MudScout: fresh books from the ground up.

An independent publishing house based in Montreal, Canada, MudScout’s collection features titles you just won’t find anywhere else. We’ve scoured the underground to dig up innovative cultural titles by brilliant authors, artists and performers whose works blend attitude and ideas with unparalleled style.

The Meaning of MudScout

MudScout founder Emma McKay has always had a knack for picking her way through tricky territory, which is why so many people place their most precious possessions in her hands—whether clean shoes or fresh ideas.

The nickname was awarded on a trek along a rough forest trail in Eastern Canada. When the going got really muddy, Emma (with her trusty rubber boots) was entrusted with the task of scouting out the best path around the biggest, deepest, stickiest mud puddles possible. The skill later translated into an uncanny ability to face whatever obstacle nature or bureaucracy threw her way, and to steer would-be authors through the murky process of book publishing.

In her years as Acquisitions Editor and Production Manager at ECW Press in Montreal, Emma successfully guided a number of talented authors—from food critic Sarah Musgrave to turntable scratch legend Kid Koala—along the journey from concept to completed book. When ECW closed its Montreal office, Emma simply did what she does best: she blazed her own trail so that she could continue to help hidden talent find its way out of the woods and onto the printed page.