Our History
Established in 1983, primarily as a distribution company, Vanwell Publishing Limited was a family owned and operated company located in St. Catharines, Ontario on the southern shores of Lake Ontario in the Niagara Peninsula.
Initially, operating as a small book distributor, it was not until 1986 that an effort was made to become a publisher of local history. Vanwell went on to mature and develop an excellent reputation across Canada as the largest publisher and distributor of military history titles with a special emphasis on Canadian naval and maritime history with over 100+ Canadian history titles in print by 2008.
Current History
In 2010, Vanwell Publishing Limited was superseded by Vanwell Distribution Services, operated by Simon Kooter, to carry on the family business and maintain the reputation as a Canadian distributor of quality aviation, military, and naval books from respected publishers.
Vanwell presently distributes books for over 30 companies, including those from Canada, France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and United States. Through our exclusive distribution agreements, we carry subject genres that include audio & large print books, Canadiana, craft and hobby, general history, sports, theatre, and woodworking. We are actively searching out distribution agreements with other military history publishers.
Our books can be found in a wide range of outlets—independent bookstores and chain superstores and a variety of non-traditional book outlets such as hobby stores and museums. We market our books nationally and internationally, and try to ensure that they reached as wide an audience as possible. From Aikido to pottery – Roman roads to Afghanistan, these and thousands of other titles are available from our large backlist.
Our Publishing Focus
Vanwell Publishing was a publisher of general history, military history, and local interest books for more than 20 years. Notably, we have created an imprint called Looking Back Press, which explores primarily towns and/or regions in a multitude of photographs and captions capturing the nostalgic feeling of the time, ideal for local community fundraising and historical societies. We have since branched out into other subjects, such as Great Lakes Shipping, Regimental Histories and regional Fire Services. Vanwell Distribution Services offers prospective clients specialized “non-traditional” publishing and packaging services for this series, please contact us for more information.
From our past experience, we will continue to strive to maintain our focus on quality, from our editors’ attention to detail to the promotional efforts of our sales force. It is Vanwell’s mandate to foster and generate an appreciation of Canadian history. It is our desire to better educate others about the contributions and sacrifices made by Canadians during periods of peace and war.
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