The Canadian Writer's Market. 17th ed.

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Alphabetical listings and brief how-to essays make up this one-of-a-kind resource tool for writers. Whether the objective is to have written material published for self-satisfaction, reputation-building, or income, all writers will find the directory components of the work useful. Those seeking to enter the published state for the first time will be able to pick up useful tips from the essays.

The listings are grouped by category: consumer magazines, literary and scholarly publications, trade magazines, daily newspapers, book publishers, literary agents, awards and competitions, government programs, courses, conferences and other training, resources, and organizations for writers. The sections for magazines are subdivided for faster access, with consumer magazines grouped into 14 categories and trade publications into 21.

The meat-and-potatoes of each listing is contact information: address, phone, fax, email, contact person, frequency of publication, and often, website. For consumer and literary magazines each entry is rounded out with information such as circulation, target audience, rates paid, format, preferred length of submissions, rights purchased, and more.

The section on book publishers also gives some detail on needs and preferences, with an emphasis on the different approaches required for fiction and non-fiction submissions.

For some sections the lack of detail is acceptable as a web url is given, presumably opening the way to more, and more current, information. The trade publication section lacks this advantage.

The awards and competitions section is extensive, giving entry criteria, deadlines, entry fees, and award amounts. The sections on government programs and professional development opportunities both contain good summaries.

The essays provide a rudimentary introduction to the business of freelance writing. Content covers the field from how to prepare manuscripts, find an agent, submit queries and manuscripts, find reference tools, seek funding, understand libel and copyright, and pay taxes.

The work deals only with English publications that are print-based or, very occasionally, online. Film, theatre, radio, and television markets are not included. Not all Canadian publications are included but the lists are very extensive and, viewed as a whole, give a sense of the ongoing growth and diversity of the English Canadian publishing opportunities for freelance writers.