P S

U B L I S H E R S

E P T E M B E R

WE E K L Y. C O M 1 7 , 2 0 1 2

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Since January 2005, Groupe Librex has brought together ve general interest publishing houses to offer a wide array of literary genres, including ction, biographies and personal accounts, essays, how- to books, travel guides and illustrated reference works, all intended for the general public. Groupe Librex is a creative unit of more than 30 individuals whose mission is to edit, publish and promote some 120 new works annually in paper format and, since 2010, in digital format.

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QUBEC PUBLISHING 2012

QUBEC:
An Overview
By Robin Philpot

Jack Kerouac, whose parents hailed from Qubec and whose ancestors included Indian men and women, is considered by some to be a Qubec writer in exile. Kerouac is known to have said that he refashioned English to fit French images, and his quest for recognition as being indigenous to North America could be a metaphor for Qubec. The only difference is that most of those French images are now well rendered in French, thanks to a vibrant publishing industry that has flourished since the late 1960s.

n her only book about her adopted country of Canada (The Question of Separatism: Quebec and the Struggle Over Sovereignty), Jane Jacobs wrote that Qubec has its old and its new story. The old story began with the founding in the early 17th century of New France, an area that encompassed most of North America, which now explains all those French place names throughout the American Midwest. Then came defeat by the British in 1759 during the Seven Years War, known to Americans, tellingly, as the French and Indian War. Defeat was followed by the struggle to survive under British colonial rule and then within the Canadian federation, established in 1867. The new story, according to Jacobs, began in the 1960s with the quiet revolution. It involved Qubecs French-speaking majority gaining control over the levers of economic, cultural, social, and political

powerFrench is the #1 language for about 90% of Qu becers. The results were far-reaching. Major strides were made in education, the economy bloomed, poverty was reduced, and the role of the French language was greatly enhanced, becoming the lingua franca, after English had dominated in most areas for more than a century. In writing the new story, Qubecersnow eight millionhave had to counter forms of cultural domination that stem more from demographics than from any malevolent ber power. Overwhelmingly English-speaking North America (some 330 million) boasts powerful cultural industries with global reach. If Finns or Senegalese, for example, despite the great distance separating them from North America, feel a threat to local culture, its not surprising to learn that Qubecers too feel threatened. French is a strong international language, which is obviously an asset for Qubec. Yet France, with a population of 65 million people and its own global cultural industry, has also represented a threat, particularly in writing and publishing. Like the judoka who uses their opponents power to defeat them, Qubecers have turned these threats to their advantage. Yet the prerequisite has been the development of a vibrant society and a thriving culture. For the book industry, this has meant building on homegrown talent and then ensuring that all links in the book chain are solid and viable, from writers, through publishers, printers, and distributors, to booksellers, libraries, and now e-book aggregators. Government support, both legislative and financial, has been crucial. The results speak for themselves. For instance, unlike elsewhere in Canada and the United States, Qubec has not experienced the meltdown of indie bookstores. Even small towns still boast a respectable number of bookstores. Thus in the presence of huge players who dominate the English- and French-language book industries, Qubec publishers have learned to put their authors books into the hands of readersand into e-book readerseverywhere. Not only in these two languages but also in many other languages. Similarly, through acquisitions, they have introduced authors from throughout the world to Qubecers and to other French-language readers in the world. So if Jack Kerouac had been born in 1992 instead of 1922, he would have been able to publish some of his French images directly in his mother tongue. Robin Philpot is the publisher at Baraka Books, which reissued Jane Jacobss The Question of Separatism last year..
W W W . P U B L I S H E R S W E E K LY. C O M

QUBEC PUBLISHING 2012

A conversation with Denis Vaugeois

HOW TO CREATE
A BOOK CULTURE
By Luca Palladino

There was a time in the French-speaking province of Qubec when illiteracy ran rampant and books and libraries were scarce and subject to moral censure. In those early days, one of the first Churchcontrolled publishing houses saw fit to issue a moral rating system for books. For my part, recalls Denis Vaugeois in his ode to books and publishing entitled L amour du livre (For the love of books), I would stop at the youth library every day and pile up on books for myself and some of the boarders at school; we devoured books. And I remember, I would always have to go to the principals office to have my reading material approved.

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QUBEC PUBLISHING 2012

cal figure, and Vaugeois became Minister of Cultural Affairs for the Government of Qubec under the Parti Qubcois. The newspapers said that the mountain had given birth to a mouse, Vaugeois reminisces, but the mouse had a few tricks up its sleeve, tricks like a law regulating books and an ambitious plan for developing public libraries. The new Minister also passed a law in December 1978 to create the SDIC (ancestor of the SODEC), an economic development agency for the arts industry. These three axes of cultural developmentthe Book Law (or Bill 51), the library network, and the SDICchanged the face of the book market in Qubec.

as it coincidence or fate that gave Vaugeois access to one of the only French bibliothques in the province at a time when Qubec was a literary wasteland? When he provided friends with books, offering knowledge to open minds, how was he to knowand at such a young agethat spreading words would be his mission for the rest of his life. At first, Vaugeois dabbled in all facets of the book industry. I was a bit of an author, a bit of a publisher, I even founded a distributor, Dimedia, he recounts in an interview. I bought a printing press because I wanted the pages of my books sewn, but the printer I approached told me it would be too expensive. They then asked me whether I would be willing to buy their company in order to print the book, so I did. Then, on February 28, 1978, he got a call from Ren Lvesque, Denis Vaugeois Qubecs legendary politi-

Made-in-Qubec Book Chain

During WW II, 27 local publishers popped up to fill the void left by the war-time interruption of trade with French publishing. When the war ended, so did the good times for Qubec publishers, as French books inundated the Qubec market once again and all but four of 23 Qubec publishers lost their budding businesses. In the 1960s, the Qubec government, under Prime Minister Jean Lesage, made some laudable efforts to help the book industry, such as creating the first Ministry of Cultural Affairs, accrediting booksellers for the first time, and creating an official inquiry commission on books. But the Ministry of Cultural

