The State of Publishing in Canada 2023

The State of Publishing in Canada 2023

Of the publishers surveyed, 63% of them were small publishers with a gross revenue between $0 and $999,999, 27% were mid-size with gross revenue between $1M and $9,999,999, and 10% were large publishers with revenue higher than $10M.

The majority of publishers surveyed offered their employees a hybrid work arrangement (68%), 20% were entirely remote and 12% worked entirely in person.

In 2023, 65% of print and digital sales were backlist and 35% were frontlist titles.

The average return rate in 2023, as a percentage of books shipped for all trade publishers, was 9%, down quite a bit from 16% in 2021.

More highlights

• Most publishers reported that their revenue increased marginally from 2022 to 2023.

• The most popular way publishers were considering leveraging AI was for marketing materials (49%).

• Canadian publishing divisions published on average 35 books in 2023 and multinational companies published an average of 752 books across all divisions in Canada in 2023.

• Mid-sized publishers had the highest percentage of new books by at least one Canadian contributor (84%) and small publishers followed at 79%.

• Most of the books printed by the publishers we surveyed were published in Canada in 2023 (74%).

• Over three quarters of publishers have scaled down their print runs to decrease waste, mitigate risks, limit overstock, and increase efficiencies (79%).

• Over half of Canadian publishers produced audiobooks in 2023 (58%), up slightly from 53% in 2021.

• The majority of publishers described the health of their company as fair based on their ability to withstand challenges, adapt, and change (63%).

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