Brick is an unpredictable, original, yet reliable feast which I’ve enjoyed year after year. Nobody who cares about books or life could be disappointed in it.
— Alice Munro
The best literary publication in North America.
— Annie Proulx
Brick is an international literary journal published twice a year out of Toronto. With a focus on literary non-fiction—and a willingness to stray when our hearts are taken—the magazine prizes the personal voice and celebrates life, art, and the written word with the most invigorating and challenging essays, interviews, translations, memoirs, belles lettres, and unusual musings we can get our hands on. We’re guided by the quotation that appears on the masthead of every issue:
Works of art are of an infinite loneliness and with nothing to be so little reached as with criticism. Only love can grasp and hold and fairly judge them.
— Rainer Maria Rilke
In our pages, you’ll find opinion, passion, revelation, and the occasional bad joke.
Each issue of Brick brings new essays and insights from the world’s best-loved writers and introduces fresh, emerging voices from all over. Since its inception in 1977, Brick has featured such heavyweights as John Berger, Karen Solie, Juan Gabriel Vásquez, Zadie Smith, John Irving, and Louise Erdrich.
As much a feast for the eyes as it is for the mind, Brick regularly features art and photographic inserts and has been widely praised for its design. Every six months, we are building an artifact—a volume to read and keep and return to.
Get to Know Us Better
Want to know more about Brick before you purchase or subscribe? Head to brickmag.com/newsletter to subscribe to Bricolage, Brick‘s monthly newsletter, and have sampling of the best of the magazine delivered right to your inbox.
History
Brick was founded in London, Ontario, in 1977 by Stan Dragland and Jean McKay. Starting in 1985, publisher Linda Spalding led the magazine, along with contributing editor Michael Ondaatje, and helped to establish its international reputation, leaving a legacy of intellectual curiosity and passion for the written word. Their involvement with the magazine lasted over three decades.
Now based in Toronto and edited by Dionne Brand, David Chariandy, Laurie D. Graham, Michael Helm, Liz Johnston, and Madeleine Thien, Brick brings international voices to Canadian readers and Canadian voices to the world in the widest and most galvanizing exploration of the arts possible.
Brick is published twice a year and distributed to bookstores worldwide.
ISSN: 0382-8565
Masthead
- Publisher
Laurie D. Graham - Editors
Dionne Brand, David Chariandy, Laurie D. Graham, Michael Helm,
Liz Johnston, Madeleine Thien - Contributing Editors
Teju Cole, Robert Hass, Anne McLean, Souvankham Thammavongsa, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Allison LaSorda - Production Editor
Orly Zebak - Audience Manager
Rachel Gerry - Art Director
Mark Byk - Readers
Orly Zebak, Rachel Gerry, Laura Rock Gaughan, Eva Wissting, Louis Sanger, Natalie Chiang - Original Design
Gordon Robertson, Rick/Simon - Logos
David Bolduc - Copy Editor
Liz Johnston - Website Design
Mark Byk with Matthew McKinnon - Founders
Stan Dragland & Jean McKay
Frequently Asked Questions
How often does Brick come out?
We publish two issues per year: Winter (on newsstands from late November to May), and Summer (late May to November).
Where can I buy copies of the magazine?
Brick is available at bookstores and newsagents across Canada and the United States. For a complete list of stores, check here. If you don’t see your local bookstore listed, you might want to ask them to carry Brick (we’d love it if you would), or better yet, you could subscribe and we’ll come directly to your door.
How can I subscribe?
You can easily order Brick online through our Orders page, or send a cheque or money order with your name and address to:
Brick
P.O. Box 609, STN P
Toronto, ON
M5S 2Y4 Canada
A two-year subscription (that’s four issues!) to Brick is $48 CAD in Canada, $50 USD in the U.S., and $56 USD overseas. We’re pleased to introduce one-year (two issue) subscriptions for $28 CAD in Canada, $29 USD in the U.S., and $33 USD for international subscriptions.
Okay, I’m a subscriber. It’s mid-June (or mid-December). Where’s my Brick?