Qubec dition, an international showcase for Qubec and French Canadian publishing for over 25 years. Qubec dition is an Association nationale des diteurs de livres (ANEL) committee. It is designed to support the export activities of publishers by organizing group booths at trade shows and international networking events. MEET US ANYWHERE AROUND THE WORLD Salon du livre des Rendez-vous de lhistoire de Blois Salon du livre et de la presse de Genve Salon du livre de Paris Bologna Childrens Book Fair Foire du livre de Bruxelles Frankfurter Buchmesse Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara

Qubec dition 2514 Rosemont Boulevard Montral (Qubec) H1Y 1K4 +1 514 273-8130 quebecedition.qc.ca anel.qc.ca info@anel.qc.ca

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Visit us at the Frankfurter Buchmesse from October 10th to 14th 2012. Booth 919, Hall 6.1

QUBEC PUBLISHING 2012

If youve ever been in Hall 6.1 of the Frankfurt Book Fair, Hall 29 of the Bologna Book Fair, or the main halls of the Guadalajara and the Paris Book Fairs, you may have noticed a distinctive collective stand. A stand full of activities, laughter, hugs; a collective stand where business is doing well and cocktails flow. Youve arrived in Qubec. [For more on Quebecs international presence, see The International Play, p. 11.} For the last 30 years, Qubec French-language publishers, via their association, ANEL, have developed a committeethe Qubec dition committeethe mandate of which is to increase the international visibility of Quebec publishers and support export activities through collective stands at international fairs. Furthermore, the committee is mandated to set up both exploratory missions and missions to receive other delegations. The Qubec government financially supports Qubec dition through SODEC (the Society for Development of Cultural Enterprises), as does the Canadian government via Canadian Heritage. SODEC gave the Qubec dition committee the important mission of organizing the collective presence of Qubec book publishers in fairs all over the world, explains Franois Macerola, president and CEO of SODEC. Qubecs publishers are very active on the international scene, as proven by the total revenues for book exportC$37 million in 2010, and for the sale of rights, almost C$5 million. The ANEL brings together approximately 100 publishers working in all publishing fieldsfrom childrens books and school books to poetry, biographies, essays, and travel guides. Several of the publishers are active internationally and can be found at the Qubec dition collective stand during the coming months at Frankfurt, Salon du Livre de Blois (outside of Paris), Guadalajara, Brussels, Paris, Bologna, and Geneva. Along with these, Qubec dition organizes exploratory missions. In August 2012, a mission went to So Paolo and, in December 2012 will go to Haiti. Besides these exploratory missions, Qubec dition also organizes activities in which Qubec publishers receive foreign publishers, usually during events in Qubec, in order to build business relationships. The next two events are the Salon du livre de Montral (Montral Book Fair) in November 2012, where Quebec publishers will greet British and German publishers, and the Salon du Livre International de Qubec (Qubec City International Book Fair) in April 2013, where American publishers will be hosted. Stphane Labb

To the Fairs! To Qubec dition!

d o m i n i q u e e t co m p a g n i e . co m

K-949 In Hall 8, rankfurt at the F Book Fair.

Canada | France | Belgique | Suisse

QUBEC PUBLISHING 2012

Affairs was severely underfunded and the reports of the commission were lost in bureaucracy. Qubec publishers were thrown a bone in the form of the Publishers Loss Insurance Act, which committed the government to buy a minimum percentage of a publishers unsold books. But the law proved to be counterproductive, and, at the end of the 1960s, the situation for Qubecs publishers worsened when several American-owned publishers, such as McGraw-Hill, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, and Prentice Hall, opened offices in Montreal and entered into direct competition with French-language publishers by translating their textbooks into French. Meanwhile, Hachette, a French publisher and distributor, opened a second bookstore and expanded, adding large-scale distribution operations. The competition was fierce and Qubec publishers were struggling in their own province. By 1978, the era of Catholic and Protestant committees picking morally righteous texts was a thing of the past, but Qubec had failed to enter any kind of literary modernity, lagging far behind in the quantity and quality of its libraries, booksellers, publishers, and distributors. But change was in the air. With the election of the Parti Qubcois in 1976 and the appointment of Vaugeois as Culture Minister, the table was set for a reversal of fortunes. Armed with a team of young, competent bureaucrats, Vaugeois introduced Bill 51, which is known in Qubec as the Act respecting the development of Qubec firms in the book industry, giving birth to the made-in-Qubec book supply chain and to the modern network of libraries. Bill 51, passed in 1979, legislated an entire new accreditation process for Qubecs book industry. To qualify for this new accreditation, booksellers had to hold a minimum inventory of 6,000 unique titles, 2,000 of which had to be published in Qubec. They had to receive standing orders of books from at least 25 accredited publishers and keep these standing orders of books on the shelves a minimum of 120 days. Booksellers also had to deal directly with accredited distributors. Furthermore, book sales had to represent 50% of total sales or be worth at least $300,000 if the bookseller was located in a town of more than 10,000 inhabitants or $150,000 if there were less than 10,000 inhabitants. But, above all else, booksellers in Qubec had to be 100% owned by Qubecers. Bill 51 landed like a bombshell in the Qubec, and French, book industry. The law introduced accreditation and forced accredited booksellers to receive their supplies from an exclusive distributor who was also accredited. It meant the end of direct purchases of French books from France, recalls Vaugeois with a smile. When we came out with the law regulating books, there was a huge international reaction, especially in France.

