Toronto, ON – September 20, 2022 – Majority of publishers will continue remote or hybrid work permanently
Over half of publishers (55%) saw an increase in revenue in 2021 compared with 2020 according to the State of Publishing in Canada 2021 study released by BookNet Canada. The seventh edition of BookNet Canada’s State of Publishing industry study provides a comprehensive overview of the Canadian English-language publishing landscape. It surveys Canadian-based publishers of all sizes and explores publishers' operations and staffing; revenue and sales; distribution; format-specific publishing programs; and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to provide a snapshot of the industry as of 2021.
In terms of digital books in 2021, over half of all publishers (52%) saw increases in ebook revenue compared with 2020 and just over a quarter of all publishers (28%) saw increases in audiobook revenue in the same period.
Most of the survey respondents, 65%, were small publishers with a 2021 gross revenue of under $1 million CDN. The remainder were made up of mid-sized publishers (26%) with revenue between $1M-$9,999,999 and large publishers (9%) with revenue of $10M or more. The largest share of publishers (40%) had been in business for more than 35 years. There was an average of 20 full time and 9 part time employees in 2021 for Canada-based publishing firms.
The industry challenges top of mind for publishers in 2021 were printing (27%), shipping (20%), and operational challenges (19%). The achievements that publishers were most proud of in 2021 were their sales (28%), their titles (28%), and navigating COVID-19 (26%). Overall, 49% of publishers described the health of their company as excellent in 2021, based on their ability to withstand challenges, adapt, and change.
Remote or hybrid work arrangements was one of the changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and the majority of publishers (63%) indicated that this would be one of the COVID-19 adaptations that they would be implementing permanently. This percentage increases with publisher size. Half of small publishers (50%) planned to implement remote work permanently, 75% of mid-sized publishers and 83% of large publishers planned to do so.
The full study includes data on COVID-19 and the impact on publishers, ebook and audiobook production and sales, and insights into industry challenges. Find it all in the free study State of Publishing in Canada 2021 here: booknetcanada.ca/state-of-publishing.
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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
