Sapling issue #858
The one in which we talk to Ryanne Kap and Hannah Eiserman of The Ex-Puritan.
Hi writers.
The shortlist has been announced for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, and we’re delighted to see so many debut authors and authors published by independent presses on the list, along with a couple fantastic literary heavyweights.
Now, here’s what’s happening in the small press world this week.
—Kit
Managing Editor / Sapling editor
Black Lawrence Press
Contest: Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction
Genre(s): short fiction (book manuscripts)
Award: Publication with UGA Press and $1,000
Entry Fee: $30
Deadline: May 31, 2026
Guidelines: georgiapress.submittable.com/submit
Journal: Hypertext
Genre(s): fiction, poetry, and nonfiction
Website: hypertextmag.com
Guidelines: hypertextmag.com/how-to-submit
Open through May 31, 2026 (or until cap is reached)
Small Press: River River Books
Genre(s): Poetry
Website: riverriverbooks.org
Guidelines: riverriverbooks.org/editors/submissions
Open reading period May 1-31, 2026, full-length poetry.
Feature: The Ex-Puritan
This week, Sapling spoke with Ryanne Kap, Editor-In-Chief, and Hannah Eiserman, Managing Editor of The Ex-Puritan.
SAPLING: The Ex-Puritan is an online literary magazine published out of Toronto. Can you tell us a bit about the publication’s origins as The Puritan, a print journal, and the magazine’s evolution?
RYANNE KAP: The magazine began in 2007 as The Puritan, definitely a tongue-in-cheek move, and ran as an independently funded print journal in Ottawa. After a brief hiatus, it moved to Toronto, where it became Canada’s first digital literary magazine. In 2022 we rebranded to The Ex-Puritan, which reflects how the magazine has evolved since its beginnings. The change acknowledges that we’ve been a staple of the CanLit community for nearly twenty years, but the name and branding was isolating to the very communities we want to uplift. We’ve become much more vocal about wanting to support antiracist and decolonial values through the way we operate and the writing we publish.
HANNAH EISERMAN: It’s funny how, at this time, only a few members of our masthead are anywhere near Toronto! I live and work in Victoria, BC, myself. I think that’s a major area of evolution. We have described our magazine’s collective tone as “urban,” which I think is still accurate, though non-specific. Perhaps because of how spread out the editorial team is throughout the country, we are able to maintain a diverse, yet ultimately urban Canadian feel. I’m also a relatively new addition to the team, so I’ll let Ryanne take the lead in telling you all about our origins. But that said… I am a long-term Ex-Puritan reader, since the days before the “Ex-” was added to align more with our values. I have long admired the quality of writers that our magazine publishes. I know I can always find many favourites and many new voices to follow!
SAPLING: What are one or two key things you’d like writers to know about The Ex-Puritan, that we wouldn’t find on your website?
R.K.: We strongly encourage emerging writers to submit. While we pride ourselves on being able to share new writing from some of the biggest names in CanLit, it’s not unusual for us to also feature someone’s first publication in the same issue as some of those heavyweights. It’s great for us to be a home for all kinds of writers.
H.E.: I’ll echo Ryanne here, as well as reiterate my response to the first question a bit. I love that we’re able to publish Canadian “heavyweights,” so to speak, and then emerging writers alongside them. We can publish your enduring favourites, and introduce you to new favourites. Additionally, while our mandate on our website does say that we encourage writing which pushes formal genre conventions, I’ll add that we really like any work that “pushes the envelope.” We tend to publish writing that lands a bit on the strange side, so I’d highly recommend sending in work that challenges.
SAPLING: Have you encountered any noteworthy challenges in your respective tenures as Editor-In-Chief and Managing Editor? Anything you wish more writers would know from your side of the desk?
R.K.: The team has experienced a ton of changeover in the last few years, and some of it has been difficult to navigate as we try our best to live up to our mandate. It’s getting harder and harder to run literary magazines, just from a structural viewpoint, as funding becomes scarcer. I really appreciate the patience our readers and writers have had regarding various technical problems and issue delays, and I hope they will remain patient with us!
H.E.: My two biggest challenges are readers and readings. We receive around 700 submissions to our fiction and poetry sections each issue. We have a lovely team of volunteer readers, but it’s a volume that’s tough to manage. And I can’t even begin to tell you how many times we, (or I myself,) read a fantastic submission that just doesn’t quite fit in, whether that be spatially or tonally. When we have to send a rejection, and we say that it is not necessarily a reflection of the writing, that’s true! It’s not just a platitude. We can’t publish everything great, or we’d have insanely long issues. It’s done a lot for my own writing (and self-esteem) to know that.