Essential Nonfiction f r oo m BB a aa k a BB o o k s Essential Nonfiction r o m a r a k a o o k s Essential Nonfiction f f r m B a r r k a B o o k s

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The best place to start for an understanding The best place to start an understanding The best place to start forfor an understanding of Quebec politics is to go through Quebecs long history. of Quebec politicsto go go through Quebecs long history. is to through Quebecs long history. of Quebec politics is in Montreal, Ive been reading Since arriving Since arriving Montreal, Ive been reading Since arriving in in Montreal, Ive been reading A Peoples History of Quebec in order to better understand A Peoples History Quebec in order better understand of Quebec in order to better A Peoples History ofof the city wheretonow play.understand the history I thethe history thethe city where I now play. history of of city where I now play. Andrew Wenger, Hermann Trophy Winner and Professional Andrew Wenger, Hermann Trophy Winner and Andrew Wenger, Hermann Trophy WinnerImpact Professional Soccer Player with the Montral and Professional Soccer Player with Montral Impact Soccer Player with thethe Montral Impact

Winner of the 2012 Canadian Jewish Book Award for History Winner of 2012 Canadian Jewish Book Award for History Canadian Winner of thethe 2012the KofflerJewish Book Award for History conferred by Centre of the Arts. conferred by the Koffler Centre thethe Arts. conferred by the Koffler Centre of of Arts. Vaugeoiss fascinating account, amply illustrated by archival Vaugeoiss fascinating account, amply illustrated archival archival Vaugeoiss fascinating account, amply illustrated by byof documents, is a valuable contribution to the history documents, is a valuable contribution to history of documents, is a valuable contribution to thethe history of Quebec, Canada and minority-majority relations. Quebec, Canada and minority-majority relations. Quebec, Canada and minority-majority relations. The Montreal Gazette The Montreal Gazette The Montreal Gazette

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QUBEC PUBLISHING 2012

The word salon brings us back to the literary salons usually organized by well-to-do French ladies between the 16th and 19th century. In these salons littraires, the aristocrats mingled with writers and philosophers, having epic debates that fomented a culture of knowledge and explosive ideas. Todays salons du livre (book fairs open to the public) hark back to those ideals, but leave elitism behind. Qubecs salons are not for aristocrats and theyre not trade shows either; they are massive, over-the-top book bacchanals for the masses, and the masses come in droves. There are nine salons du livre in Qubec, which covers the whole of the territory, says Robin Doucet, director of the Salon du livre de Rimouski, the first of its kind, which celebrates its 47th event in 2012. The salon du livre is an amalgamation of stands that present new releases and earlier works from publishers. To make the words come alive, publishers invite writers to meet and truly exchange with readers through one-on-one discussions or round tables on the main stage. In the days preceding a salon du livre, a media frenzy surrounds the event and readers start getting salon fever. In 2011, 120,000 readers invaded Montrals salon while Qubec Citys salon hit the 60,000 mark, record years for both. People walk out dazed and confused, high on the smell of printed ink, their arms heavy with new books in large cotton bags. I always have a waiting list for exhibitors. The demand for stands outstrips the supply every year, says Francine Bois, director of the Salon du livre de Montral, confirming the popularity of the event. People simply cant wait for the salon to open its doors in Novemberit has made its place in the hearts of citizens. The salons run from October to May every year, providing authors and publishers with an extra means of promoting and selling their works. These events also encourage literary innovation by presenting the written word in multiple formats. One such example was the show Les bruits du monde (Whispers of the World) presented by the Mmoire dencrier publishing house at the Salon du livre de Rimouski. This event mixed the sweet words of Qubec, Caribbean, and First Nations authors with the sounds of Inuit throat singing and world beat drums. These salons enable the written word to jump off the page and readers to fall into books. Take out your walking shoes, count your money (so you wont spend too much), and take a deep breath: you are about to enter a paperback paradise. Luca Palladino

Their national publishers association said, Thats not the way its going to go down. They accused us of protectionism and cried foul. The French wanted to stop Bill 51 because of its 100% Qubec ownership rule. For my part, I would have been willing to go down to 80%, but my lawyers said, Denis, if you accept 10% foreign ownership you wouldnt be able to control it, you wont know if its 10, 15, 30, or 50%. Its 100% or you have a problem. So I said, 100%. Practically overnight, the Qubec book industry developed by leaps and bounds and an entire book supply chain was created and nurtured by its stakeholders. Says Gaston Bellemare, president of the ANEL (the association of Qubecs French-language publishers), Its really inspiring that, with such a small population, we were able to take hold of such a share of the market. Right now, both in bookstores and libraries, about a third of the books are published in Qubec, a third come from France, and the remainder made up of international translations. Indeed, in Qubec, the number of accredited booksellers jumped from 168 in 1983 to 211 in 2000nearly half of the 450 book retail outlets in the provincewith an annual growth rate of 8.4%. What is more impressive is the selling power of accredited booksellers: between 2004 and 2006, 75% of their sales were of new books.

BOOK BACCHANAL AND PAPERBACK PARADISE

dias, and educational texts, while a discount of at least 40% was required for literary books. On the other hand, accredited booksellers were obligated to sell books at the publishers list or net price. Just short of price fixing, these policies did in fact have a positive impact on inflationary tendencies and overblown discounting that characterize much of the new releases in the Canadianand Americanmarkets today. Vaugeois admits that, had Bill 51 passed a few months later, books in Qubec would probably have fixed prices today. When we announced Bill 51, the French on their side were working on fixed pricing. They came out with their policy six months later. Had they announced it six months earlier, it would have been in our law too. Fixed pricing would have avoided price wars between the mid-size bookstores that cost the livelihood of few small booksellers. It would have also protected accredited booksellers from big box stores. In the end, Vaugeois managed to rally the fiercest opponents to his Book Law, even the French, because it was successful in structuring the Qubec book market through a vigorous madein-Qubec book supply chain and because it created a much stronger cultural economy. Vaugeoiss idea was always to build cultural industries. For a book to reach the public, there are two networks: booksellers and libraries. That was the basis of Bill 51.

Discounts

Bill 51 also regulated business practices for accredited distributors by determining appropriate discounts between business partners in the book chain. For example, distributors were obligated to give at least 30% discount on dictionaries, encyclope8
P U B L I S H E R S W E E K LY S E P T E M B E R 1 7 , 2 0 1 2

Bibliothques

Vaugeois believes that his now famous Bill 51 would have been all for naught if it hadnt also properly funded Qubecs network of public libraries. By then, the province had to play catch up with the rest of Canada, and the Minister had to find a creative

