It's been a tumultuous year for Canada's bookselling and publishing industry, but many attending this year's inaugural BookExpo Canada were eager to put the past behind them and move on. Although obscured, the wear-and-tear of this year's turmoil was evident on the show floor. Publishers toned down their use of spectacle; no elephants graced the show floor, and free bags and trinkets seemed to be in short supply. Even the much touted rights center disappeared from lack of participation.
Yet publishers were relieved to see Chapters return to the show—300 employees were said to have attended, including CEO Heather Reisman. Excitement surrounded a new book TV channel, which taped its first programs on the trade-show floor, and overall, publishers' and booksellers' moods seemed buoyant.
"All the chain buyers are here, including Heather Reisman herself," said Anna Porter, publisher and CEO of Key Porter Books. "They're looking at the books instead of talking politics and discussing bad news, such as returns. There is a sense of energy here that I haven't seen in years." Key Porter's author Dennis Lee garnered a long list of admirers waiting for their books to be signed. Other highlights of upcoming Key Porter titles include new works by authors Allan Fotheringham, Pamela Wallin and Mary Walsh, the Canadian comedian.
All publishers consulted were very positive about the show, and the Association of Canadian Publishers reinforced that impression. "The show is great," said Monique Smith, executive director of the ACP. "Publishers are very upbeat, and the crowd seems to be finding everything they are looking for. They're really excited about what they have for the fall."
Ellen Seligman, publisher of fiction at McClelland & Stewart concurred. "The mood is very upbeat. We feel as though we've weathered a storm in terms of the bookselling business. There is a good turnout of booksellers, and our booth has been very busy." Most publishers agreed that the show was less a selling event than it was an opportunity for booksellers to familiarize themselves with the fall list and for publishers to showcase their titles.
Random House's executive v-p Brad Martin told PW that the show hummed with vigor. "There's a lot of buzz, there's a lot more people on the floor. We are very enthusiastic. We've had a tremendous amount of interest from booksellers, and having Chapters, Indigo and Coles people here will only help that," he said, adding that the Random House booth saw a lot of traffic, and booksellers were particularly interested in Walter Gretzky's On Hockey and Healing, Michael Crummy's River Thieves and the latest by Pierre Burton, Marching as to War.
But the weekend was not all smooth sailing. The CBA's annual general meeting was filled with contention; members expressed concern that the organization no longer listens to its constituents, and a motion to appoint an independent group to investigate booksellers' needs was quickly defeated. Although the media was barred from attending the AGM, Todd Anderson, newly appointed president of the CBA, explained that the crux of the problem was lack of communication between members and the association. "What I heard from the crowd was that they're not being listened to by the CBA. What they are asking for is more input and more communication. They want to know what's going on before the AGM, and they want to know in detail."
Some attendees felt concerned that the CBA was snuggling up too close to the new Chapters-Indigo by not opposing the merger. Others harped on the sale of the trade show to Reed—the sale price of the show was never revealed to members.
Another buzz on the floor focused on Amazon's potential entry into the Canadian marketplace. Although Marven Krug, Amazon's general manager for the Canadian market, remained reticent about the online retailer's foray into Canada, he admitted they were investigating their options. "My job is to figure out how to better serve Canadian customers within the framework of the legal challenges that we face there," Krug said, since bookselling within Canada is fairly restricted to Canadian companies. "We can't approach Canada the way we would some of the other countries we have gone into, such as the U.K. and Germany," he added. Asked directly if Amazon.com would launch an Amazon.ca, Krug responded: "there is a spectrum of options [Amazon] can do for Canada. The ultimate thing we could do for Canadians is launch a site, and it is something we would consider. But we're not commenting on where we stand on those plans."
For the time being, Amazon is working on ways to sell books from its dot-com site in Canadian dollars. Krug added that if the e-retailer ever made a serious stab at entering the Canadian market, it would be sure that Canadians would receive the Canadian edition of books.
Conference attendees got the opportunity to watch the taping of future BookTelevision shows. BookTelevision, which launches September 7, will be the first 24-hour, seven-day-a-week, 365-days-a-year digital book television channel in the world, according to its host, Daniel Richler.
Asked how he plans to fill the channel with round-the-clock programming, Richler said that the show plans on keeping a broad focus.
"It's about everywhere where there is writing, from advertising to hip-hop to rhyme to street slang to screenplays," Richler explained. "That's our domain."
BEC will be held at Toronto's Metro Toronto Convention Centre (again) next year from June 21—24, with the trade show on the last two days.
