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Ultra Libris (ECW $34.95)
Okay, so any book subtitled policy, technology and the Creative Economy of Book Publishing is not going to be everyone's cup of tea. It's fascinating, nonetheless, to read Rowland Lorimer's Ultra Libris (ECW $34.95) and get a blow-by-blow summation of how the heck "The Canadian Publishers,"; M&S, lost their footing, and ended up being owned by Random House, a multi-national. How on earth did the Canadian government allow Random House to acquire the portion of ownership ceded to University of Toronto by philanthropic M&S owner and would-be savior Avie Bennett without paying a cent! Well, they say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Lorimer's correspondence with Bennett and Random House's Brad Martin has gleaned more than anyone in the press can glean, and it's still a mystery.
Co-creator of the Canadian Centre for Studies in Publishing with Anne Cowan, Lorimer has provided a thorough account of how Canadian publishing has evolved from the Massey Commission and the Ontario Royal Commission on Book Publishing, and how it is now dis-evolving due to megalithic Chapters/Indigo, eroding government concern and changes in technology. The book concludes with an analysis of three major technological trajectories that are shaping the future of book publishing and the future of ideas.
This is a necessary book for anyone who knows that M&S stands for McClelland & Stewart.
One day after B.C.-born publisher Douglas & McIntyre filed for bankruptcy protection, Rowland Lorimer was interviewed for CBC Radio by Rick Cluff on October 23, 2012.
"As I said in my recently published book, Ultra Libris, I'm not at all surprised that the company is up for sale. I think the company has been up for sale for about six months.
"I think the company filing for [bankruptcy] protection is a tactical move so that it paves the way for the possibility of foreign owners like HarperCollins, its distributor, to take over the company...";
Douglas & McIntyre has accumulated debts of $6,265,250.68 in keeping with a statement of insolvency signed on October 21, 2012.The Bowra Group Inc. is now the designated Trustee pursuant to Subsection 50.4(1) of the Bankruptcy & Insolvency Act.
"This is the last, large Canadian-owned trade book company to go down. McClelland & Stewart just went down last year...
"Toronto and Ontario set themselves up, beginning back in the mid-90s.... to be a cultural capital, equal to New York, Paris, London, and so on.... So the government of Ontario has been ensuring there is not only a lot of support for all cultural industries but also a stable economic climate for them to thrive. It's really highly competitive between provinces. B.C. has followed to a certain extent, but there is not nearly the same support in B.C. as there is in Ontario.
"So it's been very difficult. It's a miracle, actually, that D&M survived as long as it did in B.C. But there's no doubt that Ontario wants to be the centre of publishing even more than it already is. That means, again, B.C. publishers will be publishing more British Columbia books, locally interesting books, and a few Canadian titles, as well.
"I don't see a big change in that.";
978-1-77041-076-3
[BCBW 2012]
Co-creator of the Canadian Centre for Studies in Publishing with Anne Cowan, Lorimer has provided a thorough account of how Canadian publishing has evolved from the Massey Commission and the Ontario Royal Commission on Book Publishing, and how it is now dis-evolving due to megalithic Chapters/Indigo, eroding government concern and changes in technology. The book concludes with an analysis of three major technological trajectories that are shaping the future of book publishing and the future of ideas.
This is a necessary book for anyone who knows that M&S stands for McClelland & Stewart.
One day after B.C.-born publisher Douglas & McIntyre filed for bankruptcy protection, Rowland Lorimer was interviewed for CBC Radio by Rick Cluff on October 23, 2012.
"As I said in my recently published book, Ultra Libris, I'm not at all surprised that the company is up for sale. I think the company has been up for sale for about six months.
"I think the company filing for [bankruptcy] protection is a tactical move so that it paves the way for the possibility of foreign owners like HarperCollins, its distributor, to take over the company...";
Douglas & McIntyre has accumulated debts of $6,265,250.68 in keeping with a statement of insolvency signed on October 21, 2012.The Bowra Group Inc. is now the designated Trustee pursuant to Subsection 50.4(1) of the Bankruptcy & Insolvency Act.
"This is the last, large Canadian-owned trade book company to go down. McClelland & Stewart just went down last year...
"Toronto and Ontario set themselves up, beginning back in the mid-90s.... to be a cultural capital, equal to New York, Paris, London, and so on.... So the government of Ontario has been ensuring there is not only a lot of support for all cultural industries but also a stable economic climate for them to thrive. It's really highly competitive between provinces. B.C. has followed to a certain extent, but there is not nearly the same support in B.C. as there is in Ontario.
"So it's been very difficult. It's a miracle, actually, that D&M survived as long as it did in B.C. But there's no doubt that Ontario wants to be the centre of publishing even more than it already is. That means, again, B.C. publishers will be publishing more British Columbia books, locally interesting books, and a few Canadian titles, as well.
"I don't see a big change in that.";
978-1-77041-076-3
[BCBW 2012]
Submitted on November 5, 2012 in By David.