QUBEC PUBLISHING 2012

way to finance the ambitious project of building libraries across Qubec: I asked the Finance Minister if he thought that a library could be considered part of the municipal works. He laughed and said, Of course! I said, Problem solved, then. We will get the funding from the provincial-federal agreement on municipal works. A fund meant for sewers, aqueducts, and asphalt helped build Qubecs libraries! Reception in most cities was hostile at best. Citizens did not see the usefulness of the new libraries and saw them as a waste of public money. Local mayors had to convince their citizens by telling them that libraries would create jobs. When we presented the development plan for public libraries in Montreal, the mayors didnt believe in our plan, remembers Vaugeois. We told them there would be money to build a new library and if they chose to renovate an old building, there would be money to restore it. But we warned them not to build it out in the woods; we wanted it in the heart of the city, as part of the urban fabric, and within walking distance for most citizens. I guess I was thinking of how it was when I was a kid in Trois-Rivires. The Vaugeois Plan gave birth to our present-day public library system, says Louise Guillemette-Labory, director of the Montreal Public Libraries Network. It combined financial assistance to build libraries, money to develop collections, and grants to hire professional librariansit professionalized the system and propelled our libraries into modern times. Montrals public library system has never been stronger. It was very difficult to give birth to this child, but now he is a teenager, the future is before him and he is doing very well. According to Guillemette-Labory, since 2004, Qubecs flagship library, the Grande Bibliothque, is a success that shows no signs of abating. It welcomes three million visitors every year, which makes it the most frequented French-language library in the world. The Montreal Public Libraries Network had 30% more loans between 2006 and 2010. That represents 10 million loans per year; it is an unprecedented success. Thirty years ago, Vaugeois imagined the library as a permanent place for popular education. Today, Guillemette-Laborys vision expands that idea by sharing the vision of a familiar friend: We want to use Frances idea of the library as the third most lived in community space for citizens. From storytelling for children to senior citizens activities, modern public libraries must be living environments from the cradle to the grave. Luca Palladino is a freelance writer living in Montral. In 2007 he founded Lcorce fabuleuse (The Enchanted Bark), an ecological short story competition that has awarded up to 50 writing scholarships to high school and college students.

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Qubec and the global market

THE
B S

INTERNATIONAL PLAY
L

This vast French-speaking territory located north of New England that receives, year in, year out, some 500,000 American touristssome of whom visit its capital, Qubec City; others, its metropolis, Montralhas produced an impressive list of stars and international cultural successes. Children all over the world know Caillou, the star of the eponymous book series. Teenagers on all seven continents sing and dance to the music of Simple Plan; and the whole world can appreciate the success of Cline Dion, the Cirque du Soleil, Robert Lepage not to mention the triumphs of the provinces movie industry, including the Oscar-winning Les invasions barbares (The Barbarian Invasions).

human
Human Nature reminds us that we are part of nature and it offers a number of examples to help us understand life around us as well as our own.

Press presents

Press presents

Nature
Author Jocelyn Pinet Illustration Vronique Dumas 978-2-922417-81-4 64 pages, Hard cover $19.95

The Approach Series

Discovering the Absolute Pierre Corbeil 978-2-922417-57-3 $17.95 Tales of Ancient India Guy Ttreault 978-2-922417-63-0 $19.95 The Teachings of Krishna Pierre Corbeil 978-2-922417-59-3 $29.95 Vedic Astrology Andre Leclerc 978-2-922417-62-3 $27.95

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An introductory work to the foundational texts of a vast body of knowledge the Vedas through which we can trace the origins of the various currents of thought evolved throughout human history.

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. Albert Einstein

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W W W . P U B L I S H E R S W E E K LY. C O M

11

QUBEC PUBLISHING 2012

ts all the more impressive when considering that Qubec, the producer of such cultural successes, has a population of approximately eight million people and evolves in French within the worlds largest concentration of English-speaking people. Going against the current of all great cultural-exportation theories, Qubec, despite its small population, its linguistic situation, and its history of French and British colonization, innovates, stands out, distinguishes itself, and shines on the international scene because of these successes. The Qubec book industry is no exception to this tradition: international literary successes are abundant, and many Qubec publishers have a significant presence on the international scene. Whether it be with childrens literature, literary publishing, general publishing, scientific and technical publishing, or even derivative rights, Qubec publishing has been able to penetrate the world market.

Childrens First

Childrens literature is probably the genre that enabled Qubec to obtain its first successes in the international market. This sector was built upon the foundation of such publishers as ditions Dominique et Cie, ditions Chouette, Tormont Publications, ditions de la Courte chelle, and ditions Phidal.

The list of successes published by Dominique et Cie, which produces novels and illustrated books for children up to 12 years old, is notable. The book Le Gros Monstre qui aimait trop lire (Taming Horrible Harry) by Lili Chartrand, illustrated by Rog, is available in French, English, Spanish, Danish, Japanese, and

QUBEC PUBLISHING 2012

Korean. Ptunia, princesse des pets (Petunia, the Fart Princess) by Dominique Demers, illustrated by Catherine Lepage, is a big bestseller in France. Likewise, the collection Passepoil (Doggie) by Elaine Arsenault created an international craze, while Le Vieux Thomas et la petite fe (Old Thomas and the Little Fairy) by Dominique Demers, illustrated by Stphane Poulin, remains Dominique et Cies greatest international success. Barbara Creary, who is in charge of international rights, believes that the success of Qubecs childrens literature industry is due to its unique illustration stylea style that merges both the European and North American cultures at the heart of Qubecs history. ditions Chouette, the publisher of Caillou, a character known internationally, publishes a wide range of books, from board books to novelty books and illustrated books. Three age groups are targeted: up to 2-year-olds, 24-year-olds, and 36-year-olds. With a longtime presence on public television (the educational program Caillou began in 1997), as well as considerable visibility in more than 20 countries and more than 20 languages, ditions Chouette and its favorite four-year-old character have made their mark, according to Simon Payette, license and business development manager. Two factors explain the success, Payette says. First, the content in our books really and truly addresses kids and not their parents. Furthermore, they try to help kids develop, kids all over the world. Its not an easy thing to do, but clearly it has been a proven recipe for ditions Chouette.

