13 Specific Issues of Book Distribution in French Canada

The distribution of French-language books outside Quebec poses a daunting challenge and raises some major issues. It must be recognized that there are flaws in the way French-language books are marketed in Canada, particularly in the low capacity to make books available to Francophone communities scattered across the country.

Since all French-language book distributors are located in Quebec and considering the limited number of French-language bookstores in the other provinces, it is virtually impossible for them to adequately serve these communities. Any initiative to establish a Canada-wide diffusion network would be doomed to financial failure. The few French-Canadian bookstores must usually order titles upon release, when they learn of their availability through the media. At best, they will search online themselves, often on the sites of the major bookstore chains. In view of the distances and the high cost of book shipments, booksellers will also try to limit their orders to guaranteed levels, since returns — when possible — are expensive. These constraints obviously affect the diversity of supply.

Moreover, French-language publishers in the other Canadian provinces are forced to do their own diffusion and distribution in their respective territories, since except for the mass-market channels, which virtually never handle titles from French-Canadian publishers, Quebec diffusers do not cover all of Canada. Thus, most French-language publishers outside Quebec often have no choice other than to limit their agreement with a diffuser/distributor to the Quebec market and attempt to serve the few bookstores operating in their own region as best they can. It would not make sense to allocate their local market to a Quebec distributor and have copies intended for a nearby retailer being shipped to Quebec and back.

Book diffusion and distribution in French Canada deserve special attention from governments, and a specific strategy is required to meet this essential need for better access to a diversity of French-language titles in communities where access to culture is essential to development.

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