The Year in Brief: Publishing
- Book Publishing Policy and Programs
- Periodical Publishing Policy and Programs
Canada is home to more than 21,000 full-time writers52—and those writers have won nearly every significant literary award in the world, including the Man Booker Prize, the Prix Goncourt, the Pulitzer Prize, the Prix Femina and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.
Canada also remains a nation of readers. Over the past 12 months, Canadians read an average of 17 books, approximately four of which were Canadian.53 Those books were produced by more than 1,500 publishers across the country; their sales, according to the latest Statistics Canada data, generated revenues of $2 billion. Of the 293 publishers responsible for 95 percent of that revenue, 282 were Canadian‑owned.54 In the magazine industry, 1,600 publishers produced 2,000 titles and distributed 778 million copies of their work.55
In recent years, competition from free news sources on the Internet and from the proliferation of free daily newspapers has contributed to a downward trend for print circulation among the paid daily newspapers in Canada. This is challenging for newspaper publishers, as circulation is their second-largest revenue source, representing 17 percent of industry revenues.56 Newspaper publishers are exploring new online business models to meet the strong demand for informational content while continuing to serve their existing print readerships.
Pursuing our priorities
The Cultural Affairs Sector uses the tools at its disposal to ensure that Canadians create and have access to books and magazines that speak to the country’s diverse population.
- Funding recipients in 2007-2008 published 5,671 new Canadian-authored books, including:
- La Fabrication de l’aube by Jean-François Beauchemin, a title by publisher Québec Amérique and winner of the 2007 Prix des libraires du Québec, a literary award chosen by booksellers from across Quebec to honour books distinguished by their originality and quality of writing.
- An audiobook edition of Margaret Atwood’s Booker Prize-winning novel The Blind Assassin, part of a renowned series of audiobooks produced by New Brunswick’s Goose Lane Editions in collaboration with CBC Radio.
- In 2007-2008, 130,070 pages of Canadian content were published by magazines receiving support from the Canada Magazine Fund. Examples include:
- SAY Magazine, a lifestyle magazine aimed at Aboriginal youth; Protégez‑vous, a consumer magazine with product reviews and consumer reports; and OWL, a longstanding children’s magazine.
- 2007-2008 Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) recipients’ domestic sales of Canadian-authored titles totalled $305 million, while export sales of Canadian-authored titles totalled $98 million.
- Recipients of export support through the BPIDP sold Canadian-authored books into a total of 104 countries in 2007-2008 (compared to 41 countries in 1993).
- In 2007-2008, with help from the Publications Assistance Program, Canadians subscribed to more than 187 million copies of magazines and non-daily newspapers as well as publications serving ethnocultural, Aboriginal and official language minority communities. Examples include Coup de Pouce, a monthly women’s magazine; Canadian House & Home, a magazine on decorating and style; and The Western Producer, an agricultural newspaper.
- Since the creation of BPIDP, the number of Canadian-owned publishers has grown threefold.
The following chapter provides further details regarding the results our activities bring to Canadians.
Results
Book Publishing Policy and Programs
The Cultural Affairs Sector works to ensure access to a diverse range of Canadian‑authored books in Canada and abroad. The Sector contributes to building sustained capacity for such production by improving the Canadian book industry’s infrastructure and technological capabilities, and by raising awareness of Canadian books and authors both in Canada and abroad.
The federal government has implemented a number of legislative and policy measures to help build a stronger domestic book industry that is better able to invest in Canadian books. The Foreign Investment Policy in Book Publishing and Distribution favours Canadian ownership and control of businesses operating in the industry while working in tandem with the Investment Canada Act to propose conditions for beneficial foreign investment. The Book Importation Regulations of the Copyright Act protect the exclusive distribution agreements entered into by Canadian publishers and distributors.
Funding and investment
Since the launch of the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) in 1979, the number of Canadian-owned book publishers in Canada has seen remarkable growth. In the 1970s, the domestic industry generated only 2,000 titles a year, deriving most of its revenues from the sale of imported books and leaving Canadians with comparatively little access to literature or educational material written from a Canadian perspective. The BPIDP now supports publishers in more than 80 cities, spanning all 10 provinces.