Depending on where you live and the odd irregularities of the post, your issue of Brick may take a little longer to get to you. If it has been more than a couple of weeks and you’re feeling anxious, please do get in touch to ensure we have your correct address.
How do I change my address?
Send us an email with your old and new address clearly distinguished. We’ll do the rest, and even send you a confirmation email.
I have an idea for a Brick piece. To whom should I address my query letter?
Alas, to someone else. Brick does not accept queries, we are only interested in hard copies of completed manuscripts.
How can I submit to Brick?
We’re happy to read your non-fiction manuscript during our open reading periods, but first, to ensure you meet all of our guidelines, please go to our submissions guidelines.
Who should I email my fiction and/or poetry to?
Please, not us. Brick does not accept unsolicited fiction or poetry, or any submissions by email. Please reread our submissions guidelines.
Does Brick offer internships?
Although we have no formal internship program, we do occasionally offer keen individuals the chance to volunteer with us on a part-time basis. If interested, please send us a brief email outlining your interest in Brick with a copy of your CV and let us contact you when we’re looking.
What information does Brick collect through this website, and how is my privacy protected?
Your privacy is very important to us and we are committed to complying with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”) and any applicable provincial privacy legislation. We believe in fully disclosing the ways in which we collect, use, disclose, and otherwise manage your personal information. You can find this information, along with information about how you can opt out of certain communications, in our privacy policy.
Submissions
Is Your Work Right For Brick?
Brick prides itself on publishing the best literary non-fiction in the world, and we are eager to read fresh, impeccable, and compelling non-fiction submissions. We crave pieces with formal integrity that take creative approaches to rich ideas. Underrepresented writers—including but not limited to writers who are Black, Indigenous, people of colour, queer, non-binary, Deaf, and/or disabled—are especially encouraged to submit their literary non-fiction.
An average issue of Brick will contain essays, reviews, interviews, belle lettres, memoir, translations, and all manner of incidental literary ephemera. In curating our issues, we are guided by the following tenet, which appears on the masthead of every issue of Brick:
Works of art are of an infinite loneliness and with nothing to be so little reached as with criticism. Only love can grasp and hold and fairly judge them.
— Rainer Maria Rilke
Love has led Brick to publish essays of every description. Some recent examples include:
- a memoir of loss and art
- a book review that defies reviewership
- a poetic essay on Blackness and breath
- favourite films reframed
- a travelogue rich with politically charged history
- a slant view of motherhood
- writers in conversation,
- a gem in literary history,
- and a consideration of comfort food.
Still, we are always looking for new terrain. We want to read about the singular obsessions that compel you to write. We welcome playfulness and beauty, depth and difficulty, the unclassifiable, and your explorations of the non-fiction form.
A Few Words on Brick’s Dream Submissions
Michael Helm: As Emerson wrote in his journal between 1832 and 1834: “A true method…tells its own story, makes its own feet, creates its own form. It is its own apology.” That’s what we’re after at Brick. Something that’s not just smart but thoughtful, that’s surprising, a little strange, and usually moving. There’s no making of cases or closings of deals. We’re looking for things we can’t help but believe, that we’ve never quite seen before, said in a way we’ve never heard before.
Laurie D. Graham: If a piece contains beautiful, surprising prose, I find it impossible to turn away. I am carried by the cadence, and by listening for how cadence supports subject, the vitality it lends.
Do take the time to familiarize yourself with a recent issue of the magazine by subscribing, ordering a back issue, signing up for our newsletter Bricolage, or reading features on our website before you submit to Brick. Reading our magazine is the best way to situate yourself with what we publish. You may also take advantage of the opportunity to pre-order an upcoming issue or subscribe at a discount when you submit through Submittable.
Brick pays its contributors upon publication and offers $55–685, depending on the length of accepted work, plus two copies of the issue the work appears in and a one-year subscription to the magazine.
Submission Guidelines:
* We can only accept submissions through Submittable. Mailed submissions will not be read or returned.
* Brick is open for submissions twice a year: from October 1 to October 31, and from April 1 to April 30.
* We consider only finished, polished non-fiction submissions.
* Submissions must be previously unpublished.
