A lot of us these days are looking to “buy Canadian” when we spend our money, and it can be difficult at times to figure out how Canadian a product really is. For example, I was disappointed yesterday to learn that my favourite local craft beer is actually owned by an American company. So, what about books? As a book publisher, I might be able to provide a guide…
There are 4 pieces to consider when it comes to being Canadian: the retailer, the creator(s), the printer, and the publisher.
The retailer gets the largest chunk of the book price, anywhere from 40% to 55% (the larger the retailer, the larger the chunk) although they might give some part of that back to you as a sales discount. If you’re in (or online at) an Indigo, Coles, or an independent bookstore, they’re Canadian. If you’re shopping at Walmart or on Amazon, well, they’re not.
The creator(s) and the printer each get anywhere from 8% to 15% of the book price, depending on several factors. I’ll use the word “creator” rather than author to be inclusive of illustrators of kids’ books, translators of foreign-language books, and more. To find out if the creator(s) are Canadian, look for the creator bios, often found at the back of the book: back cover, the back flap of a hardcover jacket, or a page or two in from the back. (If you’re online, the creator bio is usually linked to their name.) It’s pretty standard to find out not just their nationality, but more locally where they’re from.
To find out where the book is printed, look for the copyright page, often found on the left-hand side (on the verso, in publishing terms) a page or two after the title page. (If you’re online, click on the book sample and scroll through.) It will have the copyright line at the top of the page. And if it’s not near the front, look at the back. Lots of publishing gobbledegook on there, mostly for libraries, but look for the phrase “Printed in…” It’s almost always there. Certain full-colour books are too expensive to print in Canada, but generally Canada has a robust printing industry.
Stay on that copyright page for the last piece. Usually, the publisher will put their name and address on that page. If it’s an address outside of Canada, question answered. If it’s an address in Canada, then you’ve got 2 possibilities. Either it’s a Canadian-owned book publisher or it’s a foreign-owned book publisher with a Canadian office. There are far more of the former than the latter, but it’s roughly an even split in terms of books sold. Interestingly, if the publisher’s name has the word Canada in it, it's likely foreign-owned. To understand where your dollar goes, the publisher gets between 20%-30% of the book price, and that goes towards editing, design and production, marketing, sales reps, distribution including freight, and more. (For a Canadian-owned publisher, we hope we’re left with a 1%-2% at the end of all that.) If it’s a Canadian-owned publisher, then usually all of those above costs are paid in Canada. If it’s a foreign-owned book publisher with a Canadian office, then marketing and sales reps will usually be in Canada, the distribution will usually be in the U.S., and the editing and design will be a mix.
So, if you’re in a Canadian retailer, then it’s only a quick look at a couple of pages – the copyright page and the creator bio – and you can tell where your money is going.