Quill & Quire

AT THE END OF JULY 2021, with extraordinary speed and marked by controversy, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) ruled on two appeals in the long-standing York University v.Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright) case. The ruling was a disaster for Canada’s books sector. Seemingly unwilling to set precedent on the question of educational copying and infringement, the SCC declared that, as written into current law, tariffs set by the Copyright Board of Canada are not mandatory – releasing York from any responsibility to pay up. Given that analysis, the court also concluded that “there is no live dispute” between York and this country’s writers and publishers (who were represented by Access Copyright in the case). Did York’s extensive copying infringe our copyright on a massive scale, as two lower courts…

1 in 10 Number of Canadians who read a print book on a daily basis, according to a survey conducted by BookNet Canada 135 Appointments made to the Order of Canada at the end of 2021, including authors Yann Martel, Tomson Highway, J. Roger Léveillé, and Max Eisen 2 Canadian titles – Jon Klassen’s The Rock from the Sky and Julie Flett’s We All Play - named among the 25 best children’s books for 2021 by the New York Times 1984 The estate of George Orwell approves a feminist retelling of the dystopian novel from the perspective of Winston Smith’s lover, Julia 350 Age of The Book of Common Prayer, the oldest book in the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick $490,000 The amount a rare copy of Incredible Hulk #1,…

Dear Agony Editor, I was recently on Goodreads, checking out the ratings for my latest novel, and saw that a good friend had reviewed the book. While the review was positive, she only gave the book three out of five stars! Given our friendship, I think she should have given me five stars as a show of support. This has left me with some lingering resentment. How do I bring this up with her? Signed,Five-Star Friend Dear Five-Star, You don’t bring it up. Your friend is entitled to her opinion and can rate any book however she wants. What she thinks of your work isn’t any of your business. I also think you’re being petty. Would you rather someone give you five stars out of a sense of loyalty that…

BACK IN JULY OF 2021, I was looking at the Toronto Star’s Canadian bestseller list, noting the fine books that were on it, when a title I didn’t recognize caught my eye. While it’s an old industry truism that no one remembers the publisher of a book, they just remember the author, that’s not true for me. When I’m in a bookstore, I have a terrible tendency to check spines and copyright pages to see who published the books that catch my attention even before reading the back cover copy. I’m always interested in who has released which books and the publishing choices they have made in doing so, and I think most people who work in publishing are the same. Wondering who had published this new title, I looked…

WHEN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC shuttered libraries across Canada, librarians had to find new ways to engage with - and stay connected to - their patrons and readers. While many libraries expanded their online content, hosted virtual book clubs, and offered curbside pickup, some intrepid librarians saw an opportunity to engage their audience by turning to social media and one of its fastest-growing platforms. TikTok is currently on track to amass nearly one billion active users by the end of this year. The video-based social media platform allows users to upload short clips, typically under one minute, that can be sped up, slowed down, and enhanced with music and graphics. The platform has proven especially popular with Gen Z. Readers and book reviewers have migrated their love of books onto the…

WITH 10 PREVIOUS picture books and an acclaimed adult novel under her belt, Jean E. Pendziwol knows a lot about imagination. She’s also keen to provide space for her young readers’ imaginations to run wild. What that space looks like, though, might be unexpected – as with Pendziwol’s dreamy new picture book, When I Listen to Silence (Groundwood Books, April). Any caregiver will tell you that “small kids” and “silence” are not concepts that one would usually group together. But Pendziwol’s lilting, lyrical text – which opens with a mother gently asking her young child to stay quiet for a while as she works at home, a now-common scenario for parents – shows that sometimes a moment of quiet freedom can be a wonderful gift to a child’s imagination. “We…