An intimate group gathered on November 17th at the University of Ottawa’s Desmarais Building where they were treated to reflections on the future of Canada’s publishing industry. The forum was part of the Thinking Culture series organized in tandem by the university, the Association of Canadian Studies in the United States and the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA).  Featured speakers were Douglas Gibson and Alain Pineau.

 Alain Pineau, National Director of the CCA, presented the Quebec publishing sector. Pineau first confessed that he was “pinch-hitting” because the Salon du Livre in Montréal posed an unfortunate conflict preventing Quebec industry representatives from participating. He then went on to paint a portrait Quebec’s important publishing sector, the differences between the francophone and anglophone markets in Canada and, the challenges facing the industry. A PDF of the presentation is available online.  

One may be surprised to know that book sales in Quebec are currently reported to be over $790 million in sales and far outpacing sales of tickets to the cinema and to performing arts events. Also, the Quebec market has a better regional distribution system compared to its anglo-counterpart. Small and nimble vs. large and lumbering?  Perhaps. Gibson opined that the book distribution market across Canada is designed to make truckers rich!  

Another unique aspect to the Quebec industry is the protection afforded to Quebec booksellers by Act 51, (1981). This Act makes it an obligation for all public institutions to purchase books through accredited bookstores, a regime which it expands to publishing and distribution companies. This protection does not exist in any other Canadian province.  

Doug Gibson, a legend in the Canadian book world, shared the anglophone perspective on the future of the industry. He has over 40 years of experience in the publishing industry and is celebrating the recent release of his own book, Stories About Storytellers: Publishing Alice Munro, Robertson Davies, Alistair MacLeod, Pierre Trudeau and Others.

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And the survey says . . .

“Fascinating subject matter.”

“A good balance of facts and story.”

Average satisfaction level with Thinking Culture’s forum on the Canadian publishing industry was 8.7 out of 10.

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Quoting an improbable combination of phrases from the Book of Proverbs and Vanity Fair in the same breath, Gibson entertained listeners from the very start. Weaving story and fact, he touched on topics such as distribution, succession challenges at the corporate level, the potential impact of Indigo’s new returns policy, Bill C-11 and government policy on foreign ownership. Gibson made it clear that the future of the industry was anything but that. He would suspect anyone who said otherwise.

Shared challenges for all Canadian publishers, include competition from abroad and from non-conventional booksellers (such as Costco, Walmart and online vendors). The industry must also face the, as yet unquantified, impact of digital publishing.

Looming challenges ahead stem from pressure from the European Union to relax foreign ownership rules and the almost certain passage of Bill C-11.

The theme of storytelling stayed with us throughout the evening. We tell stories since before the days of the troubadours. We tell stories to comfort, to remember and the thrill. Engaging with stories is part of the human condition. Therein lies some hope for the future of the industry, whatever form it takes.