Why read Échofictions ?

HOW ÉCHOFICTIONS STANDS OUT

Échofictions publishes novels and graphic novels, adventure stories, romantic comedies, and science fiction, ranging from the humorous to the dramatic, for all ages. 

We favor uplifting stories that resonate long after the reader has finished them. 

Most Échofictions titles are works that previously appeared with other publishers, in out-of-print anthologies, or in magazines—hence the word "echo" in the name Échofictions.

Two concrete examples:

• "Maragi's Secret" was published in the United States in 2024 in the prestigious Asimov’s SF magazine; the text 
  was subsequently picked up in 2025 by Science Fiction World (China) in a Mandarin translation. 
  Échofictions published the French version in 2025, following rejections from other houses that turned the work down based on its genre, target audience, or novella format.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• "Ice Monarch" an ecological fable, was published in French in 2010 in Solaris magazine (winning the 2010 Solaris Prize) and later appeared in 2012 in Galaxies (winning a Special Jury Prize). 
  A Russian translation was released in 2014 in SuperNovia magazine. Later, a edited English version was published in the magazine Abyss & Apex in 2018.
  

 

 

 

WHY I STARTED ECHOFICTIONS?

To make vanished texts available

I am an author with twenty traditionally published novels and nearly one hundred short stories published in anthologies or professional magazines since 1999 to my credit. I have won a number of literary awards, the most recent being the 2026 Solaris Prize. 

My sci-fi novels have been finalists three times for the Ontario Trillium Award (which I won in 2023), a finalist once for the Governor General’s Award, and winner of the Cécile Gagnon Award for young adult fiction in 2001. 

Of my 20 novels, 15 have become "orphans" for various reasons: 

• the publishing house decided to discontinue the series (2 cases);
• the publisher passed away and the company folded (this is what happened to the best publisher I ever had, Michel Lavoie of Vents d’Ouest, Gatineau); 
• the publisher was in poor health and closed the company (1 case);
• the publisher went bankrupt (1 case).

And the graphic novels 

Of the 10–12 graphic novels I had professionally published in Quebec and Ontario, *none* of those publishing houses exists anymore. I am therefore gradually bringing them back into print myself.

The same goes for the short-stories. 

After 15-20 years have elapsed, it is impossible to find the issue of a magazine, except in some archival sites.  To make the short-stories live again, I pick up five stories among the almost 100 published, and collect them under a theme.  Those collections "5" make a good introduction to my body of work. 

Short and sweet books

Echofictions also publishes some original books, on "niched" subjects and favors shorter formats, thin books that would ruin a traditional publisher and be mauled in conventional distribution. 

Why short books?  To reach readers living with ADD, or with short-term memory, or who wish to learn a new language.  

 

JUSTIFIED FEARS OF IA-GENERATED TEXTS

Generative IA and large language models produce a phenomenal quantity of mediocre to serviceable texts. No wonder many readers and organizations are wary of indipub. There's a valid concern about the quality of output that have not passed through an editorial process. 

However, the stigmata of auto edition is not always justified. Échofictions was created to fill a vacancy in the publication spectrum, not to compete against established publishers. 

I write my books and draw my graphic novels by myself. I go to bookfairs and conventions as a traditionally-published author, and also as an avid reader who support her colleagues. The sum of effort going into any artistic manifestation have earned my lasting respect.

 

A SHORT-RUN, LONG-TERM PUBLISHING PRACTICE

Échofictions prints its books in Québec, in short runs, and manage to keep the prices as low as possible. The same goes for the electronic editions.   

The house practices a sustainable in-person distribution, to avoid the waste of paper books in the large distribution, where books are on sale like lettuce for 3 weeks before getting returned/destroyed.

Échofictions is also the sole house actively promoting a circular economy, by alowing readers to pass the book along. The last page of any paper book is a special space dedicated to the chain of friendship, where readers can writer their name before gifting the book. It is, definitively, not a capitalist model.   

 

THAT SUPPORT THE BOOKFAIRS...

Échofictions currently sponsors two French-Ontarian bookfairs:

Salon du livre de Toronto (since 2022) 

Salon du Livre du Grand Sudbury (since 2025)

and once every two years, the Congrès de SF Boréal in Montréal

At he bookfairs, direct contact help the public find their books. And it proves I am a human, too. It is in those in-person events that Échofictions has its best results, and allows my public to void predatory platforms. 

 

AND THE INDEPENDANTS BOOKSTORES!

As a publisher, I select independant, local bookstores where I can go in-person to leave books in consignation, then I can return to take the books off the bookseller's hands. Here is a list: 

a.            The Book Wardrobe, Mississauga, they keep a local author shelf
b.            Planète BD, Montréal, for the graphic novels
c.            Joie de Livres, specialized in spec fic, Montréal
d.            Argo Bookshop, Montréal 
e.            others soon to be added. 

Created in 2016, Echofictions strives to be a positive force in society, supporting stores and literary organisms. The house applies a circular economy model for hungry readers.  As a writer, I work hard to reach my readers and make hope bloom in those difficult times. 

Michèle Laframboise
artist, writer