In a recent letter to supporters, Inanna said it "will be shuttering its book publishing operations by March, 2025... We’ve struggled to keep going since the death of Luciana Ricciutelli in 2020, but the publishing model we’ve been using was not financially viable and we’ve determined that we have neither the financial nor human resources to continue." Ricciutelli, a powerhouse of positive energy and support to her writers, was part of the dynamic duo with publicist/marketer Renée Knapp that ran Inanna during its most productive years.
However, Inanna is not quite done publishing. Power by Sky Curtis will launch in June, and Poetry Marching for Sindy by Virginia Pésémapéo Bourdeleau in July. The letter added, "We also have a new issue of the cws/cf Journal out in June, 'Cuban Women: Politics, Culture and Revolution.' We will be launching this issue on Thursday, June 27th in Toronto... The journal is planning at this time to continue publishing." As for books that have been accepted but won't become Inanna titles, and the publisher's backlist, the press will "be searching for a new home for our titles and authors over the next few months."
I asked Inanna authors for their reaction to this sad news. Poet Mary Lou Soutar-Hynes replied, "As an author with two collections of poetry published by Inanna and essays and poetry in CWS, I was privileged to have experienced the intense and singular focus of their gifted, and creatively brilliant Editor-in-Chief Luciana Ricciutelli and her small, dedicated team of professionals. When your book was in Luciana’s sights, it felt as if it was at the centre of her universe. Nothing is more empowering for an author."
Poet and fiction writer Myna Wallin recalled first meeting Luciana Ricciutelli in 2016. "She said, 'Are you Myna Wallin?' and threw her arms around me in one of her famous hugs and said Inanna Publications was going to publish my poetry book, Anatomy of An Injury. She was warm, supportive, and kind, throughout all my dealings with her. She was more than Editor-in-Chief; she was the beating heart of Inanna."
Lisa de Nikolits, whose Inanna novels won several awards, wrote, "I am forever indebted to the wonderful team at Inanna Publications for all the books, all the adventures and most importantly, all the friendships and great camaraderie. My life is forever blessed. And there isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t murmur those very words to Luciana Ricciutelli, a fierce and beautiful warrior for us all."
Fiction writer Heather Babcock, whose first novel was quickly accepted there, said, "By providing a publishing space for a wide range of women’s voices, Inanna allowed a more nuanced and open-minded exploration of what a feminist book can be. Before I published with Inanna... I was very impressed with how enthusiastic Luciana Ricciutelli was about Inanna’s books and authors. When my novel Filthy Sugar was published during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, both Luciana... and Renée Knapp did everything they could to give my book, and the others in their Spring, 2020 line-up, lots of care and attention during what was a very challenging time. When Luciana passed away in December of 2020, Canlit lost their brightest light and feminist publishing lost their strongest champion."
Finally, speculative fiction writer Terri Favro shared with me that, "If the news of Inanna’s closing is 'the worst of times', 2017 might have been 'the best of times' to publish with the press...There was a real sense of excitement about getting books by women out into the world. I knew Inanna was a small press, going in, and they exceeded my expectations, getting me into the FogLit Festival in St. John, NB." Favro was also part of an effective project at Billy Bishop Airport on Toronto Island. She explained, "Inanna participated in a program to put books published by indy Canadian presses into a vending machine. I was delighted that [my book] Once Upon a Time in West Toronto was included —and sold well." She added, "I think Luciana’s great gift was as an impresario. I know we don’t usually use that word in publishing, but it seemed to me that she was an amazing promotor, great at talking up books and authors, and had a level of energy and warmth that drew people to her. We lost an important voice with Luciana’s death, and it’s a shame that a Canadian women’s press of long standing is going to disappear. Many Canadian women writers got their start with Inanna."
John Oughton is a retired Centennial College professor, the author of eight books, most recently the poetry collection The Universe and All That (Ekstasis) and Higher Teaching: A Handbook for New Postsecondary Faculty (MiroLand/Guernica), and around 500 articles, reviews, interviews, and blogs. He is the current Treasurer of the Writers Union of Canada.