Recipients of the BPIDP's Aid to Publishers Component (by Revenue)
| Recipient Population | ||||
Program Year | Very Small | Small | Medium | Large | Total |
1996-1997 | 28 | 76 | 43 | 37 | 184 |
1997-1998 | 36 | 73 | 47 | 37 | 193 |
1998-1999 | 39 | 73 | 49 | 40 | 201 |
1999-2000 | 42 | 75 | 55 | 41 | 213 |
2000-2001 | 37 | 86 | 43 | 47 | 213 |
2001-2002 | 38 | 89 | 43 | 47 | 217 |
2002-2003 | 33 | 88 | 50 | 46 | 217 |
2003-2004 | 27 | 97 | 50 | 47 | 221 |
2004-2005 | 27 | 87 | 56 | 47 | 217 |
2005-2006 | 27 | 90 | 56 | 49 | 222 |
2006-2007 | 35 | 83 | 58 | 50 | 226 |
2007-2008 | 34 | 87 | 56 | 53 | 230 |
Large = >$3M
Medium = $1M - $3M
Small = $250K - $1M
Very small = < $250K*
The BPIDP supported 310 recipients for a total of $37 million in funding throughout 2007-2008, contributing to the following results:
- publication of 5,671 new Canadian-authored books;
- an aggregate profit margin for publishers of 4.2 percent;
- $305 million in domestic sales of Canadian-authored books;
- $98 million in international sales of Canadian-authored books;
- salons du livre and book festivals across the country drawing 350,000 Canadians every year.
Capacity building and development
The BPIDP’s Supply Chain Initiative (SCI) supports Canada’s migration to an efficient, digitally based book supply chain that improves business-to-business transactions and inventory controls.
Since 2001, a fundamental element of this support has been the improvement of the bibliographic data on books for sale in the Canadian market. By the end of 2007-2008, a total of 168 Canadian-owned publishers were independently certified as having met industry standards for bibliographic data quality.
In a summative evaluation of the BPIDP conducted in 2008, 86 percent of recipients said that the SCI program has had a positive impact on their management of bibliographic data; 92 percent indicated that the SCI helped them develop efficiencies within their businesses.
Supporting first-time authors
BPIDP recipients produced 965 books by first-time authors in 2007-2008, helping develop fresh Canadian talent. As demonstrated in the table below, a significant role was played by smaller publishers, many of which are regional firms.
Supporting first-time authors is important: more than 60 percent of nominees for the Books in Canada/Amazon.ca First Novel Award since 2001 have been published by Canadian-owned publishers supported by the BPIDP.
Publisher Size | Books by First-Time Authors as a Percentage of New Titles |
Very small (total net revenues < $250K) | 26.4% |
Small (total net revenues $250K to $1M) | 25.0% |
Medium (total net revenues $1M to $3M) | 14.8% |
Large (total net revenues > $3M) | 9.4% |
Giving regions a voice
The BPIDP contributes to a strong, diverse population of Canadian-owned publishers across all regions of Canada, helping ensure a breadth of representative and reflective works available across the country.
| Number of new, Canadian-authored titles produced by BPIDP recipients in 2007-2008 |
British Columbia | 409 |
Prairies and North | 913 |
Quebec | 2868 |
Ontario | 1348 |
Atlantic | 133 |
Contributing to a skilled publishing workforce
The BPIDP funds internships that help develop the professional skills and industry knowledge of the next generation of Canadian publishers. The number of publishing internships supported has grown nearly every year since 2000-2001.
- To date, this initiative has funded nearly 150 internship placements, helping establish new industry professionals and build capacity in small publishers.
- Approximately two-thirds of interns are offered permanent positions by their host firms.
Exporting Canadian books to the world
Recipients of export support through the BPIDP’s International Marketing Assistance component in 2007-2008 sold Canadian-authored books to a total of 104 countries (finished products were sold to 93 countries, with rights sales to a further 61). This is more than double the 41 countries where Canadian-authored books were sold in 1993 and represents a significant increase in access to Canadian‑authored books abroad.
Exporting expands the market for Canadian products, facilitating expansion by producers and re-investment in their Canadian businesses and the careers of the creators whose stories they bring to market. It also helps Canadian publishers diversify revenues, bringing greater security and versatility to their business models.
