News

Literary Press Group appreciates Budget 2024 investment in Canada Book Fund and calls for government action to fulfill permanent funding promise, fix copyright

Creators and publishers must be protected from ongoing, massive, uncompensated copying

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Toronto—April 18, 2024: The Literary Press Group (LPG) welcomes Budget 2024’s investment of $10 million in the Canada Book Fund. The CBF provides critical cultural funding for the creation of Canadian books, and this temporary infusion, delivered over three years, will provide a measure of support to the Canadian book sector.

“We appreciate Budget 2024’s boosted investment in the Canada Book Fund and recognition of the importance of elevating Canadian authors and stories. At the same time, a new, permanent investment is needed to help the Canadian publishing sector sustain itself and grow, which in turn will provide opportunities for writers in all regions of the country,” said Rebecca Rose, chair of the Literary Press Group and publisher of Breakwater Books. “We call on the government to fulfill its longstanding commitment to increase the Canada Book Fund’s permanent budget envelope by 50 percent.”

The Canada Book Fund’s baseline budget envelope has been static for more than 20 years. Its value has eroded by more than half in that time due to inflation, while funding for other cultural industries has increased. Demand for this underfunded program continues to rise as new literary presses seek to establish themselves and existing presses strive to grow their publishing programs—reflecting and amplifying the experiences of multiple communities across Canada.

LPG member publishers do vital cultural work—nurturing diverse voices and styles of writing by Canadian authors; editing, designing, producing, and marketing their books; and getting them into readers’ hands nationally and internationally, despite myriad challenges.

“The Canada Book Fund makes it possible for literary presses to continue publishing Canadian stories, poetry, drama, graphic novels, literary nonfiction, and more,” said Laura Rock Gaughan, executive director of the Literary Press Group. “In a real way, this program preserves space for Canadian literature. It merits a permanently increased base budget, and that’s what the government has promised.”

More work is also needed to fix the severe and ongoing damage caused by our flawed copyright regime. This, too, has been a longstanding government commitment, supported by parliamentary committee reports and members of all parties. It was a commitment in Budget 2022 and in ministerial mandate letters. Over $200 million in lost royalties since 2012 threatens the livelihoods of writers and publishers. The uncompensated copying by educational institutions continues unabated—hundreds of millions of pages per year. This demonstrates a dangerous lack of understanding of how Canadian literature and educational materials are created. And it shows a troubling lack of respect for the ingenuity and labour of creators and publishers, from the very institutions that should most value their books.

“The copyright situation is approaching scandalous,” said Gaughan. “Our copyright regime, outside of Quebec, has become an international embarrassment. It’s long past time for the government to deliver on its copyright promises.”

About the Literary Press Group

Founded in 1975, the LPG is a not-for-profit association that represents Canadian-owned and -operated literary book publishers located across the country. Our members produce books by some of Canada’s most innovative and creative writers, giving readers access to diverse voices that have not been well represented in mainstream publishing. In addition to their cultural contributions, LPG members are small businesses that support local economies through the full range of their business activities, from editorial, design, and production to marketing, sales, and distribution.

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Contact: Laura Rock Gaughan, Executive Director, laurag@lpg.ca

Tags: Canada Book Fund, Public Lending Right, Copyright, Fair Dealing, Books, Writers, Creators, Publishers, CanLit, Culture

A coalition of Canadian writing and publishing organizations have sent the following public letter to Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Canadian Heritage, and Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, in advance of Budget 2024. 

April 9, 2024

Ministers,

We write to you today on behalf of Canada’s book publishing industry and our professional writers, including co-signed associations from across the country, representing approximately 396 publishing companies and 4900 writers. We urge you in the strongest possible terms to implement your long-outstanding commitments to increase funding to the Canada Book Fund and the Public Lending Right budgets by at least 50%.

As you know, in Summer 2021, the Liberal Party of Canada committed to increasing both the CBF and PLR budgets by 50%, starting in 2022-23. The Prime Minister affirmed this mandate letter commitment in December 2021 when he directed the Minister of Canadian Heritage to increase key writing and publishing programs, including CBF and PLR.

Inexplicably, your Government has not followed through on these clear and specific commitments. We urge that you take action now, through Budget 2024, to finally fulfill your promises.