* We will read simultaneous submissions, but please let us know and withdraw your piece if your manuscript is accepted for publication elsewhere.
* Please only submit one piece at a time. Please wait for a response before sending us other work to consider. Multiple submissions will be automatically rejected.
* While Brick does not set a word limit, we tend towards a range of 1,000–5,000 words. Whatever the length, the piece must be exemplary.
* Please allow six to nine months for us to respond to your submission.
If you’ve read our guidelines above and are ready to submit your best non-fiction to Brick, please send it through Submittable during our submission periods. We look forward to reading your work.
Where to Buy Brick
Over the past couple of years, we’ve had the pleasure of chatting/emailing with a handful of passionate, dedicated booksellers from around the world about their Brick-carrying bookstores. Click on one of the links below to read one of our Brickseller interviews.
Atlantic News, Halifax
Aye-Aye Books, Glasgow
City Lights Books, San Francisco
Quimby’s Bookstore, Chicago
Type Books, Toronto
Do You Read Me?!, Berlin
The Booksmith, San Francisco
Mac’s Fireweed Books, Whitehorse
London Review Bookshop, London
McNally Jackson Books, New York
Book City, Toronto
Aside from our online store, Brick can be purchased at the following bookstores and newsstands throughout the world:
Canada
Alberta
Banff
Goro Canyon Smoke & Gift Shop—222 Lynx Street
Calgary
Daily Globe News—1004 17 Avenue S.W.
Shelf Life Books—1302 4 Street S.W.
Chapters Indigo—various locations
Edmonton
Glass Bookshop—10242 106 Street
Chapters Indigo—various locations
Grand Prairie
Trumpeter (Al’s) News—10028 100 Avenue
Lethbridge
Club Cigar—301 5th Street South
Chapters Indigo—701 1st Avenue South
Medicine Hat
Hat News & Tobacco—101-73 7th St SE
St. Albert
Chapters Indigo—445 St. Albert Trail
British Columbia
Burnaby
Chapters Indigo—4700 Kingsway
Coquitlam
Chapters Indigo—2991 Lougheed Highway
Dawson Creek
Bill’s News and Confectionary—10212 10th Street
Kamloops
Chapters Indigo—1395 Hillside Drive
Kelowna
Chapters Indigo—Orchard Park
Langley
Chapters Indigo—20015 Langley By-Pass, Unit 115
Nanaimo
Vancouver Island University Bookstore—Bldg 305, 900 5th Street
Chapters Indigo—Woodgrove Centre
Nelson
Otter Books—398 Baker Street
Prince George
Books & Company—1685 3rd Avenue
Salt Spring Island
Salt Spring Books—104 McPhillips Avenue
Sidney
Tanner’s Books—2436 Beacon Avenue
Surrey
Chapters Indigo—2453-161A Street, Unit 10
Terrace
Misty River Books—103-4710 Lazelle Avenue
Vancouver
McNews—1460 Lonsdale Avenue
Chapters Indigo—various locations
Victoria
Bolen Books—111-1644 Hillside Avenue
Ivy’s Bookshop—2188 Oak Bay Avenue
Munro’s Bookstore—1108 Government Street
Subtext—University of Victoria
West Vancouver
Chapters Indigo—900 Park Royal S
Manitoba
Winnipeg
McNally Robinson Booksellers—1120 Grant Avenue
Chapters Indigo—Polo Festival, 695 Empress Street
New Brunswick
Dieppe
Chapters Indigo—Crystal Palace, 1 Bass Pro Drive
Saint John
Chapters Indigo—East Point Centre, 41 Fashion Drive
Newfoundland
St. John’s
Chapters Indigo—70 Kenmount Street
Nova Scotia
Dartmouth
Chapters Indigo—41 Mic Mac Boulevard
Greenwood
The Inside Story— 963 Central Avenue
Halifax
Atlantic News—5560 Morris Street
Lunenburg
Lunenburg Bound Books—139 Montague Street
Shelburne
The Whirligig—142 Water Street
Ontario
Chapters Indigo—various locations throughout Ontario
Kingston
Novel Idea—156 Princess Street
Ottawa
Books on Beechwood—35 Beechwood Avenue
