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Abstract

This article provides a brief historical overview of the political economy of Canadian independent publishing. The essay argues that the Canadian state must fund the independent Canadian-owned publishing industry, and protect it economically from foreign incursions. Without government legislation, or the enforcement of existing legislation, to protect Canadian ownership, the Canadian-owned sector of the English-language publishing industry will remain weak and dependent.

Keywords:

• Canadian nationalism
• independent
• political economy

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Gavin Fridell, without whose subtle but persistent persuasion this article would never have happened; the reviewers whose input made this a far better article; Brenda Conroy, who did the final edit; and my partner, Beverley Rach, who provided valuable input and support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

About the author

Errol Sharpe founded Fernwood Books in 1978. He was a cofounder of Garamond Press (1982) and the founder of Fernwood Publishing (1992). He holds an MA from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Notes

1 Wherever “Canadian publishing” is used, it refers to Canadian English-language publishing. “Independent Canadian publishing” refers to publishing companies owned by Canadians as opposed to foreign publishing companies operating in Canada.

2 Sharpe. Forward, xi–xii.

3 Hawthorne, Bibliodiversity.

4 A US company published the first edition of Silent Surrender. McGill-Queen’s University Press published a second edition in 2002.

5 Laxer, a nationalist social democrat, is known for his role as leader of the Waffle (the New Democratic Party (NDP) later expelled the group) and author of more than 20 books about Canadian political economy. Hurtig was a bourgeois nationalist who is probably best known for his role as the publisher of The Canadian Encyclopedia.

6 Hunt, Arrival, 94.

7 MacSkimming, The Perilous Trade, 40.

8 MacSkimming, The Perilous Trade, 393.

9 MacSkimming, Net Benefit.

10 Nordicity, The Canadian English-language Book Publishing Industry Profile 2018.

11 Marsh, The Canadian Encyclopedia.

12 MacSkimming, Net Benefit, 7.

13 MacSkimming, Net Benefit.

14 MacSkimming, Net Benefit, 7.

15 MacSkimming, Net Benefit, 7.

16 For a detailed analysis of this story, see Dewar.

17 Agencies refer to the sale and distribution of foreign companies’ books by a Canadian publishing company. For example, Brunswick Books, which handles the sales and distribution for Fernwood Publishing, has been a long-time agent, handling the sales and distribution in Canada for publishers such as Pluto Press (a British company) and Monthly Review Press (a US company), among others.

18 This discussion was drawn from the research report Net Benefit: Canada’s Policy on Foreign Investment in Book Industry (MacSkimming, 2017).

19 Figures provided by BookNet Canada.

20 MacSkimming, Net Benefit.

21 Canadian Publishing’s Software Solutions, More Canada.