About three quarters of publishers (72%) considered their company to be healthy at the end of 2019 according to a study commissioned by BookNet Canada. The sixth edition of BookNet Canada’s State of Publishing industry study is newly expanded to provide a more comprehensive overview of the Canadian English-language publishing landscape. It surveys Canadian publishers for a snapshot of the industry as of 2019 and pulls in results from other BookNet Canada research — including our Impact of COVID-19 on Reading survey — to provide a fuller picture of the entire publishing landscape.
Half of surveyed firms grossed over $500,000 in 2019 and half grossed under. Most of the survey respondents, 63%, were small publishers with a 2019 gross revenue of under $1 million CDN. The average number of employees in 2019 for these Canadian publishing firms was 20, with a median of 5 employees.
Projections for 2020 were also mostly positive: most respondents were projecting an increase in ebook and audiobook sales in 2020. About two thirds of respondents thought that their company’s ebook sales would increase in 2020 and almost three quarters of respondents thought that their company's audiobook sales would increase in 2020. For print books, 64% thought their sales would either stay the same or increase.
When asked about industry challenges they would most like to tackle, 63% of publishers indicated they were most interested in hiring and promoting more diverse staff. And while only 31% of publishers offered unconscious bias training to staff in 2019, the remainder of publishers surveyed indicated that they would like to be able to offer that training in the future.
The full study includes data on COVID-19 and the impact on reading and buying, profile of publishers, ebook and audiobook production and sales, industry perceptions, and tackling industry challenges. Find it all in the free State of Publishing in Canada 2019 here: booknetcanada.ca/state-of-publishing-in-canada-2019.
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BookNet Canada is a non-profit organization that develops technology, standards, and education to serve the Canadian book industry. Founded in 2002 to address systemic challenges in the industry, BookNet Canada supports publishing companies, booksellers, wholesalers, distributors, sales agents, and libraries across the country.
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF) for this project. / Nous reconnaissons l’appui financier du gouvernement du Canada par l’entremise du Fonds du livre du Canada (FLC) pour ce projet.
Media Contact:
Ainsley Sparkes
Marketing & Communications Manager
BookNet Canada
asparkes@booknetcanada.ca
(416) 362-5057 x 2310