The budget of the CBF’s permanent programs has not increased in over two decades, resulting in the erosion of its real value by more than 55% during a time that has been characterized by disruption and change. Average PLR payments are half the real dollar value they were when the program was launched in 1986. The need for an increase to these key supports was widely acknowledged by government and industry before COVID-19; the pandemic shifted this longstanding need from overdue to critical.

Your offices, as well as the offices of Members of Parliament across the country, have recently heard from our supporters through our letter writing campaign. As you can see, this issue matters deeply to Canadians:

-              1142 letters were sent to Ministers and Members of Parliament, of which 877 were in English, and 265 were in French.

-              Including all those cc’ed, nearly 9000 emails were sent to the offices of Parliamentarians

-              Letters have been sent from approximately 72% of ridings, demonstrating a truly cross-Canada impact.

With the recent announcements of funding to Telefilm and to the Canada Music Fund, our mandate letter promises remain a small number yet unfulfilled. Our sector appears to have been forgotten by this government: we implore you to support the Public Lending Right and Canada Book Fund this Budget cycle to invest in Canada’s book industry for now, and into the future.

Thank you,

Brian Lam | President

Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP)

Geneviève Pigeon | President

Association nationale des éditeurs de livres (ANEL)

 

Laura Rock Gaughan | Executive Director

Literary Press Group of Canada (LPG)

 

Stéphane Cormier | President

Regroupement des éditeurs franco-canadiens (REFC)

 

Pierre-Yves Villeneuve | President

Union des écrivaines et des écrivains québécois (UNEQ)

 

John Degen | Chief Executive Officer

The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC)

 

Rebecca West | Executive Director

Association of English-language Publishers of Quebec (AELAQ)

 

Matt Joudrey | President

Association of Manitoba Book Publishers (AMBP)

 

Paul McAllister | President

Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association (APMA)

 

Leslie Bootle | Executive Director

Association of Book Publishers of British Columbia (Books BC)

 

Matt Bowes | President

Book Publishers Association of Alberta (BPAA)

 

Holly Kent | Executive Director

Ontario Book Publishers Organization (OBPO)

 

Jillian Bell | Executive Director

SaskBooks

What independently-published books were most borrowed by patrons in March 2024? We consulted the data - specifically, the BookNet Canada LibraryData - to find the top 50 loaned books.

Note that this graphic represents the four-week period of Mar 4 - Mar 31, 2024.

What independently-published books were most borrowed by patrons in February 2024? We consulted the data - specifically, the BookNet Canada LibraryData - to find the top 50 loaned books.

Note that this graphic represents the four-week period of Feb 5 - March 3, 2024.

Literary Press Group calls for government action to protect the rights of creators and publishers in the wake of federal court ruling

The massive scale of uncompensated copying by educational institutions must now be addressed by legislation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Toronto—February 28, 2024: The federal court ruling in the case brought against Access Copyright by Ontario school boards and provincial / territorial education ministries (except for British Columbia and Quebec) is another serious setback for Canadian creators and publishers, whose rights have been, and continue to be, harmed by the education sector’s overly broad interpretation of fair dealing. Long-overdue copyright reform must happen now to close unintended loopholes in the Copyright Act.

The Literary Press Group joins colleague organizations across the writing and publishing industry in calling for immediate Government action to repair the broken Canadian copyright regime. The Government has repeatedly promised to act, but with this latest judicial ruling, we can wait no longer.

Our member presses, and the authors they publish, rely on the collective licensing system administered by Access Copyright. With that system undermined by judicial rulings, a legislated solution is urgently required to restore a functioning marketplace and fair compensation to creators and publishers for the use of their copyright-protected works. Individual creators and publishers simply cannot take on the gargantuan task of monitoring every use of their work in educational settings across the country, especially when those uses have not been transparent, and then attempt to enforce their rights case by case. The collective regime, when it functions properly, streamlines these transactions. Collective administration through Access Copyright is in the interest of all stakeholders.

Evidence in proceedings before the Copyright Board showed that uncompensated copying in the elementary and secondary education alone amounted to over 150 million pages per year. This does not even include copying by postsecondary institutions. No wonder more than $200 million in licensing revenue has disappeared over the last decade, with additional unknown lost sales.

