DarkWinter Press and Literary Magazine provides platform, ‘voice’ for emerging/established authors

DarkWinter Press and Literary Magazine author, editor and publisher Suzanne Craig-Whytock with her humour compilation What Any Normal Person Would Do which was long-listed for the Leacock Medal for Humour. (Jeff Tribe Photo)

Jeff Tribe, Post Correspondent

It will not occupy the best-known of genres.

But Suzanne Craig-Whytock’s forthcoming Ontario Arts Council recommended-grant novel combining violent death with humour illustrates her wide-ranging passion for wide-ranging literature.

“Why not a murder mystery - but a funny one,” she laughed. “You’ve got to have fun, right?”

It was a busy and varied, but not unusually so Monday in the Drumbo author/editor/publisher’s world. Writing and posting her weekly humour-based Mydangblog and loading new online literary magazine material the evening prior, Craig-Whytock’s morning began with an hour promoting DarkWinter Press and Literary Magazine (https://www.darkwinterlit.com) authors through social media. The day was also scheduled to include displaying printed paperback copies at the Drumbo Pub’s ‘Sip and Shop’ from 4 to 9 p.m. that evening, a beneficial combination of virtual and physical presence.

It’s what one might expect for a high school English teacher, who four months into retirement in May 2022, decided to expand on her own experience as a published author.

“I like reading other people’s work and how good it feels when you get published,” Craig-Whytock explained.

Her extended body of writing features ten books with publishers including Bookland Press and J.C. Studio Press, a pair of young adult novels ranging through the gothic thriller Charybdis to What Any Normal Person Would Do. The latter humorous compilation was long listed for the Leacock Medal for Humour alongside authors including Jann Arden and Brent Butt.

Craig-Whytock’s foundation of an online literary magazine was inspired by a friend in the United States’ experience. DarkWinter features a collection of short stories (under 2,000 words) and poems (500 words or less) submitted for consideration by Canadian, American and international authors. Updated twice-weekly (Mondays and Thursdays), its material is not limited to a specific theme.

“It’s a wide range,” said Craig-Whytock, the site’s name alluding to creative space open to stranger, weird, even twisted material. One might find ‘Parking Lot Princess’, an observation piece courtesy of Debbie Smith inspired by a homeless woman, ‘Chicken Spending Her Time with Me’, a Terry Trowbridge poem, ‘The Hollow Crown’, Sharon Frayne’s exploration of sexism, or ‘Snake Eyes’, a rant on addiction and the vagaries of a cruel universe.

“What I like, basically,” laughed Craig-Whytock, essentially a one-woman show with modest editing (her daughter), photography (husband Ken) and marketing (Katharina Strubel) support. Established authors’ work is presented, but offering a venue for emerging writers remains paramount.

“I think it’s important to provide a platform for those voices,” says Craig-Whytock.

Based on the online magazine’s success, she received inquiries around publishing novels, a seed planted that grew within her imagination.

“I thought I would try publishing a book.”

Launching in August 2023, the DarkWinter publish-on-demand model uses an online template to format print or e-reader options. Like anything else, the process was most challenging in the beginning, Craig-Whytock finding familiarity with time and repetition.

“The nice thing about that is my authors’ books are never out of stock,” she said.

Craig-Whytock has published roughly one novel, novella or collection of short stories or poetry per month, her 16th DarkWinter title coming out this month (January).

“We get inundated with submissions,” she said, a statement applying to both the online magazine and publishing house. DarkWinter does not accept westerns or romance, limiting graphic violence and explicit sexual content. Her hardest part is selecting which books make the short publishing list and which others - which may also contain quality writing but, for example, just don’t fit her model, won’t. She is also gearing her titles toward Canadian authors, a majority for the upcoming 2025 publication schedule, and potentially, exclusively into 2026 and beyond.

E-books are priced at $4.99 with paperbacks retailing for under $20. DarkWinter does provide promotion on its website, social media outlets including Threads, Blue Sky, Facebook, Instagram and Linked In, as well as on-site at Sip and Shop and other retail events. Authors are also encouraged to market their own publications.

“A lot of it depends on how well they’re getting out there and promoting themselves,” says Craig-Whytock.

DarkWinter titles include Gordon K. Jones’ crime thriller Fighting for Decency, ’In the Lair of the Kraken’, a 19-story journey into ‘darkness’ by Christopher Butt, or the basement on Biella, an ensemble from the Griffin Prize for poetry nominated poet Bill Garvey.

DarkWinter also sponsors a popular writing contest, free of charge. Submissions are independently judged by experienced writers, a short list of entries published, and prizes awarded.

Well beyond the recognition Craig-Whytock has received for her own writing, she is proud to share how her authors’ work has garnered both positive reviews and competitive recognition. She also personally understands how rewarding it is for an author to see their work in print, out in the world where it can be purchased, read and appreciated.

“It’s a really cool thing,” Craig-Whytock concluded, inspired to provide others with the kind of opportunity she considers herself fortunate to have experienced. “I just wanted to pay that forward too.”