Ken Whyte launches publishing company

Former Maclean’s publisher and National Post founding editor Ken Whyte says his new nonfiction publishing house will strive for several things: intelligence, integrity and truthfulness. And diversity. “I don’t see how anyone can want anything but to be diverse in a country like Canada, because it’s an incredibly diverse population by any international standard,” says Whyte, who stirred controversy by tweeting about cultural appropriation. “If you can’t handle a diverse range of authors and a diverse range of subjects for a diverse range of audiences, you’re really limited in Canada.” Whyte rankled many by suggesting he would help fund an “appropriation prize” after Hal Niedzviecki penned an editorial in the Writers’ Union of Canada magazine saying he didn’t believe in cultural appropriation. That ignited a social media storm in which marginalized writers condemned the article and Niedzviecki resigned. Whyte says he’s mindful of the need to reflect various voices, but now that he helms his own press that doesn’t mean he’ll seek representation by a particular gender or race. “I have no formulas and I don’t intend to have any. I am reaching out to people I respect as writers, regardless of any quotas or forced diversity. And I just trust that the materials that come in and that I’ll be able to produce will reflect a good diversity of people and ideas.” Torontobased Sutherland House will begin producing books in 2019.