The Literary Side

Literary publishing has also received its share of accolades. Pierre Szalowskis novel Le froid modifie la trajectoire des poissons (Cold Changes the Fishs Path), published by ditions Hurtubise, was translated into Spanish, Catalan, Italian, German, and several other languages; likewise, Gil Courtemanches Un dimanche la piscine Kigali (A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali), published by ditions du Boral, is an international literary success in more than 23 countries. Kim Thuys Ru, first published by ditions Libre Expression, is now published in more than 20 countries, including France, where it sold more than 50,000 copies. Bloomsbury USA will publish it in November 2012. Finally, the picture wouldnt be complete without the international visibility of the graphic novels published by Drawn & Quarterly. According to Johanne Guay, v-p at Groupe Librex, and her colleague from the International

QUBEC PUBLISHING 2012

Rights department, Carole Boutin, the success of Qubecs literary publishing is probably due to a certain American je ne sais quoi on a European historical background. As well as a certain fearlessnessthe fearlessness of a young industry that only wants to grow more and more. Qubecs literary publishing industry, for children or adults, can boast incredible successes, but general publishing is not left behind. One example is QA International and its Dictionnaire Visuel (Visual Dictionary), with more than eight million copies sold in more than 35 languages. [See Case Study, p. 25.] Groupe Librex has triumphed with Richard Bliveaus Les aliments contre le cancer (Foods to Fight Cancer) in more than 30 countries and Serge Gauthier and Judes Poiriers La maladie dAlzheimer: Le guide. Academic presses are no exception: their visibility is also worldwide and their publications are of an impressive variety. There is, for example, the internationally renowned catalogue of McGillQueens University Press, whose successes are exported as well as copublished (most noticeably, David Wilsons Ireland, a Bicycle and a Tin Whistle), and the important international presence of the Presses de lUniversit du Qubec.

Enabling Factors

There are several factors behind the international success of Qubec publishing, including book production, which in Qubec is diverse and dynamic, combining high-quality standards and fresh, innovative content. Qubecs geographical position as well as its European origins also enable it to be an essential platform for international publishing and a meeting point for diverse cultures. But if Qubec shines on the world stage thanks to the visibility of its translated work, it remains a dynamic exporter, publishing under the name of its own publishers throughout French-speaking countries, especially France. Moreover, its English publishers sell directly in the United States and the rest of the English-speaking world. Qubec publishers also have success with imports. For instance, La Cuccina delle Nonne, purchased from Rusconi Libri in Italy and published in French by ditions Caractre, has sold more than 40,000 copies in Qubec and France. Steven Raichlens How to Grill, purchased from Workman by Les ditions de lHomme, performed very well in Canada. And Diana Gabaldons historical series, published in Qubec by Libre Expression, became very popular. It would be impossible to talk about Qubecs presence on the international stage without mentioning public funding granted to Qubec publishers, which helps defray costs for book fair presence and also in translation costs.
14 P U B L I S H E R S W E E K L Y S E P T E M B E R 1 7 , 2 0 1 2

Richard Prieur, director of the ANEL (the association of Qubecs French-language publishers), and Robin Philpot, publisher and a member of the AELAQ (association of English-Language Richard Prieur publishers), both agreed that it is time for the Qubec publishing scene to speak directly to its American audience. It is a story they are proud to convey to the Publishers Weekly readership. The aim of the Robin Philpot ANEL and the AELAQ is to spotlight Qubec for its excellence in publishing and for the ingenuity of its unique book industry. The ANEL is also celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2012, so I believe the timing was right to have a North-South exchange, says Prieur. Along with its international committee, Qubec dition, the ANEL gives publishers the tools they need to develop and reach their markets internationally. With our partners, the SODEC and the Canada Book Fund, we make our trade expertise available to all so that they may benefit from the practical experience we acquired all over the world, he says. Luca Palladino

CROSSING BORDERS

The Future

The digital future is as much a part of Qubecs present as in any country. Print on demand, social marketing, and crowdsourcing, to name a few important trends, will be energetically discussed by expert panelists during the Salon du livre de Montral (November 1419, 2012) and at the Salon International du livre de Qubec (April 1014, 2013). Qubec is also one of the leaders in e-book technologies [see Qubecs Digital Warehouse, p. 16.] For more information on Qubec publishers, refer to the online list of publishers available at www.Quebecedition.qc.ca/ directory. Stphane Labb, a former publisher, is a researcher at the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique and an occasional publishing consultant.

paul labelle

FRANKFURT H8 K929

T H E V I S U AL DIC TIO N A RY A dictionary with a new point of view that catches the eye and enriches the mind
mantle Upper posterior portion of the body between the head and the tail. wing Flight appendage made of hollow bones and feathers, and comprising the forelimb; in some species, it is not adapted for flight. throat Anterior lateral portion of the neck between the chin and the breast. breast Anterior portion of the body between the throat and the abdomen bearing the wings. tarsus Portion of the limb formed of long bones and covered in scales; it connects the tibia to the toes. wing covert Short feather covering the upper portion of the base of the wing; it maintains internal body temperature. nape Posterior portion of the neck below the head. bill Horny formation covering toothless jaws; the bird uses it to feed.

rump Posterior portion of the body formed by the last vertebrae and bearing the tail feathers. tail feather Long stiff tail feather carried on the rump; it controls direction during flight.

flank Lateral portion of the body between the wing and the abdomen. thigh Long bone fused to the fibula between the femur and the tarsus.

25,000 terms with contextual definitions, developed by terminology experts; 8,000 full-color images of a wide variety of objects from all aspects of life; One essential reference.

hind toe First articulated toe of the foot, usually made of a single phalange and pointing toward the back; it is also called the thumb.

claw Pointy hook-shaped structure attached to the terminal end of the toes; it allows the bird to anchor itself.

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Alire, Baraka Books, cosocit, Qubec Amrique. The clock never stops ticking, the megabytes fill the cybernetic void. The e-book warehouse club is jumping.

