Formac Lorimer Books

Formac Lorimer Books

Founder	James Lorimer
Country of origin	Canada
Headquarters location	Halifax, Nova Scotia
Publication types	Books
Imprints	James Lorimer & Company Formac Publishing Company
Official website	formaclorimerbooks.ca

Formac Lorimer Books is a Canadian publishing and distribution company based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The company is owned by James Lorimer, and has two related publishing houses: James Lorimer & Company in Toronto, Ontario; and Formac Publishing Company in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Formac Publishing Company

Formac Publishing Company was established in 1977, and is based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The company was purchased by James Lorimer in 1982. Since 1982, Formac has published over 700 books by over 600 authors. ^[1] Formac's publications are focused on regional non-fiction and children's fiction books. ^[2] Formac publishes a series of Colourguide travel books which have been received positively, including multiple editions of a Nova Scotia Colourguide released between 1994 and 2009. ^[3]

In 1989, Nova Scotia politician Richard Weldon brought a lawsuit against Formac and Peter Kavanagh, for a book written by Kavanagh and published by Formac called John Buchanan — The Art of Political Survival. Weldon accused Kavanagh and Formac of "falsely and maliciously writing and publishing untruths against him." ^[4] Formac pulled the book from store shelves due to what they referred to as "an error". ^[4]

In 2018, Formac held a competition called Write to Win! in which they encouraged writers who reside in Atlantic Canada to submit their books to Formac to potentially be published. Formac offered the winner of the contest a CAD$1,500 cash prize, as well as an offer of publication for their submitted book. ^[5]

Notable publications

• Fenton, Andre (2019). Worthy of Love . Halifax, NS: Formac Publishing Company. ISBN   978-1-4595-0548-3.

James Lorimer & Company

James Lorimer & Company was founded in 1970 by James Lorimer, and is based in Toronto, Ontario. Since its establishment, the company has published more than 1,500 books by over 1,000 separate authors. ^[6] The company primarily publishes non-fiction books related to Canada and Canadian history. ^[7]

Notable publications

• Gutstein, Donald (2014). Harperism: How Stephen Harper and his think tank colleagues have transformed Canada. Toronto, ON: James Lorimer & Company. ISBN   978-1-4594-0663-6.
• Zuhair, Kashmeri; McAndrew, Brian (1989). Soft Target: How the Indian Intelligence Service Penetrated Canada . Toronto, ON: James Lorimer & Company. ISBN   1-5502-8221-2.

See also

• Literature of Nova Scotia
• List of English-language book publishing companies

References

Citations

1. More Canada (2025); Formac (2025).
2. Formac 2025.
3. Times-Transcript (1994); Ingram (1994); The Province (2003); Gurney (2003).
4. Telegraph-Journal (1989); Times-Transcript (1989).
5. Al-Hakim 2018.
6. More Canada 2025.
7. Lorimer 2025.

Sources

• "Former N.S. MLA sues publisher". Times-Transcript . Truro, NS. The Canadian Press. 12 January 1989. Retrieved 24 May 2025– via Newspapers.com.
• "Book sparks lawsuit". Telegraph-Journal . Saint John, NB. The Canadian Press. 16 January 1989. Retrieved 24 May 2025– via Newspapers.com.
• Cochrane, Alan (20 August 1994). "Authors wanted N.B. guidebook to be honest". Times-Transcript . Moncton, NB. Retrieved 24 May 2025– via Newspapers.com.
• Ingram, Anne (25 August 1994). "New Brunswick is land that welcomes closer inspection". The Daily Gleaner . Fredericton, NB. Retrieved 24 May 2025– via Newspapers.com.
• "Locals give life to guide book series". The Province . Vancouver, BC. 22 June 2003. Retrieved 24 May 2025– via Newspapers.com.
• Gurney, Michele (17 August 2003). "Great guides bring vacation spots to life". Edmonton Journal . Edmonton, AB. Retrieved 24 May 2025– via Newspapers.com.
• Al-Hakim, Aya (17 April 2018). "Formac offers $1,500 and publishing deal to best young writer". CBC News . Nova Scotia: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 24 May 2025.
• "Lorimer Books". Ontario Creates. Toronto, ON: Government of Ontario. Telefilm Canada . Retrieved 24 May 2025.
• "James Lorimer". More Canada. Canadian Forum Foundation. 2025. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
• "Submission Guidelines". formac.ca. Formac Publishing Company. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
• "Submission Guidelines". lorimer.ca. James Lorimer & Company. Retrieved 24 May 2025.

Further reading

• Barclay, Pat (7 October 1978). "Canadian publishing troubles far from over". The Leader Post . Regina, SK. Retrieved 24 May 2025– via Newspapers.com.
• Keer, Stephanie (3 December 1978). "The story of people who dared to fly". The Calgary Albertan . Calgary, AB. Retrieved 24 May 2025– via Newspapers.com.
• Aubin, Henry (22 December 1978). "Land developer 'secrets' subject of Lorimer book". The Gazette . Montreal, QC. Retrieved 24 May 2025– via Newspapers.com.
• "Publisher likely to make profit at the expense of taxpayers". The Leader Post . Regina, SK. 8 April 1981. Retrieved 24 May 2025– via Newspapers.com.
• Morrison, Jim (5 April 1986). "Publisher's books include some provocative subjects". Telegraph-Journal . Saint John, NB. Retrieved 24 May 2025– via Newspapers.com.
• Smith, Emma (27 April 2017). "Move along, Shakespeare: N.S. publishers want more local books in classrooms". CBC News . Nova Scotia: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 24 May 2025.
• Drudi, Cassandra (31 March 2025). "Bookmark initiative to help customers shop Canadian titles". Quill & Quire .
• Sparkes, Ainsley (29 April 2025). "Canadian bookmark project". BookNet Canada . Department of Canadian Heritage . Retrieved 24 May 2025.

External links

• Official website
• Reviews of books published by James Lorimer & Company – via Quill & Quire
• Reviews of books published by Formac Publishing Company – via Quill & Quire
• James Lorimer & Company – via Canadian Literature
• Books published by James Lorimer & Company – via 49th Shelf, Association of Canadian Publishers
• Books published by Formac Publishing Company – via 49th Shelf, Association of Canadian Publishers