Canthius is back! Meet the new leadership team!

To the Canthius community:

I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but it’s worth starting off by saying that, of course, nobody starts a literary magazine (or a press, or a collective, or a reading series…) because they think it’ll be easy. I’ve been looking through the records and emails and documents and funding applications and one thing is quite clear: the work of Canthius was never easy. But it was bold, necessary, and generous. It made space where there wasn’t always space. It published work that refused containment by genre, gender, or convention. It honoured the work of others, boosted signals all around it, and supported anti-oppressive, decolonial, and creative efforts. That’s hard work. The risk of burnout is real. But the incredible folks heading up Canthius did some amazing work that I was already grateful for as a reader, and that I am even more grateful for now that I am stepping into my new role as President.

So, yeah, we want to start here…with gratitude.

To the many members of the Board of Directors and Editorial Collective who carried Canthius through its first decade with vision and care, we owe more than we can fit in a single note. You built something enduring. Not just a journal, but a community of readers, writers, artists, and editors who believe literature can be a tool for justice. You published some of the most exciting feminist writing in this country and beyond, and you did it with integrity, intention, and an eye toward the future. Thank you!

We might be saying that “Canthius is back,” but the truth is that it never really left. It lingered, like all important things do. It rested, because even the strongest things need time. We are simply continuing a conversation already in motion.

This new team is stepping in not to change the direction of the journal, but to carry it forward, asking: How can we honour the foundation that’s been laid while making space for what’s next? What does a sustainable, collective model of feminist publishing look like now? How do we ensure that this journal remains a place for experimentation, for risk, for underserved writers who deserve more than token inclusion?

We don’t have all the answers right now, if I’m being honest. But we’re working on it. We’re not promising perfection. We’re promising process. This is feminist publishing as continuity, as collaboration, as commitment. And honestly, friends, I’m freakin’ honoured to be part of it.

Thank you for being here too.

- Dani

Meet the new leadership team

Canthius is excited to welcome our new core leadership team, including Dani Spinosa as President, Salma Hussain as Director, and Morgan Braid as Treasurer. We are also welcoming Manahil Bandukwala, Amy LeBlanc, and Karen Schindler to our Board of Directors. You can learn more about them here.