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QUBECS
Digital Book Warehouse
By Luca Palladino

Every minute, a title is added5150 rue des Ormes, I Hate Hockey, L envers de lassiette, fleur de peau; every hour, a new author is categorizedPatrick Sencal, Franois Barcelo, Laure Waridel, Martine Latulippe; every day, a new publisher signs on

elcome to LEntrept du livre numrique (vitrine.entrepotnumerique.com), a digital, state-ofthe-art warehouse that stretches as far as the finger can scroll. LEntrept du livre numrique (literally, the Digital Book Warehouse) is a brave new world where e-books are available in .pdf and .epub formats. It provides Quebec content to local online booksellers as well as corporate players. Ginette Ploquin, an e-book specialist at the ANEL, says that the creation of LEntrept du livre numrique came out of publishers common desire to be ahead of the digital book revolution curve. Working within a small French-speaking population lost in a swarm of North American English and Spanish and other

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languages (in North American, the ratio is 50:1 against French speakers), French-language entrepreneurs simply cannot afford to ignore the coming changes. Its a question of economic survival or a business opportunity, says Marc Boutet, president and CEO of De Marque, the company that engineered LEntrept du livre numrique. Weve always considered the whole of the French-speaking countries as a business opportunity. Boutet, 37 years old, is a self-taught home- Marc Boutet grown computer prodigy. A child of the information revolution, he has been at the helm of De Marque for the past 22 years. At the tender age of 15, he became one of Canadas youngest businessmen to receive an entrepreneurship award. Considered to be one of the builders of the Canadian multimedia industry, Boutet met with ANELs publishers and immediately saw a cultural and business opportunity. Since 2008, when the members of the ANEL first decided to create this common platform, says Boutet, we have published nearly 10,000 e-books and sold 185,000 publications. Between C$100,000 and C$200,000 worth of e-books are sold every month. Right now, we are seeing spectacular growth that is three to four times what it was last year. Its very exciting, says Martin Balthazar, v-p at Groupe Ville-Marie, part of the Quebecor Media communications group. The only thing missing in the Qubec market is the userfriendly, one-click shopping that Apple or Amazon provides. Qubec may not have that online boutique experience yet, but thanks to De Marque and the innovating publishers of the ANEL, the Qu bec market has one of the most trusted digital warehouses for e-books on the planet. What makes LEntrept du livre numrique so desirable as a platform is its extreme reliability, with hundreds of parametersanything from the authors name to international rights acquisitionsthat need to be catalogued for each e-book. Last year, we had a 99.9993% reliability, Boutet proudly says. In Italy, they analyzed 21 technologies from all over the world, benchmarking them in extensive tests, and they chose us. According to Ginette Ploquin, Qubec is definitely at the forefront of e-book warehousing technologies. Frances Eden and Italys Edigita are clones of the Qubec model. And there is even interest coming from the United States, where e-book technologies abound.

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QUBEC PUBLISHING 2012

Language barrier, economic opportunity

The chorus of voices sounding off from associations, publishers, writers, and tech companies all seem to converge in Qubec. There is a sense that even if they are competitors vying for a share in what could best be described as a niche market of just nine million French-language consumers (Qubec and Frenchspeaking Canada), these key players all know that they are in the same boat and on the same page, pun intended. Quebecor Media may well be Qubecs largest print producer and supplier, owning some of the biggest publishers, distributors, and book retailers, but its attitude toward the market is not one you would expect from a communications multinational. In 2015, it is estimated that one out of every two books sold or borrowed in the United States will be digital, says Balthazar at Groupe Ville-Marie, part of Quebecor. We arent following this course in Qubec because we arent ready to deal exclusively with the major players that would have a multiplying effect on sales. In Qubec we have a very complex market and we must protect the key players of our book supply chain. Indeed, Qubec took dramatic steps in 1979 by passing Bill 51, which ensured local ownership of each part of the book

supply chain (publishers, distributors, retailers). Again, there is a sense that Qubec publishers have built something special over the past 30 years, that the strategy for developing e-books doesnt emanate from a corporate boardroom; rather, it comes from the shared vision of wanting to shape the culture as well as the economy and to retain a certain Qubec flair. Ploquin from the ANEL notes that when LEntrept du livre numrique came about, publishers sought public funding from the SODEC and the Canada Book Fund from Canadian Heritage in order to capitalize the project. The SODEC supports the book supply chain as a whole, says Franois Macerola, president of the SODEC. It is an ecosystem whose balance must be preserved for paper books as well as e-books. The SODEC offers financial aid programs and also developed a special fund for the digitalization of. Many pundits believe that this public-private innovation established within Qubecs traditional book and e-book markets stems from the French-language barrier that isolates these publishers. There is a kind of protectionism here, says Martin Balthazar. Qubecers know they will benefit by choosing a model that corresponds to their smaller reality. Paradoxically, by instigating mechanisms that protect our industry, we opened ourselves up to the world, says Ploquin.

JOHN BERGER I EDUARDO GALEANO NOAM CHOMSKY I HOWARD ZINN CHRIS HEDGES I JOHN MACARTHUR DAVID GRAEBER I ERIC HOBSBAWM DANIEL J. BOORSTIN I LINDA MCQUAIG FREDERICK DOUGLASS I EDWARD BERNAYS VICTOR SERGE I RAYMOND WILLIAMS JACQUES RANCIERE I JIM STANFORD JOHN HOLLOWAY
LUX is one of the leading independent, radical publishing houses in the French-speaking world, with a catalogue that spans social history and political thought in America and Europe a community of writers who have made unique contributions to understanding and changing the world.

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QUBEC PUBLISHING 2012

books. Once I have read a book, I dont hold on to it, I give it to someone else or I abandon the book on a park bench so that it finds its way into someone elses hands.

LIVING IN

Translation
By Luca Palladino

Erwan Leseul

SANS CRDIT PHOTO

Cooperation. Balance. Business. Erwan Leseul does business the way he leads his life: everything in its right place. Vice president of publishing at Les ditions de lHomme, Qubecs venerable publishing house, Erwan Leseul doesnt own a bookcase: My professional life is brimming with

y passing from one hand to another, Les ditions de lHomme has changed many times over the past six decades, selling, worldwide, over 25 million books in the process. In the 1990s, the publishing house dove headfirst in what was then a niche market: self-help books. Now, Les ditions de lHomme is Qubecs premiere book publisher, the third best seller of self-help books in France, a seller of foreign rights for more than 500 titles, and an emerging buyer of American rights for self-help, psychology, cooking, coffee-table, and reference books. In the last decade, there has definitely been a sense that the perception French and American publishers have of Qu bec publishers has changed, says Leseul. Gone are the days when French publishers would fight tooth and nail for

