Fifth House Publishers
Fifth House and the Sutherland House Acquisition
In 2024, Fitzhenry & Whiteside – including its imprints Fifth House, Red Deer Press, and Whitecap Books – was acquired by Sutherland House, an independent nonfiction publisher headquartered in Toronto dedicated to editorial excellence and the long-term stewardship of Canada’s publishing heritage. Under Sutherland House, Fifth House continues to publish under its established name and mandate, preserving its distinctive role as a leading voice for Western Canadian writers, histories, and communities, and building on more than forty years of publishing important regional and national works.
Ten Fifth House Highlights
- The Rez Sisters, a play by Tomson Highway, went platinum, selling more than 100,000 copies.
- Shortlisted three times for the Governor General Award, in drama and nonfiction.
- Best Nonfiction Book at Saskatchewan Book Awards, seven years running.
- Started the Western Canadian Classics series, designed to keep the best Western Canadiana available. Titles included The Palliser Expedition by Irene Spry, These Mountains Are Our Sacred Places by Chief John Snow, and The Winter Years by James Gray.
- Serviced the rural Canadian market, which had limited access to bookstores, by establishing The Great West Collection mail order catalogue. Personal service included a dedicated customer service rep. Customers could order by mail, by phone, or visit the showroom.
- Focus on Native titles and distribution through mail-order catalogue The Native Book List, selling books by Canadian publishers as well as Fifth House titles.
- Reissued series of Pierre Berton young adult Canadian history books.
- Publisher of the hugely popular Canadian Weather Trivia Calendar by David Phillips.
- Alberta Publisher of the Year in 2007 and 2008, cited by jurors for “strong editing, marketing, and design.”
- “We’re small but we’re mighty.”
