The BookNet staff recaps 2021 in terms of book sales in the Canadian market, BookNet staff reading habits, and all the other book news fit to share.

(Find the transcript here: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2021/12/21/podcast-2021-in-the-rear-view-window)

Further reading/listening:

- See this as a webinar on YouTube: https://youtu.be/j5Ef4vImS2o

- Subject spotlight blog series: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog?tag=subject+spotlight

- Backlist blog posts: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog?tag=backlist

- Canadian Book Consumer survey blog posts: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog?tag=canadian+book+consumer+survey

- BookNet reading: Stats and staff picks 2021: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2021/12/13/booknet-reading-stats-and-staff-picks

We sat down with Kiley Turner, 49th Shelf’s Managing Editor, to have a conversation about the work she and her colleagues do to promote Canadian books, the role metadata plays in discoverability and marketing, the ways publishing and non-publishing people can use 49th Shelf, and much more.

(Find the transcript here: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2021/11/29/podcast-promoting-canadian-books-an-interview-with-49th-shelf)

Further reading:

-49th Shelf website: https://49thshelf.com/

-49th Kids website: https://kids.49thshelf.com/

-Identifying Canadian Authorship user document: https://booknetcanada.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/UserDocs/pages/1378508/Identifying+Canadian+Authorship

-Canadian authors: The whys and hows of identifying them in your data: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2020/5/26/canadian-authors-the-whys-and-hows-of-identifying-them-in-your-data

-Easier with BookNet: Sending interior images to supply chain partners via BiblioShare: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2021/11/16/easier-with-booknet-sending-interior-images-to-supply-chain-partners-via-biblioshare

-Kiley’s article, “The one thing that can double your book sales”: https://www.readerbound.com/Blog/The-One-Thing-that-Can-Double-Your-Book-Sales

A conversation with Fazeela Jiwa from Fernwood Publishing about sensitivity readers — what that term means, the shortcomings of using them, Fernwood’s approach, and what the future might have in store for sensitivity reading.

(Find the transcript here: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2021/10/26/podcast-beyond-sensitivity-readers)

Further reading:

- Fernwood Publishing: https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/

- Authenticy reading. Part 1: What editors need to know: https://blog.ciep.uk/authenticity-1/

- Authenticity reading. Part 2: Becoming an authenticity reader: https://blog.ciep.uk/authenticity-2/

- A dog named Lavender by Vivek Shraya: https://www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/poetry/dog-named-lavender

In this month’s episode, we give you a behind the scenes look at life as a BookNet staff member, aka a BookNetter. Join us for a chat with Project Manager Monique Mongeon, Product Coordinator Hannah Johnston, and Software Developers Ben Farrall and Madeleine Griggs to learn a bit about themselves and all about their work with us at BookNet Canada.

(Find the transcript here: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2021/8/31/podcast-booknet-behind-the-scenes)

Further reading/listening:

Monique's backlist blog posts: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2021/5/4/everything-old-is-new-again-backlist-sales-growth-in-2020 & https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2021/8/13/aged-like-a-fine-wine-whats-the-ideal-age-for-a-backlist-title

Hannah's LibraryData: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/librarydata

Ben's BiblioShare: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/biblioshare

Madeleine's Bibli-O-Matic: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2021/2/4/bibli-o-matic-the-metadata-extension-you-didnt-know-you-needed

In this month's podcast episode we’re talking about social media and its influence on bookselling, what the popularity of these online communities built around books mean for the industry, how backlist titles are having second chances thanks to TikTok, and more.

(Find the transcript here: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2021/7/27/podcast-beyond-booktok-when-social-media-and-publishing-collide)

Further reading/listening:

- BookNet’s Canadian Leisure & Reading Study 2020: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/canadian-leisure-and-reading-study-2020

-BookNet’s Canadian Book Consumer Study 2020: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/canadian-book-consumer-2020

-Ryerson University’s Social Media Lab report The State of Social Media in Canada 2020: https://socialmedialab.ca/2020/07/13/the-state-of-social-media-in-canada-2020-a-new-survey-report-from-the-ryerson-social-media-lab/

-Bookstagrammer @spinesandvines: https://www.instagram.com/spinesvines/?hl=en

-Buzzfeed's 24 Black Bookstagrammers list: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ariannarebolini/black-bookstagram-authors-book-lovers-to-follow

-Shereads' BookTubers' to watch in 2021 list: https://shereads.com/best-booktubers-2021/

-Popsugar's TikTok accounts for book lovers list: https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/best-book-tiktok-accounts-47761943

This month we’re talking about Thema and exploring how you can use this international book classification for describing diverse books. Join BookNet Canada’s Marketing Associate Aline Zara, with appearances by EDItEUR’s Chris Saynor and BookNet Canada’s Bibliographic Manager Tom Richardson, alongside a worked example of Tanya Boteju’s book Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens, just in time to wrap up Pride month.