Export markets of BPIDP publishers
Results
Periodical Publishing Policy and Programs
Half of Canadians feel Canadian magazines reflect their experiences and perspectives, and three-quarters agree that reading Canadian magazines helps them appreciate Canadian culture.61 For these readers, the magazine and newspaper industries produce publications in huge volumes and generate substantial revenues. In 2003, 2,383 titles were published by 1,633 publishers circulating more than 778 million copies;62 by 2006, industry revenues were approximately $2.07 billion.63 As for newspapers, 105 general interest daily newspapers along with more than 1,000 non-daily newspapers were circulating.64 Industry revenues of approximately $5 billion were recorded for 2005.65
The Sector operates two funding programs to support the magazine and newspaper industries. The Canada Magazine Fund (CMF) contributes to the development and maintenance of Canadian content, while the Publications Assistance Program (PAP) provides postal subsidies for the delivery of magazines and non-daily newspapers. Canada Post helps run the PAP and makes a significant financial contribution to the Program.
The federal government has a number of legislative measures in place to address the market forces and inequalities that affect the Canadian magazine and newspaper industries. The Foreign Publishers Advertising Services Act strengthens the financial viability of Canadian magazine publishers by helping them compete on more favourable terms with lower-cost foreign companies for ad sales. Advertising is the main source of revenue for most magazines. The Income Tax Act stimulates production of Canadian content by creating incentives for advertisers to do business with magazines with high levels of Canadian content.
Funding and investment
In 2007-2008, the CMF contributed more than $14.5 million to the Canadian magazine industry to support the creation of editorial content and build industry sustainability. This was divided among several components:
- Support for Editorial Content (SEC)
- Support for Arts and Literary Magazines (SALM)
- Support for Industry Development (SID)
- Support for Business Development for Magazine Publishers (SBDMP)
The first two components are formula-based; their annual funding is disbursed among all eligible magazines. SID and SBDMP are project-based; consequently, their funding varies from year to year.
Total CMF funding by component 2007-2008 | ||
Component | Number of recipients* | Total funding |
SEC | 201 | $9,645,709 |
SALM | 57 | $1,000,000 |
SID | 31 | $1,998,634 |
SBDMP | 58 | $1,876,734 |
TOTAL | 347 | $14,521,077 |
In total, 130,070 pages of Canadian content were published through the SEC and SALM components of the CMF. Most recipient magazines were in the general consumer and special interest consumer categories—together representing 79 percent of the whole.
Canada Magazine Fund publications by type | |||||
Magazine type | 2004-2005 | 2005-2006 | 2006-2007 | 2007-2008 | 2007-2008 % of Total |
Aboriginal | - | - | 93 | 849 | 1 |
Business, professional or trade | 3,917 | 3,625 | 3,315 | 3,713 | 3 |
Culture and the arts | 17,752 | 15,837 | 17,504 | 16,197 | 12 |
Ethnocultural | - | - | - | 686 | 1 |
Farm | 2,802 | 2,696 | 2,831 | 2,444 | 2 |
General consumer | 49,136 | 48,972 | 61,871 | 66,436 | 51 |
Religious | 498 | 883 | 850 | 821 | 1 |
Scholarly | 1,478 | 1,504 | 1,568 | 1,564 | 1 |
Special interest consumer | 38,100 | 41,722 | 41,061 | 37,361 | 28 |
Total | 113,683 | 115,239 | 129,092 | 130,070 | 100 |
In 2007-2008, the PAP provided almost $59 million dollars in postal subsidies to over 1,100 recipients.
Capacity building and development
In 2007-2008, the average profit margin for Canadian magazine publishers receiving SEC funding was 10 percent, slightly lower than the 11–12 percent margins of recent years, but including a larger number of magazines (201 versus 197 the year before). This is consistent with profit margin figures reported by Statistics Canada for the country’s entire magazine industry: 10.9 percent according to the Statistics Canada Annual Survey of Periodical Publishers.
The other CMF components do not serve clients for which profit margin is a meaningful performance indicator.
Reaching Canadians, supporting diversity
The postal subsidies provided through the PAP in 2007-2008 supported the distribution of more than 187 million copies of magazines and non-daily newspapers, as well as publications serving ethnocultural, Aboriginal and official language minority communities as follows:
PAP publications by community | |
Community | Volume |
General | 185,359,981 |
Official language minority | 1,931,680 |
Aboriginal | 357,719 |
Ethnocultural | 133,084 |
Total | 187,782,464 |
These PAP-supported publications included:
Number of Copies Distributed by Publication Type | |
Type of Publication | Number of Copies Distributed |
Business trade magazines | 10,801,855 |
Consumer magazines | 132,580,588 |
Non-daily newspapers | 44,400,021 |
Total | 187,782,464 |
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