QUBEC PUBLISHING 2012

the worldwide rights of a book. Now, with the current market conditions, they prefer purchasing rights in collaboration with a Qubec publishing house so that they can spread the investment or share costs. There is an emerging triangle between English-language publishers, Qubec, and France. Louis-Frdric Gaudet of Lux diteur also notes how Qubec publishers have gained in confidence and means. By opening a Paris office in 2008, he says, it became easier for us to acquire the rights to important translation projects. Since then, our sales have seen a substantial increase, which has positioned us as the most influential independent publishing house of progressive books in the French-speaking world. This status is largely due to our American translations. ship triangle appears to be a win-win-win situation. Qu bec publishers have access to the titles they want, French publishers share the risks of costly foreign rights purchases, and American publishers receive excellent promotion and increased sales. Qu bec publishers like Les ditions de lHomme and Lux diteur rely heavily on their well-developed networks in both Qubec and France to ensure the success of a book. When Lux introduced author Chris Hedges (Empire of Illusion), he was virtually unknown in both Qubec and France, but thanks to Luxs grid of connections with national French-language media, university circuits, and prestigious progressive magazines, all were able to create real excitement with promotional strategies that fed off each other on both sides of the Atlantic. For its part, Les ditions de lHomme has enjoyed quite a few translation successes but on a much larger scale. Steve Raichlen, the master of the BBQ pit, has had an enviable run in Qubec, shattering sales records with hundreds of thousands of copies sold of his culinary books Planet BBQ! and the Barbecue! Bible series. Bestsellers from Les ditions de lHomme in both Quebec and in France include Lcher prise (The Secret to Letting Go) by spiritual guide and author Guy Finley, La puissance de votre subconscient (The Power of Your Subconscious) by Joseph Murphy, and other classics of practical psychology, such as Je rinvente ma vie (Reinventing Your Life) by Jeffrey E. Young, which consistently sells thousands of copies a year. Leseul

Promotional (s)tragedies

According to Erwan Leseul, French publishers quickly realized that buying the rights to the Qubec market wasnt very profitable. Instead of benefiting from well-planned promotional strategies, good books with great marketing potential would often wind up as promotional tragedies. There was no optimal exploitation of American foreign rights in our Qubec market. On the flip side, American publishers and agents realized that sales were superior in Qu bec when a foreign book was promoted by a local publisher. In this way, the emerging partner-

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says that the publishing houses philosophy is all about attaining equilibrium. As a publisher, our mission is to help people in all facets of their lives so they can feel good, so they can feel better, he says. We want to give them the tools they need to deal with their health problems, their body issues, and to discover their spirituality. From self-help to cooking to spiritual books, Les ditions de lHomme has a holistic approach to mind, body, and soul. For Lux, publishing is about bringing indignation into action. Lux has been successful in building a catalogue around such English-language intellectuals as Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, and John Berger. Our publishing philosophy is a throwback to another era of book publishing, when houses published only a few enduring books from memorable authors, says Gaudet, a time when publishers themselves did in-depth research and editing, when sales reps and publicists relentlessly promoted ideas, when booksellers meticulously followed a publishers list because of its coherence, and readers faithfully awaited a new literary season to discover new books and authors. and Whiteside, Random House, and Penguin Canada, to name but a few, he says. Together with these companies we have begun to elaborate projects in both English and French simultaneously. Instead of waiting to sell or buy the rights at the end of a project and have to start a book all over again, we collaborate at the onset to design a book that will be even better adapted to each publishers market reality. Gaudet from Lux diteur agrees that the key to a successful business partnership is proximity, Frequent direct contacts between our editors and American authors is an undeniable advantage, he says. In the last year alone, our editors have gone to Boston, New York, Chicago, and the West Coast a dozen times. We are at ease both with the American sense of pragmatism and the French sense for abstraction and ideas. Feeding and merging these two currents allow us to innovate. Examples of collaboration abound at Les ditions de lHomme, such as the gorgeous coffee-table book on fair trade practices by ric St-Pierre, Le tour du monde quitable (Fair Trade: A Human Journey), which traces the photojournalists 15-year journey through fair trade communities. What is marvelous with rics book is that we were able to sign the rights to the Netherlands, to Germany, and we sold 20,000 copies in Canada. We are never alone, says Leseul. It is really by mixing all our different energies that we can arrive at our destination.

A better-balanced business model

Passionate for food, passionate for well-being, passionate especially for balance, Erwan Leseul promotes collaboration as a business model. Weve established a relationship based on trust with several Canadian publishers such as Robert Rose, Fitzhenry

More than ever, our top priority is to encourage literature in all its forms.

Il pleuvait des oiseaux

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QUBEC PUBLISHING 2012

Case Study

QA INTERNATIONAL:
A Visual Approach to Knowledge
By Stphane Labb

If there were ever a case that illustrates the quality, diversity, and innovation of Qubec publishing, its the Dictionnaire Visuel, or Visual Dictionary, published by QA International. Since its first French edition in 1986, the Visual Dictionary has been published in more than 35 languages, in more than 100 countries, selling more than eight million copies. Whats more, the worlds largest publishers, including Merriam-Webster, have become QAIs international partners.

U niversal hero

published in 20 countries

Series aired in nearly 50 countries

With the input of child-psychologists and using everyday situations, Caillou books help children cope with key developmental stages of their lives.

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he dictionary has been praised by the international press: There has never been such a playful d i c t i o n a r y. Yo u want to open it just to look at it: Madame Figaro, France; An assortment of visual delights: USA Today. It has also earned such prestigious prizes as Best Reference Source 1987 (School Library Journal) and Best Reference Books published in the 80s (Booklist). The Visual Dictionary continues to receive great feedback and distinguished awards. And ever since it went online (www.ikonet.com/en/) and developed its own apps, the Visual Dictionary has made a splash in the virtual world by quickly becoming the App of the Week in more than 15 countries and by being part of the App Store Essentials Hall of Fame. Listing the international presss enthusiasm for QA International and its products or enumerating the prizes and awards received by the publisher throughout the years could easily fill up these pages. QAI and its products distinguish

themselves in three ways: the quality of the illustrations, the confidence readers have in the content, and the flexibility QAI shows when collaborating with its partners and adapting the dictionary. QAI leads in this corner of the industry. But the Visual Dictionary is not QAIs only product. This way of presenting reference information is available for such topics as the Junior Visual Dictionary; Sports: The Complete Visual Reference; The Visual World Atlas; a series of reference books for children, including The Living Earth and the Atlas series; the Visual Food Encyclopedia; The Visual of the Human Body (also with an app) and Family Guide to Health. What does QA International have in store for the future? Caroline Fortin, publisher at QAI, says that new developments are planned for the MultiDictionnaire, a popular reference book on the French language and its traps. Literary books for adults and children, published nationally, will have international rights offered. Fortin adds that the digital world will be at the heart of its international strategy for the next decade.