Glebe Smoke Shop—844 Bank Street
Pickering
Smoker’s Corner—Pickering Town Centre
Picton
Books & Company—289 Main Street
St. Catharines
Christopher’s Smoke Shop—26 James Street
Toronto
Book City—348 Danforth Avenue
Book City—1950 Queen Street East
Book City—1430 Yonge Street
Issues—1489 Dundas Street West
International News—Front Street
Queen Books—914 Queen Street East
Page & Panel—789 Yonge Street
Presse Internationale—2068 Queen Street East
Presse Internationale—537 Bloor Street West
Karma Co-op—739 Palmerston Ave
Type Books—883 Queen Street West
Type Books—2887 Dundas Street West
Waterloo
Words Worth Books —100 King Street South
Windsor
Ray & Kim’s Super Convenience—352 Ouellette Avenue
Quebec
Montréal
Paragraphe Bookstore—2220 McGill College Avenue
Multimags—Monkland Village—5508 Avenue Monkland
Multimags—Petite Italie—6889 Boul. St-Laurent
Chapters Indigo—1500, avenue McGill College
Laval
Chapters Indigo—900 Le Corbusier Boulevard
Saskatchewan
Regina
Chapters Indigo—Southland Mall
Saskatoon
McNally Robinson Booksellers—3130 8th Street East
Chapters Indigo—3322-8th Street E
Yukon
Whitehorse
Mac’s Fireweed Books—203 Main Street
United States
California
Arcata
Northtown Books—957 H Street
Berkeley
Pegasus Books—2349 Shattuck Avenue
Books Inc—1491 Shattuck Avenue
Davis
Newsbeat—514 3rd Street
Los Angeles
Skylight Books—1818 North Vermont Avenue
The Kosher News—370 North Fairfax Avenue
Menlo Park
Kepler’s Books—1010 El Camino Real #100
San Diego
Hillcrest Newsstand—529 University Avenue, #3117
San Francisco
Alley Cat Bookstore & Gallery—3036 24th Street
Books Inc.—601 Van Ness
Fog City News—455 Market Street, Suite 125
Kinokuniya Bookstore—1581 Webster Street
Smoke Signals—2223 Polk Street
Point Reyes Station
Point Reyes Books—11315 State Route 1
District of Columbia
Washington
Politics & Prose Bookstore—5015 Connecticut Avenue NW
Florida
Coral Gables
Books & Books—265 Aragon Avenue
Illinois
Chicago
City News—4018 N. Cicero Avenue
Quimby’s Bookstore—1854 W. North Avenue
Evanston
Chicago-Main Newsstand—860 Chicago Ave
Kentucky
Louisville
Carmichael’s Bookstore—1295 Bardstown Road
Carmichael’s Bookstore—2720 Frankfort Avenue
Massachusetts
Newburyport
Jabberwocky Bookshop & Café—Tannery Mill Bldg. 50 Water Street
Michigan
Kalamazoo
Michigan News Agency—308 W Michigan Ave
Nevada
Las Vegas
Writer’s Block—519 S. 6th Street, Suite.100
New Hampshire
Keene
Toadstool Bookshop—12 Emerald Street
New York
New York
McNally Jackson—52 Prince Street
Ithaca
Buffalo Street Books—215 North Cayuga Street
North Carolina
Durham
The Regulator Bookshop—720 Ninth Street
Ohio
Columbus
Northstar Cafe BeechWold—4241 N High Street
Organic Trails Café—951 N High Street
Pennsylvania
Doylestown
The Doylestown Bookshop—16 S. Main Street
Philadelphia
Avril 50—3406 Sansom Street
Washington
Bellingham
Village Books and Paper Dreams—1200 11th Street
Eastsound
Darvill’s Bookstore—296 Main Street
Lake Forest Park
Third Place Books—17171 Bothell Way NE, #A101
Mercer Island
Island Books—3014 78th Avenue SE
Seattle
Elliott Bay Book Company—1521 Tenth Avenue
Kinokuniya Bookstore—525 South Weller Street
Magnolia’s Bookstore—3206 W. McGraw Street
Phinney Books—7405 Greenwood Avenue North
Queen Anne Book Company—1811 Queen Anne Avenue North
Ravenna Third Place—6504 20th Avenue NE
Secret Garden Books—2214 NW Market Street
Third Place Books Seward Park—5041 Wilson Avenue South
University Bookstore—4326 University Way NE
Walla Walla
Book & Game Company—38 E Main Street Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Milwaukee
Boswell Book Company—2559 N. Downer Avenue
