, written by NWT residents and use the theme Edges to inspire their work. Judges selected pieces not knowing who the authors were and using a structured score sheet to track each piece's strengths. The top three pieces each received a cash prize and the first place winner has been published in Up Here Magazine.

06/09/2025

🎉Author Spotlight: Erika Nyyssonen 🚨
Book: The Last Tree 🌲

Erika grew up in Yellowknife and began her writing career in 2009 directing children's plays for Yellowknife's famous Snow King's Winter Festival. The north, its animals and pets are the inspirations she draws from Erika's first book, Gus and Pogo Go To The Vet was published in 2011 was a real hit, inspired by real pets. The Last Tree is Lucas Green and Erika's second collaboration, the first being a graphic novel, King Warrior, co-authored with her husband Jay Bulckaert.

04/09/2025

The Last Tree, a children's book written by Erika Nyyssonen about a lonely spruce beyond the treeline, shares a story of resilience, kindness and friendship.

Read more: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=3&url=https://cabinradio.ca/256473/news/arts/books/new-childrens-book-shines-with-northern-spirit/?utm_source=page

02/09/2025

Our colouring and activity books are fun… for the whole family.

This past long weekend we enjoyed colouring our way through Rachel MacNeill’s book, Animals of the NWT, followed by a scavenger hunt for items we could find all around Prelude Campgrounds in Cathy Modeste-Short’s Dechitah Naidi Activity Booklet.

Both are available on our website.

https://www.northernquillpublishing.ca/bookstore

01/09/2025

Our 2025 submission intake is now closed.

Thank you to everyone who took the leap of faith to submit. We will respond to all who submitted in the coming months and look forward to announcing our selected titles early 2026.

29/08/2025

🚨48 hours left to submit your manuscript for our 2025 submission intake!🚨

See our link in bio, or our website www.northernquillpublishing.ca, for more information.

27/08/2025

🚨Only 5 days left until our 2025 submission portal closes.🎉

Visit our link in bio or our website www.northernquillpublishing.ca/submissions for more information.

27/08/2025

"We’re so proud of Jessie Conrad, whose piece, The Sinkhole, was selected for the upcoming issue of The Malahat Review! Congratulations, Jessie! Thank you for letting us be part of your literary journey."

Inspired by sinkholes, veterans and contemporary Indigenous literature, Jessie Conrad's short story The Sinkhole is set to be published in The Malahat Review.

Read more: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=3&url=https://cabinradio.ca/254370/news/arts/journal-to-feature-story-by-denesuline-yellowknives-dene-writer/?utm_source=page

26/08/2025

Available now: The Last Tree 🚨🌲

The Last Tree, Written by Erika Nyyssonen () and illustrated by Lucas Green (), is a story about Spruce. Spruce is a loney tree who grows beyond the treeline, deep in the tundra. He has never seen another tree.

With each passing season, Spruce meets wandering wildlife, but they can never stay long. Just when it seems that Spruce will be lonely forever, Spruce's new friendship really takes root.

The Last Tree shines with a northern Spirit of resilience and renewal, reminding readers that when someone plants kindness, even the loneliest hearts can bloom.

Now available on our website - see link in bio.

Stay tuned for more information this fall about the official launch, and reading events.

26/08/2025

Last night the Northern Quill team snuck up the front steps of local author, Erika Nyssonen's home to surprise her with her first look at her newest book, The Last Tree. Together we all leafed through the pages for the very first time, brightly smiling at all we've accomplished together. This was Northern Quill's first published book, from our first submission process. A celebration of another important milestone in our journey and we're thrilled that The Last Tree will forever be a piece of our start. Thank you for submitting your beautiful story to NQP Erika! And most of all, thank you for trusting us with your vision.

20/08/2025

Something small is walking across the tundra... Can you guess what animal stars in our next book?

17/08/2025

⏳ Only 2 weeks left to submit your manuscript!

Northern Quill Publishing is accepting submissions until August 31, 2025, and we’re looking for bold voices, original stories, and northern perspectives.

If you’ve been thinking about submitting this is your sign to go for it!

📚 Full submission guidelines at the link in our bio.