Now, it is imperative that the Government:

• amend the Copyright Act so that fair dealing only applies to institutions where a work is not commercially available under licence by the owner or a collective;
• amend the Copyright Act to clarify that tariffs approved by the Copyright Board of Canada have always been enforceable against infringers of copyright-protected works subject to tariffs; and,
• amend the Copyright Act so that statutory damages are rebalanced to deter mass uncompensated copying by institutions.

It is time to restore meaning to the phrase “copyright-protected works.” It is time to ensure real protection of the rights of Canada’s creators and publishers.

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Contact: Laura Rock Gaughan, Executive Director, laurag@lpg.ca

Tags: Copyright, Fair Dealing, Books, Writers, Creators, Publishers, CanLit, Culture

What independently-published books were most borrowed by patrons in January 2024? We consulted the data - specifically, the BookNet Canada LibraryData - to find the top 50 loaned books.

Note that this graphic represents the four-week period of Jan 1, 2024 - Jan 28, 2024.

Press Release: The book industry speaks out on artificial intelligence and copyright

Montreal, January 15, 2024 – As part of the ongoing public consultation on generative artificial intelligence and copyright, book industry associations are reminding the Canadian government of the crucial importance of regulating the responsible development of artificial intelligence and ensuring effective copyright protection.

The book industry and the entire cultural community emphasize that transparency is essential to the development of a fair and safe AI ecosystem. Otherwise, generative AI models will continue to develop in an opaque, unfair, and undemocratic manner, without respecting the rights of creators. They also stress that copyright is an exclusive right of human creators. Existing copyright legislation protects human creativity and originality, by virtue of requiring the exercise of skill and judgment to obtain copyright in a work. This should not be changed to grant copyright protection to AI generated products or to allow copyrighted works to train models without permission.

Beyond AI: a law that needs reform

For the book industry, Canada needs to move quickly to close existing loopholes in its legislation so that it stops unfairly depriving rights holders of legitimate revenues from the use of works in certain educational institutions. This priority is supported by the Coalition for the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and by the international book federations, all of which are outraged that Canada is not meeting its international obligations to authors.

Following another report from the House of Commons also supporting this priority, the book industry is still waiting for the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Pascale St-Onge, and the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, to honour their commitment to amend the Copyright Act so that authors and publishers can receive their fair share of the use of their published works.

Some briefs submitted to the Canadian consultation on AI and copyright are available upon request.

Sources : Access Copyright, Association nationale des éditeurs de livres (ANEL), Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP), Association of English Language Publishers of Quebec (AELAQ), Canadian Authors Association (CAA), Canadian Publishers’ Council (CPC), Copibec , Literary Press Group of Canada (LPG), Regroupement des éditeurs franco-canadiens , Union des écrivaines et des écrivains québécois (UNEQ), The Writers’ Union of Canada

About the Signatory Associations

Access Copyright – Access Copyright is a collective voice of creators and publishers in Canada. A non-profit, national organization, we represent tens of thousands of Canadian writers, visual artists and publishers, and their works. Through agreements with sister organizations around the world we also represent the works of hundreds of thousands of foreign creators and publishers. This rich repertoire of content is highly valued, by educators, students, researchers, corporate employees, and others who need to copy and share content. We license the copying of this repertoire to educational institutions, businesses, governments, and others. The proceeds gathered when content is copied, remixed, and shared are passed along to the copyright-holders. These investments help to ensure the continued creation of new and innovative works.

Contact: Robert Gilbert | Communications Specialist and Affiliate Relations | rgilbert@accesscopyright.ca

Association nationale des éditeurs de livres (ANEL) – The Association nationale des éditeurs de livres (ANEL) brings together the vast majority of French-language publishing houses in Quebec and Canada. Its mission is to support the growth of the publishing industry and ensure the visibility of Quebec and Franco-Canadian books nationally and internationally, particularly by advocating for the respect of copyright. Member publishing houses of the Association publish various types of works, from novels to textbooks, including essays and children's books.

Contact: Audrey Perreault | Director of Communications and Member Services | aperreault@anel.qc.ca | Tel: 514-808-5441

Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP) – The Association of Canadian Publishers contributes to the development and maintenance of vibrant, competitive book publishing companies, professionally managed, and owned and controlled in Canada, to support and strengthen the contribution that Canadian books make to Canada’s cultural, economic, and educational landscape. ACP represents approximately 115 Canadian-owned and controlled book publishers from across the country. The membership is diverse and includes publishers from a variety of genres. Over 80% of Canadian-authored titles are published by the Canadian-owned sector. This means a strong Canadian-owned sector is vital to the development of new Canadian authors and writers.