Oh, and we often get submissions that are wildly outside of what we publish! (Perhaps that’s because we encourage “defying genre conventions,” but still.) For example, we receive lots of fantasy, science fiction, and historical writing… While those can be a delight to read, they’re not really what we tend to publish. When submitting to any publication, please do have a look at what they’ve published recently to get a sense of what they’re looking for! I know most submission portals say that – including ours – but it’s really important! I’m sad when those submitters spend their valuable time barking up the wrong tree, so to speak, when they could instead put their efforts toward submitting to a publication more suited to their work. Submitting is hard and time-consuming, so my advice is to make the most of that effort!
SAPLING: Where do you imagine The Ex-Puritan to be headed over the next couple years? Anything new or noteworthy on the horizon?
R.K.: I’m hopeful that in the next couple years, we’ll expand on our special issues in terms of introducing new themes and opportunities for other writers to become involved in more substantial ways. That’s something we’re currently discussing as a team.
H.E.: Ryanne is going to have a more robust answer to that than I will. As managing editor, I’m mostly here to turn the team’s plans into reality! (If that’s not speaking too highly of myself…) I also look forward to expanding our special issues. Our Animalia special issue last year seemed to be a hit!
SAPLING: The Ex-Puritan is a paying market, something many literary outlets strive toward. How have you maintained your ability to compensate the writers you publish?
R.K.: We’re very grateful to Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council for providing a majority of our funding. Those core and operational grants have helped us increase honorariums over the last few years, which has made a world of difference. We also rely on our supporters through Patreon; their help is so, so appreciated.
H.E.: We are also very grateful to folks who opt to pay for their submission. The option on the Submittable portal is only $3, and those fee submissions greatly help us fund the magazine.
SAPLING: What one or two literary magazines deserve more recognition, and why should more people be reading them (and perhaps seeking a home for their own writing there)?
R.K.: I’d love to shout out The Temz Review, based in London, Ontario; I feel like it always spotlights local writers and it’s exciting to see what they turn out every issue. Another favourite is long con; it’s perfect for writers who love to artfully engage with other forms of art, and some of my favourite pieces in recent memory have been published there.
H.E.: I am a big fan of Eavesdrop Magazine, which was recently launched out of Vancouver Island. I’ll read anything that centres queer writers and experiences, but Eavesdrop is special. They’re really focused on building not just a publication, but a community. I did a writer’s workshop with them last summer and got a lot out of it. (Plus, I’ve heard co-founder and co-editor Larissa express some envy at our submission numbers – I know they’d love to see more of what we queer writers are workin’ with!)
And why should you be reading them? First, they publish good work. Second, they publish diverse work. You’ll definitely discover some fresh, challenging, and illuminating work from them. On a more macro level… Supporting small organizations and publications ran by actual human people is more important than ever right now. (Need I even elaborate?)
SAPLING: Just for fun (because we like fun), what would be The Ex-Puritan’s preferred movie theater snack?
R.K.: I think it would be sweet-and-savoury popcorn. Like popcorn with butter, sugar, and furikake. Or popcorn with paprika, brown sugar, and cayenne pepper.
H.E.: Is it a bit wild for me to say that I think we would be smuggled-in bags of Bulk Barn candy? Who’s paying those ridiculous snack prices at theatres? Smuggled-in Bulk Barn snacks bring lots of colourful variety at lower prices, with a little hint of sticking it to the man!
Hannah Eiserman is a writer living in so-called Victoria, BC. She holds an MA in English from the University of Victoria, where she studied print culture and queer community in late 19th century Britain. If she’s not working, she is either trying to finish one of her novels, binding some journals, or exploring the forests and waters of the Island. Her writing has been published (or is forthcoming) in Grain, The Carillon, and iō Literary Journal. More of Hannah’s writing can be found on Substack or her website, hannaheiserman.ca.
Ryanne Kap is a Chinese Canadian writer from Strathroy, Ontario. They are the Editor-in-Chief of The Ex-Puritan and a PhD candidate in English and creative writing at the University of Calgary, where their research focuses on adoption studies, Asian North American literature, and pop culture studies. You can find them online at www.ryannekap.com or @ryannekap on X/Instagram.
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