(Find the transcript here: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2021/6/29/podcast-describing-diverse-books-with-thema)

Further reading/listening:

- Thema version 1.4: https://www.editeur.org/151/Thema-v1.4/

- Chris Saynor’s Tech Forum presentation Using Thema and ONIX to boost discoverability: https://youtu.be/hCDdN_CSlNg

- Tom Richardson’s webinar Thema Refresher: https://youtu.be/KXDlX4fsokA

- Thema worked examples: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog?tag=Thema%20worked%20examples

Last month we shared highlights from Tech Forum 2021. This month we’re sharing one thought-provoking panel in particular. The idea for this panel was inspired by an essay from Annahid Dashtgard a renowned author, changemaker, and co-founder of Anima Leadership, a boutique consulting company specializing in issues of diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism. This essay, called Foreign Object in the House of Canadian Literature, was about her experience as an author of colour and her reception in Canadian publishing. Annahid was joined by Chelene Knight and Léonicka Valcius to discuss author care and creating safe spaces for BIPOC authors.

(Find the transcript here: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2021/6/1/podcast-foreign-object-in-the-house-of-canadian-literature)

Links

- Foreign Object in the House of Canadian Literature essay by Annahid Dastgard: https://rungh.org/foreign-object-in-the-house-of-canadian-literature/

-Foreign object in the house of Canadian literature Tech Forum presentation:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oe-1yxT1O3k&list=PLRthkZj3fAc3XJln6vHSoQZ5BzFgTS38d&index=13&t=1012s

- Léonicka Valcius on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leonicka_/

- Tech Forum: https://techforum.booknetcanada.ca/

- Podcast: Tech Forum 2021 highlights: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2021/4/26/podcast-tech-forum-2021-highlights

In this month’s podcast episode, we’re bringing you some highlights from some of our fantastic sessions. This year’s programming had a mix of topics that ranged from crisis management, the impact of the pandemic on booksellers and publishers, bibliographic standards, diversity, equity and inclusion, and much more. The recordings from the sessions we’ll be talking about today are available on our YouTube channel — you can find the link in the episode notes.

(Find the transcript here: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2021/4/26/podcast-tech-forum-2021-highlights)

Further Reading:

- Session 1: Come taste the difference good management can make in your crisis!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJBXso5h_lw

- Moving pieces: Industry initiatives you don't want to miss: https://youtu.be/ZeyvmAid4Pg

- Serving communities in crisis: The bookseller’s role: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hP2G2nZkLA

- If we knew then what we know now: COVID-driven initiatives with staying power: https://youtu.be/t03YfhqE95Q

- How to combat racial gaslighting in the workplace: https://youtu.be/4LZCN78SysQ

- Tech Forum 2021 YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rmi7jFTuors&list=PLRthkZj3fAc3XJln6vHSoQZ5BzFgTS38d

- Sign up for the Tech Forum newsletter: https://us2.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=4576b1cb7fdce43af498937a5&id=a705168569

The newly formed Canadian Independent Booksellers Association (CIBA) is hitting the ground running. In this podcast episode, we sat down to talk to Doug Minett, the Executive Director, to learn how it came about, what initiatives they’re tackling in their first year, what they see for the future post-COVID, and what they’ll need to do to be successful.

(Find the transcript here: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2021/3/29/podcast-all-about-the-canadian-independent-booksellers-association)

Further reading:

- Canadian Independent Booksellers Association (CIBA): https://cibabooks.ca/

- What’s in Store: The State of Independent Bookselling in Canada: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/whats-in-store

Join BookNet Product Coordinator Hannah Johnston and Marketing Associate Nataly Alarcón as they share sales data for print books about anti-racism and social justice in 2020, a brief overview of the efforts related to equity, diversity, and inclusion made in the Canadian book industry, as well as a number of resources available to you — from research reports to Tech Forum presentations — that touch on these topics.

(Find the transcript here: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2021/2/22/podcast-diversity-books-about-anti-racism-and-the-canadian-book-industry)

Further reading/listening

- Blog post covering the updates made to BISAC subject codes: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2020/12/21/2020-bisac-subject-codes-out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new

-BookNet YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv62canXJChXqjegPv9H9-A

-BookNet Canada podcast: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/podcast

-Research by BookNet: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/bnc-research

-Blog posts related to equity, diversity, and inclusion: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog?tag=diversity

-Demand for Diversity study: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/demand-for-diversity

-Tech Forum 2021 website: https://techforum.booknetcanada.ca/

-Subscribe to receive Tech Forum updates: https://us2.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=4576b1cb7fdce43af498937a5&id=a705168569

-Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/newsletter-sign-up#enews