Cohen: The shrinking space for books | Ottawa Citizen
2014/12/06 2 Comments
Andrew Cohen on the challenges of being a writer today given the decline of bookstores:
Today entering most bookstores is a test of character for the writer. You might find your book amid the baubles; you might not. You might be asked to speak and sign; you might be ignored.
There are a few sanctuaries offering literary asylum: Munro’s in Victoria, Books on Beechwood in Ottawa, Ben McNally Books in Toronto. Books on Beechwood was saved by guardian angels and a passionate staff.
McNally has a rare, crazy commitment to books. He is wonderfully innovative as a seller and marketer – a gift to writers.
The disappearing bookstore reflects the ebbing stature of books in society. The public space for books is shrinking.
The author tour is passé. Twenty years ago a first-time author with a good book could expect to visit five cities or so, speaking, giving interviews. Few do that today.
Newspapers used to review books seriously. The Globe and Mail published a weekly, well-read tabloid on books. The Toronto Star and The National Post carried reviews. Regional papers did, too.
There are fewer reviews in newspapers today and fewer specialty publications on books. Those that survive, like The Literary Review of Canada – the nation’s literary salon – commission reviews often long and learned for which they pay little.
There remain excellent book shows on CBC Radio, like The Next Chapter with the spirited Shelagh Rogers, and unusual hosts on private radio, like Mark Sutcliffe on CFRA, who appreciate books. None has the impact of Peter Gzowski’s CBC’s Morningside, where an author’s appearance on national radio could make telephones ring in bookstores.
About Andrew
Multicultural Meanderings 
It has been sad to watch the disappearance of bookstores everywhere: every town in my rural part of Ontario used to have one. However, we do still have one not far away – the Green Heron Bookstore in Paris, Ontario, a beautiful town on the Grand River.
Roy is very knowledgeable and deals in a nice assortment of new books, often from small publishers not seen in the big stores. He also has lots of used as well as rare, out of print books. The children’s section in his small store includes excellent toys and there are old movies and art prints as well. Occasionally, he hosts an open house to promote an author.
What a treat it is to have that store: it’s worth the drive to Paris any time!
Oh I don’t think I agree with this gentleman. Yes, I value bookstores and support efforts by the French government to protect them.
But I also value the fact that there are fewer walls between authors and readers. Authors have so many more opportunities to publish and readers have many more ways of talking directly to the authors through their blogs, email, Goodreads and the like. I’ve had some extraordinary conversations with authors via email that I have treasured. And to say that an author tour would have done the same job – well, that’s just foolish as I really doubt any of them would have bothered to pass through my French town (or even Paris – especially if it’s an english-speaking author though the American library does get a few)..
So I’d argue that some spaces are shrinking but others are being created and expanding. One just has to know where to look. 🙂