HarperCollins Canada announced Monday that it is expanding its publishing program with a new imprint called Patrick Crean Editions.

Publisher Patrick Crean will be joining HarperCollins in September after a short hiatus from the industry. In January, Crean left Thomas Allen & Son, where he founded the publishing program 12 years ago. He left the company on a high note, after publishing the 2011 winner of the the $50,000 Scotiabank Giller Prize, Canada’s top prize for fiction, Esi Edugyan’s novel, Half-Blood Blues.

"Patrick is well known in publishing and bookselling circles as a passionate advocate for Canadian writers," said Iris Tupholme, HarperCollins Canada’s v-p, publisher and editor-in-chief. "His impressive track record of publishing award-winning and bestselling authors in both fiction and non-fiction is well established, and we are proud to welcome his new imprint to HarperCollins."

Crean also published Austin Clarke’s Giller winner The Polished Hoe in 2002. While publisher of his boutique imprint at Thomas Allen, his authors' books took home Governor-General’s prizes for fiction and non-fiction, as well as the Pearson Writers' Trust Prize for Non-fiction. Prior to his work at Thomas Allen, Crean held senior editorial positions at Key Porter Books, General Publishing and Somerville House.

"I am absolutely thrilled by this new publishing opportunity with HarperCollins," said Crean. "[HarperCollins Canada president and CEO] David Kent and Iris Tupholme have developed, and are committed to, a dynamic and essential publishing program in our country. It is an honor to be part of this outstanding team," he told PW. "I look forward very much to working with them as I develop the new imprint in my search for fine writing, uncommon ideas and exciting new Canadian voices."

Phyllis Bruce, who also has an eponymous imprint at HarperCollins Canada, praised Crean as "a seasoned editor with an unerring eye for good Canadian writing and … a long history of innovative publishing."

Kent said the company's publishing program is growing, and Crean is an ideal addition to the company's editorial staff. "It’s a great mix of young, mid-career and established editors," he said, noting that Crean’s experience would help him, alongside Bruce, mentor the young editors. Kent added that Crean’s talent would now be complemented by the resources of a larger publishing house.