Toronto's Dundurn Press has rebranded and updated its colophon to reflect a new vision for the company. Dundurn, which was founded in 1972, has changed its traditional logo, which featured a castle, to one featuring a progression of arched windows or doors. The new colophon intends to create "a visual effect of a portal or beckoning hallway," the publisher said.
The rebrand signals the publishing house's intent to modernize its program. After being sold to new owners in 2019, the house installed a new staff, including a new publisher, Scott Fraser. Fraser has noted his intent to update Dundurn's publishing program to better reflect the diversity of Canadian culture.
The company has also issued a new mission statement, which reads as follows:
"Dundurn Press aims to publish contemporary trade fiction and nonfiction, focusing on works that amplify and elevate exceptional Canadian writers and important stories that reflect the world, satisfy curiosity, enlighten, and entertain. Our books will provide a portal into a place not yet known to the reader, where new voices and stories will be discovered. We invite readers and writers into a new home for previously underrepresented voices in our diverse cultural and literary community. Like our readers, we’re curious, courageous, and forward-thinking. Read with us. These are your stories."
In addition, the company announced that it will open a new storefront later this year, and is launching a new imprint, Rare Machines, focused on "playful, unusual, daring, or innovative" fiction and nonfiction. "I’m excited that we’re becoming a contemporary, forward-facing business," Fraser said in a statement.
