Phuong Truong is the new owner and publisher of Second Story Press. (Photo courtesy Second Story Press)

Second Story Press has a new owner and publisher.

After decades at the helm, co-founder and publisher Margie Wolfe has transferred ownership of the Toronto-based feminist and social-justice-driven independent publisher to Phuong Truong. Truong has been the press’s general manager since 2004. She has also been published by Second Story Press, with a new book coming this spring.

The transfer of ownership, which the press says Wolfe announced to authors in a letter last week, is immediate. Wolfe will remain on board as publisher emerita, and will continue to be involved in acquiring titles, handling international rights, and overseeing part of the list.

Wolfe started Second Story Press in 1988 alongside co-founders Liz Martin, Lois Pike, and Carolyn Wood. Wolfe has received multiple awards for her leadership at the press, and was inducted into the Order of Canada in 2022 “for her dedication as a leading publisher, feminist and social justice advocate in Canada’s literary industry who champions inclusive and diverse publications.” Books published by Second Story Press include the internationally acclaimed Hana’s Suitcase by Karen Levine, Melanie Florence’s Stolen Words and Marie-Claire Blais’s Nights Too Short to Dance.

In a press release, Wolfe speaks about her reasons for asking Truong to join her at the ceremony.

“I asked Phuong to join me at the ceremony because I was receiving the award on behalf of Second Story Press, and she will determine its future,” Wolfe said. “This change is very hard for me. My work has been a gift that I have loved and cherished. I believe Phuong, who has spent two decades involved in building the list, is the right person to enhance and enrich and add new priorities to the legacy.”

Truong says that Wolfe has been “instrumental” in changing how we introduce difficult topics to children.

“I am grateful to have learned from her over the past 20 years,” Truong says. “I am so honoured that Margie has entrusted me with guiding Second Story Press into the future and I am excited to see what that future holds.”