Montreal-based Drawn & Quarterly (D&Q) is a preeminent publisher of literary graphic novels. For almost three decades, its output has been designed by writers and artists solely responsible for the ideas behind their works. Its past and present roster speaks for itself: Lynda Barry, Daniel Clowes, Kate Beaton, Chester Brown, Seth, Guy Delisle, and Yoshihiro Tatsumi, to name a few. We queried publisher Peggy Burns to find out more about the press and its methodology.

LJ: In your 15 years at D&Q, three as publisher, what achievement(s) are you most proud of? What goals are you determined to accomplish?
PB: The biggest achievement is [that] we have created a professional, streamlined alternative for authors that exists between multinationals and micropublishers. We provide creative freedom, solid distribution and sales, author-friendly royalty rates, transparent contract and payment terms, first-rate foreign rights, and a full-scale integrated marketing campaign in three countries.

What qualities does D&Q look for in prospective titles?
D&Q is different from most major publishers in that we are not seeking to replicate past successes by following a blueprint. We look for authors with singular visions. Equally important is that each creator stands out from the others on our list. We publish 25 books a year, so it is imperative that each have its own personality and [make its own] contribution. Each season requires a mix of fiction, memoir, reprints, and both new and established authors in order to succeed. Our unofficial mandate is less is more—to publish fewer books and sell more of those titles, thereby fully supporting each work on our list. In 2017, we toured ten authors, so our commitment to marketing each book is sincere.

What qualities do you consider when selecting works in translation?
We do not treat translations differently from other books we acquire. With each work we ask, “Is this a distinctive approach? How does it complement our list?” We just started translating works in Korean. In 2017, we published Yeon-Sik Hong’s Uncomfortably Happy, and in September we’ll release Ancco’s Bad Friends. Quality literature is quality literature, no matter the language in which it is written.

Does D&Q have any new imprints in the works?
D&Q has its house brand and our children’s imprint, Enfant. We also have a significant reprint project...that we’re pretty proud of and will announce soon!

What 2018 titles are you most enthused about sharing with our readers?
I adore all of our books! I am enthusiastic about how our list ebbs and flows and the various ways the works all relate to one another, even if we look for distinct qualities in each of them. In May, we launched Aline Kominsky-Crumb’s Love That Bunch (Xpress Reviews 5/25/18), putting the career of this pioneering female cartoonist—the first to delve into autobiographical comics—in its rightful historical context. At the same time, John Porcellino (the contemporary king of autobiographical comics) was on the road touring his new book From Lone Mountain, published in March. John also contributed to Julie Doucet’s Dirty Plotte, releasing this fall, and Aline featured Julie in Weirdo magazine, for which Aline is a coeditor. It all comes together, sometimes it just takes a few decades.

Peggy Burns illustration by Pascal Girard

D&Q illustration by Seth

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