Shakeups announced at HarperCollins Canada, Simon & Schuster Canada

Thursday, November 13, 2014

There were signs of significant turmoil in Canadian publishing not once but twice on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

In the morning news broke that news that HarperCollins Canada will close its Toronto-based warehouse. Up to 120 positions will be eliminated, including that of CEO David Kent, and many indie publishers whose books have been distributed by HarperCollins Canada are also be affected.

Later in the day, an announcement from Simon & Schuster Canada revealed that two of its senior staff were being let go: editorial director Martha Sharpe, who was responsible for increasing the publishers’ footprint in Canada, and associate publisher Alison Clarke.

Both publishers have stressed their commitment to building and nurturing Canadian content and talent remain unchanged.

Quill & Quire and the Globe and Mail have both analyzed what these developments mean for Canadian publishing.

Following-up these pieces was an article by Carolyn Wood, executive director of the Association of Canadian Publishers, calling for strong Canadian voices in our country’s publishing industry.