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Prise deparole
The place to shop for the best selection of Acadian and Franco-Ontarian literature. Over 350 titles, more that 150 authors. 40 years of passion and dedication.

Prise de parole

Visit us online: www.prisedeparole.ca

QUBEC PUBLISHING 2012

A Minority Within a Minority

ENGLISH-LANGUAGE PUBLISHERS IN QUBEC

By Mlanie Grondin

Contemplating Canadas publishing industry, most publishers located outside the country think of Toronto, especially when it comes to English-language books. Few realize that there is a small group of independent, English-language publishers hailing from the one Canadian province usually associated with the French language: Qubec.

A
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few of these publishing companies are still quite young; Baraka Books, publisher of Ishmael Reeds Barack Obama and the Jim Crow Media, is only three years old, and Linda Leith, founder of the Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival, recently established a new publishing company: Linda Leith Publishing. Others, however, have been around long enough to help build the foundation of what Qubec English-language publishing is today. Celebrating its 40th anniversary next year, Vhicule Press, whose Techniques in Home Winemaking by Daniel Pambianchi has had unexAvec le numrique, vous ajustez une taille confortable.

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QUBEC PUBLISHING 2012

pected and constant success in the United States since 1999, was among the founding members of the Association of EnglishLanguage Publishers of Qubec (AELAQ). A big part of the history happened in the 1980s with the establishment of the Qubec Writers Federation, the QSPELL books prizes, and the AELAQ, explains Simon Dardick, Vhicule Presss owner and publisher. He continues: In the beginning, none of these organizations received any funding from the Qubec government, unlike their French counterparts, so we requested a meeting with the Culture Minister. At the time, the buzzword in the province was respect, and we told her that we too needed respect. Francophone writers and publishers were getting their organizations, and we wanted to be dealt with the same way.... The strength of the industry today is a real proof of how important it is to have institutions and this structure to support writing and publishing. I think whats really great is that we work collaboratively. Collaboration, it appears, is something that Qubec publishers value highly: This is the advantage of being a small group, adds Dardick. I think that theres a real sense of commu- Simon Dardick nity among the writers, and people find that theres less backstabbing. But Robin Philpot, owner and publisher at Baraka Books, believes that more collaboration is still necessary. One of the problems is that the industry is very Torontocentric, Philpot says. If youre not in Toronto, the industry wont necessarily see your book or hear about it. They dont know who you are as a publisher. Its very hard to get attention, especially if youre trying to bring out a new author. Thats why I think that its in our interest to work together with the overall publishing industry. I dont think weve done it enough. Collaboration with French-language publishers is just as important. Philip J. Cercone, publisher at McGillQueens University Press, Qubecs largest English-language publishing company, established in 1960 and one of AELAQs founding members, explains: We do feel a strong collaboration with our French-language counterparts, particularly Les ditions du Septentrion with whom we have a strong trading relationship, both buying and selling rights. Being very close geographically enables our editorial and rights departments to meet with other Qubec publishers on a regular basis. We notice that the Frenchlanguage public prefers intellectually stimulating reads, and we have titles that have worked well in translation for the Qubec market. Its not uncommon for most English-language publishers to have a particular trade relationship with one or two French-language publishers. While publishing in English in Qubec has its share of disadvantages, it also has quite a few advantages. On the one hand, the English-language market in Qubec is very small and so, by necessity, much of what we publish is of national and international interest, says Cercone. An English-language publisher in British Columbia or the Atlantic region has an easier
26 P U B L I S H E R S W E E K L Y S E P T E M B E R 1 7 , 2 0 1 2

time exploiting regional interest titles, Dardick concurs. There has to be a universal aspect to whatever it is youre selling, and its important for Qubec publishers to target the U.S. market. For us, its another English-language market right next door to us. There is some really good quality writing in fiction and nonfiction that is coming out of this province, both in French and in English. This, explains Philpot, is also the solution to the problem of bookstores closing. Though the problem isnt quite as acute in Qubec thanks to the Book Law, or Bill 51, publishers still cannot rely on the local market, which is limited, nor can they rely on the Canadian market alone, because the number of bookstores is plummeting. The Canadian market is dominated by one chain, Philpot concludes, so you have to be able to reach other markets, and the American market is big. Another disadvantage is the entire distribution process. While French-language publishers print, sell, and distribute their books without leaving the province, English-language publishers have to use a sales force and a distributor located in Toronto. In short, English-language publishers in Qubec use the English-language system to get books to their readers. A French-language distributor wouldnt know the English-language market and wouldnt have contacts in the rest of Canada. A bookseller from Winnipeg, Manitoba, would never buy a book from a French distributor. The relationships required for such transactions simply do not exist. On the other hand, the Qubec government offers a tremendous amount of support in the form of grants and a progressive e-book conversion program. The Qubec government understood that the program was useful and that it could help publishers deal with the book industry crisis, says Philpot, so they provide good support. Although most of the English-language publishers in Qubec indicate that the Qubec Book Law doesnt directly affect their sales, they still benefit from it because there are more independent booksellers in the provinceparticularly in Montreal, where most of the English-language market residesto buy their books. It could be said that these publishers have the best of both worlds: they get to be in Qubec, with all the government funding and the independent bookstores, while they publish in the continents dominant language, which enables them to easily sell their books to the United States and the rest of Canada. And we have the advantage of living in Montreal, laughs Dardick. Mlanie Grondin, editor at the Montreal Review of Books, served as project manager for this supplement.

For additional articles on publishing in Qubec, please go to publishersweekly.com/quebec2012.

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