Contact: Jack Illingworth | Executive Director | jack_illingworth@canbook.org

Association of English-language Publishers of Quebec (AELAQ) – Founded in 1987, the Association of English-language Publishers of Quebec (also known as the Association des éditeurs de langue anglaise du Québec) is a non-profit organization that supports the English-language book industry in Quebec. We represent a dynamic community of 31 members, including publishers of academic and historical books, fiction, narrative, poetry, graphic novels and comics, non-fiction and children's literature. We support and promote our members through a variety of initiatives and projects, including professional development seminars, advocacy, the Montreal Review of Books (mRb) literary magazine and an annual book fair. We are a regional affiliate of the Association of Canadian Publishers, a national network of associations that support and advocate on behalf of Canadian publishers.

Contact: Rebecca West | Executive Director | admin@aelaq.org

Canadian Authors Association (CAA) – The Canadian Authors Association provides writers with a wide variety of programs, services and resources to help them develop their skills in both the craft and the business of writing, enhance their ability to earn a living as a writer, and have access to a Canada-wide network of writers and publishing industry professionals. We are a membership-based organization for writers in all areas of the profession—aspiring, emerging and professional—in every genre and across all writing-related professions. As a not-for-profit national arts service organization with charitable status, much of what we do benefits all writers, whether they are members or are affiliated with us as partners or through other writing groups.

Contact: Brandi Tanner | Administrative Director | office@canadianauthors.org

Canadian Publishers’ Council (CPC) – The Canadian Publishers’ Council, as Canada’s main English language book publishing trade association, was founded in 1910 and represents the interests of publishing companies that publish books and other media for elementary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, professional and reference markets, the retail and library sectors. Our members employ more than 2800 Canadians and collectively account for nearly three-quarters of all domestic sales of English-language books. Members spend over $50 million with Canadian-based book manufacturers and pay more than $25 million in royalties to Canada’s writers.

Contact: David Swail | President | dswail@pubcouncil.ca

Copibec – Copibec is the Quebec collective management society for reproduction rights, a non-profit social economy enterprise specialized in copyright management. It represents over 30,000 authors and 1,300 publishing houses. Copibec provides users of copyright-protected material with simple and tailored solutions to meet their needs. On the international scale, the collective management society has agreements with over 33 foreign societies to include books, newspapers, and magazines from these countries in its repertoire. Among its members are UNEQ, ANEL, RAAV, AJIQ, FPQJ, SODEP, Quotidiens du Québec, and Hebdos du Québec.

Contact: Christian Laforce | Executive Director | c.laforce@copibec.ca

Literary Press Group of Canada (LPG) – Founded in 1975, the LPG is a not-for-profit association that represents Canadian-owned and -operated literary book publishers from coast to coast. Our members produce books by some of Canada’s most innovative and creative writers, giving readers access to diverse voices that have not been well represented in mainstream publishing. In addition to their cultural contributions, LPG members are small businesses that support local economies through the full range of their business activities, from editorial, design, and production to marketing, sales, and distribution.

Contact: Laura Rock Gaughan | Executive Director | laurag@lpg.ca

Regroupement des éditeurs franco-canadiens (REFC) – The Regroupement des éditeurs franco-canadiens (REFC) was created to enable French-language publishing houses to undertake concerted actions in the areas of marketing, promotion, representation, and training. It also promotes a partnership-oriented approach by encouraging cooperation among members and key stakeholders in the book ecosystem, thereby ensuring consultation, dialogue, and collaboration with organizations committed to the cultural development of French-speaking communities in Canada.

Contact: Stéphane Cormier | Président | scormier@prisedeparole.ca

Union des écrivaines et des écrivains québécois (UNEQ) – Founded in 1977, the Union des écrivaines et des écrivains québécois (UNEQ) is a professional union dedicated to defending the socio-economic rights of literary artists and promoting Quebec literature. Recognized in 1990 as the most representative association of artists in the field of literature under the Professional Status of Artists in Visual Arts, Crafts, and Literature Act and their contracts with broadcasters (as well as by the 2022 reform) and accredited in 1996 by the Canadian Industrial Relations Board for exclusive negotiation with federally regulated producers, UNEQ currently brings together nearly 1800 members from all literary practices.

