Cumulus Press was founded by David Widgington in 1998 as a single book project to publish an architectural walking guide of Montréal.During the research phase of the book, Widgington met Kirk Johnson, then a Master's student in Creative Writing. Johnson joined the book project as co-writer, which was published as Montréal Up Close: a pedestrian's guide to the city. Cumulus' second title, Companion Pieces, was Kirk Johnson's first collection of poetry, and the beginning of Cumulus' ten-year stint as a bona fide publisher. To see what the publisher is up to now, with his video reporting and doucmentary filmmaking, visit burningbillboard

Widgington won a scholarship from the Book Promoters' Association of Canada (BPAC) to attend the Simon Fraser University Book Publishing Workshop in 1999. He was a founding organizer of Expozine in 2002, which initiated Canada's largest annual small press, comic and zine fair.

One of the important features of Cumulus' publishing program is its Tendril Anthology Series, a space reserved for the apprenticeship of talented young writers to cast shadows of themselves. It was also a place for established writers to show us what they were writing when they were under the age of 25 with each book's Trestle chapbook. The series made it to three volumes, showcasing over forty young writers with A Trestle Chapbook by George Elliott Clarke, Elisabeth Harvor and Cleo Paskal.

Another significant segment of Cumulus' publishing program are books about globalization, activism, indy media, and other facets of social movements that offer a critical perspective of social issues. Titles like: Autonomous Media, Picture This!, Extraction!: comix reportage, Counter Productive, The Hero Book, North of 9/11 fit well into this category.

In 2008, Cumulus Press celebrated its 10th anniversary at a huge party, where publisher, David Widgington, also announced that the press was about to close [read press release]. Averaging two titles a year since its inception, Cumulus' twenty titles have etched a premanent mark within Montréal's publishing scene and a conistent presence across Canada.

Cumulus Press was a member of the Association of English-Language Publishers of Québec (AELAQ), The Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP) and the Literary Press Group (LPG). The Cumulus publisher was a member of the Salon du Livre de Montréal Corporation, as well as a member of the consultation committee of the Comité consultatif du livre, de la littérature et des bibliothèques de L'Observatoire de la culture et des communications du Québec.

Read Cumulus Press Profile in Toronto's The Danforth Review TDR (Dec 2006).

Cumulus Press would like to than all the authors, artists and readers of our books for their belief is our ability to produce great books. Cumulus Press acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts during its 10-year publishing program.

Most of Cumulus' books were printed in Gatineau, Québec on 100% post-consumer recycled paper by Imprimerie Gauvin; and typeset / designed by chester rhoder @ typo-pawsitive