Woodland Pattern—720 E. Locust Street
Outside North America
England
Newsstand (online magazine store)
Bath
Magalleria—22a Broad Street
Bristol
Here Gallery—108 Stokes Croft
London
Charlotte Street News—66 Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia
Good News—23 Berwick Street, Soho
London Review Bookshop—14 Bury Place
Rushden
Magazine Heaven—Rushden Lakes Shopping Centre
Germany
Berlin
Do You Read Me?!—Auguststrasse 28
Scotland
Glasgow
Aye-Aye Books—350 Sauchiehall Street
Singapore
Basheer Graphic Books—#04-19, Bras Basah Complex, BLK 231, Bain Street
South Africa
Cape Town
Book Lounge—71 Roeland Street
The Netherlands
Amsterdam
Scheltema Boekhandel—1012 KK Amsterdam
Turkey
Istanbul
Pandora—Perihan Sok. No. 68/2, Sisli
If you want Brick to be carried in your favourite neighbourhood bookstore, let them know or send us a note. Also, if we’ve missed your favourite store and you know it carries Brick, let us know and we’ll add them to this list.
Advertise
Brick features the best literary non-fiction the world has to offer. Weighing in at nearly one hundred and seventy perfect-bound pages, Brick is carried by independent bookstores, newsstands, and major retailers across North America and is subscribed to by readers around the world. As Brick is published twice a year, each advertisement has a six-month lifespan, if not longer. Copies of Brick are read, saved, and shared.
Brick’s mandate is beyond that of a typical literary magazine. It is a feast of passionate writing on life and the arts: personal essays, interviews, cultural reporting, belles lettres, and much more of the idiosyncratic writing that only Brick can provide. Founded in 1977 and based in Toronto, Brick has an international perspective—and presence. It celebrates and publishes Canadian authors such as John Ralston Saul, Alice Munro, and Margaret Atwood, and it also plays host to some of the world’s best-loved writers: Tomas Tranströmer, Jonathan Lethem, Orhan Pamuk, Jeffery Eugenides, John Berger, Haruki Murakami, Michael Chabon, Pico Iyer, and Zadie Smith have all appeared in its pages. Intelligent, discerning, and contemplative, Brick is more than a literary magazine; it is an institution.
Please contact us at 416-593-9684 or email us if you’re interested in advertising in Brick.
Media Kit
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| BrickMediaKit2021 | 996.74 KB |
Print Rate Card
| Colour | 1x | 2x | 3x | 4x |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full page | 1,000 | 930 | 880 | 840 |
| Half page | 700 | 650 | 615 | 580 |
| Quarter page | 400 | 370 | 350 | 335 |
| Business card | 250 | 230 | 220 | 215 |
| B&W | 1x | 2x | 3x | 4x |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full page | 800 | 745 | 705 | 670 |
| Half page | 550 | 510 | 485 | 460 |
| Quarter page | 325 | 300 | 285 | 270 |
| Business card | 175 | 165 | 155 | 150 |
Web Rate Card
| Home page, rotating ad block | 1 month | 2 months | 3 months | 4 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 300px W x 250px H | 305 (x1) | 290 (x2) | 280 (x3) | 275 (x4) |
| Bricolage, Brick’s monthly newsletter | 1x | 2x | 3x | 4x |
| 300px W x 250px H | 185 each | 160 each | 140 each | 125 each |
All web ads are hyperlinked and can be animate gifs. For the best display on high-resolution screens, please send ads at 600pxW x 500pxH.
Contact
Brick
Box 609, Stn P
Toronto, ON M5S 2Y4
Canada
To contact Brick by email, please send a message to info@brickmag.com.
Your name and email address will not be sold or otherwise distributed.