Contact: Lucas Prudhomme-Rheault | Communications Manager and Assistant to the General Management | lucas.prudhomme@uneq.qc.ca

The Writers' Union of Canada – The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) is the national organization of professionally published writers. TWUC was founded in 1973 to work with governments, publishers, booksellers, and readers to improve the conditions of Canadian writers. Now over 2,600 members strong, TWUC advocates on behalf of writers’ collective interests, and delivers value to members through advocacy, community, and information. TWUC believes in a thriving, diverse Canadian culture that values and supports writers.

Contact: John Degen | Executive Director | jdegen@writersunion.ca

What independently-published books were most borrowed by patrons in December 2023? We consulted the data - specifically, the BookNet Canada LibraryData - to find the top 50 loaned books.

What independently-published books were most borrowed by patrons in November 2023? We consulted the data - specifically, the BookNet Canada LibraryData - to find the top 50 loaned books.

Press Release

Review of the Copyright Act

The Book Industry Requests an Urgent Meeting with Honourable Ministers St-Onge and Champagne

Montreal, November 30th, 2023 – The Canadian book industry is pleased that a new report from the House of Commons, released last week, supports its claim that the Government of Canada should review the Copyright Act. The industry is requesting an urgent meeting with the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Pascale St-Onge, and the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, on this matter.

Called to testify last spring as part of the study by the Standing Committee on Science and Research, Gilles Herman (Éditions du Septentrion), then Vice-President of Copibec, rightly pointed out that in 2012, the legislator added several exceptions to the Copyright Act allowing circumvention of intellectual property, including introducing the concept of fair dealing for educational purposes, without specifying its scope of application. Since then, most Canadian educational institutions have disengaged from the collective licensing regime they had previously adhered to, resulting in financial losses of approximately $200 million in 10 years, directly attributable to this legislative gap.

"If the Canadian government does not correct the copyright law, the risk is that the education sector of the future will no longer teach Canadian content because Canadian publishers will have simply disappeared," he affirmed.

This observation echoes the report from the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage entitled Shifting Paradigms which, as early as 2019, stated that the government should amend the law "to specify that fair dealing provisions do not apply to educational institutions if the work is accessible on the market."

It is high time to close the gaps in the law and protect the future of Canadian literature.

Access Copyright, the Association nationale des éditeurs de livres (ANEL), the Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP), the Canadian Authors Association (CAA), Copibec, the Literary Press Group of Canada (LPG), the Regroupement des éditeurs franco-canadiens (REFC), The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) and the Union des écrivaines et des écrivains québécois (UNEQ) urge the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Pascale St-Onge, the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, and all elected officials to take action so that these fundamental recommendations in favor of Canadian education and literature soon materialize in the law.

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About the Signatory Associations

Access Copyright – Access Copyright is a collective voice of creators and publishers in Canada. A non-profit, national organization, we represent tens of thousands of Canadian writers, visual artists and publishers, and their works. Through agreements with sister organizations around the world we also represent the works of hundreds of thousands of foreign creators and publishers. This rich repertoire of content is highly valued, by educators, students, researchers, corporate employees, and others who need to copy and share content. We license the copying of this repertoire to educational institutions, businesses, governments, and others. The proceeds gathered when content is copied, remixed, and shared are passed along to the copyright-holders. These investments help to ensure the continued creation of new and innovative works.

Contact : Robert Gilbert| Communications Specialist and Affiliate Relations |rgilbert@accesscopyright.ca

Association nationale des éditeurs de livres (ANEL) – The Association nationale des éditeurs de livres (ANEL) brings together the vast majority of French-language publishing houses in Quebec and Canada. Its mission is to support the growth of the publishing industry and ensure the visibility of Quebec and Franco-Canadian books nationally and internationally, particularly by advocating for the respect of copyright. Member publishing houses of the Association publish various types of works, from novels to textbooks, including essays and children's books.

Contact : Audrey Perreault | Director of Communications and Member Services | aperreault@anel.qc.ca | C: 514-808-5441

Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP) – The Association of Canadian Publishers contributes to the development and maintenance of vibrant, competitive book publishing companies, professionally managed, and owned and controlled in Canada, to support and strengthen the contribution that Canadian books make to Canada’s cultural, economic, and educational landscape. ACP represents approximately 115 Canadian-owned and controlled book publishers from across the country. The membership is diverse and includes publishers from a variety of genres. Over 80% of Canadian-authored titles are published by the Canadian-owned sector. This means a strong Canadian-owned sector is vital to the development of new Canadian authors and writers.

