Who we are

A BC publishing pioneer

In 1969, our founding publisher, Art Downs, wrote and released his first book, a pictorial account of the Cariboo Gold Rush trail called Wagon Road North. It was an instant success, becoming one of the bestselling BC books of its era and establishing Downs’s fledgling company, Heritage House, as the go-to source for books on regional and pioneer history.

Much has changed since Wagon Road North was flying off the shelves of local bookstores, but Heritage House’s guiding principle has remained consistent: We are committed to amplifying the stories and voices of the extraordinary people who have helped shape the diverse cultural landscape of Western Canada.

We love making the history of this remarkable place come alive through the books that we publish. And while regional history is still a fundamental part of our publishing program, we have broadened our sights considerably over the years to include books in a number of genres: humour, contemporary art and photography, Indigenous studies, politics and contemporary issues, nature guides, and children’s books.

Heritage House is also home to the Amazing Stories series and the Wandering Fox imprint for middle-grade readers.

Some of our recent titles that demonstrate the scope and richness of our program include popular history offerings Railway Nation: Tales of Canadian Pacific (David Laurence Jones) and the award-winning Pioneer Churches of Vancouver Island and the Salish Sea (Liz Bryan); bestselling humour and human interest books Grandfathered (Ian Haysom), The Survival Guide to British Columbia (Ian Ferguson), and Fortune Knox Once (Jack Knox); beautiful and provocative art books Out of the Woods: Woodworkers along the Salish Sea (Pirjo Raits, Dale Roth, and Michele Ramberg) and Legacy of Trees: Purposeful Wandering in Vancouver’s Stanley Park (Nina Shoroplova); military history titles Heard Amid the Guns (Jacqueline Larson Carmichael) and In Our Youth (Angus Scully); and Magical Beings of Haida Gwaii (Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson and Sara Florence Davidson), Aggie and Mudgy (Wendy Proverbs), and Lost on the Prairie (MaryLou Driedger) are books to spark the imagination of young readers.

After half a century in business, we are a small and passionate team of publishing professionals and book lovers based in Victoria, British Columbia, who firmly believe that history should be engaging and accessible to everyone; that underrepresented voices in our ever-changing culture must be heard, promoted, and championed; and that the region in which our company was founded and continues to thrive is an endless source of inspiration, knowledge, and unforgettable stories just waiting to be turned into books!

We would like to acknowledge the Lkwungen (Esquimalt, and Songhees), Malahat, Pacheedaht, Scia’new, T’Sou-ke and W̱SÁNEĆ (Pauquachin, Tsartlip, Tsawout, Tseycum) Peoples on whose traditional territories we live and work.