Contact: Jack Illingworth | Executive Director | jack_illingworth@canbook.org

Canadian Authors Association (CAA) – The Canadian Authors Association provides writers with a wide variety of programs, services and resources to help them develop their skills in both the craft and the business of writing, enhance their ability to earn a living as a writer, and have access to a Canada-wide network of writers and publishing industry professionals. We are a membership-based organization for writers in all areas of the profession—aspiring, emerging and professional—in every genre and across all writing-related professions. As a not-for-profit national arts service organization with charitable status, much of what we do benefits all writers, whether they are members or are affiliated with us as partners or through other writing groups.

Contact: Brandi Tanner | Administrative Director | office@canadianauthors.org

Canadian Publishers Council (CPC) – The Canadian Publishers’ Council, as Canada’s main English language book publishing trade association, was founded in 1910 and represents the interests of publishing companies that publish books and other media for elementary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, professional and reference markets, the retail and library sectors. Our members employ more than 2800 Canadians and collectively account for nearly three-quarters of all domestic sales of English-language books. Members spend over $50 million with Canadian-based book manufacturers and pay more than $25 million in royalties to Canada’s writers.

Contact: David Swail | President | dswail@pubcouncil.ca

Literary Press Group of Canada (LPG) – Founded in 1975, the LPG is a not-for-profit association that represents Canadian-owned and -operated literary book publishers from coast to coast. Our members produce books by some of Canada’s most innovative and creative writers, giving readers access to diverse voices that have not been well represented in mainstream publishing. In addition to their cultural contributions, LPG members are small businesses that support local economies through the full range of their business activities, from editorial, design, and production to marketing, sales, and distribution.

Contact : Laura Rock Gaughan | Executive Director | laurag@lpg.ca

Union des écrivaines et des écrivains québécois (UNEQ) – Founded in 1977, the Union des écrivaines et des écrivains québécois (UNEQ) is a professional union dedicated to defending the socio-economic rights of literary artists and promoting Quebec literature. Recognized in 1990 as the most representative association of artists in the field of literature under the Professional Status of Artists in Visual Arts, Crafts, and Literature Act and their contracts with broadcasters (as well as by the 2022 reform) and accredited in 1996 by the Canadian Industrial Relations Board for exclusive negotiation with federally regulated producers, UNEQ currently brings together nearly 1800 members from all literary practices.

Contact : Lucas Prudhomme-Rheault | Communications Manager and Assistant to the General Management | lucas.prudhomme@uneq.qc.ca

Copibec – Copibec is the Quebec collective management society for reproduction rights, a non-profit social economy enterprise specialized in copyright management. It represents over 30,000 authors and 1,300 publishing houses. Copibec provides users of copyright-protected material with simple and tailored solutions to meet their needs. On the international scale, the collective management society has agreements with over 33 foreign societies to include books, newspapers, and magazines from these countries in its repertoire. Among its members are UNEQ, ANEL, RAAV, AJIQ, FPQJ, SODEP, Quotidiens du Québec, and Hebdos du Québec.

Contact : Christian Laforce | Executive Director| c.laforce@copibec.ca

Regroupement des éditeurs franco-canadiens (REFC) – The Regroupement des éditeurs franco-canadiens (REFC) was created to enable French-language publishing houses to undertake concerted actions in the areas of marketing, promotion, representation, and training. It also promotes a partnership-oriented approach by encouraging cooperation among members and key stakeholders in the book ecosystem, thereby ensuring consultation, dialogue, and collaboration with organizations committed to the cultural development of French-speaking communities in Canada.

Contact : Stéphane Cormier | Président | scormier@prisedeparole.ca

The Writers' Union of Canada – The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) is the national organization of professionally published writers. TWUC was founded in 1973 to work with governments, publishers, booksellers, and readers to improve the conditions of Canadian writers. Now over 2,600 members strong, TWUC advocates on behalf of writers’ collective interests, and delivers value to members through advocacy, community, and information. TWUC believes in a thriving, diverse Canadian culture that values and supports writers.

Contact : John Degen | Executive Director | jdegen@writersunion.ca