The World Needs More Canada is a catchphrase we have used at Indigo and Shortcovers for a long time now, and the sentiment behind it is something we truly believe in.
With that in mind, we are incredibly excited to announce that we’ve just signed an agreement to carry thousands of newly digitized works from Canadian-owned publishers, made available through an initiative led by the Association of Canadian Publishers. The vast majority of works are being made available in digital format for the first time through Shortcovers starting in November.
These titles represent the richness of the Canadian book market – everything from groundbreaking fiction, non-fiction, regional voices and scholarly works. They also serve as a great example of how independent and regional presses are coming together as a group to find opportunities in the digital market.
We’re so proud to be the first retailer to take part in this initiative. We’ve always believed that book lovers should be able to get ebooks anywhere, anytime, and that Canadian content is something the whole world should be able to enjoy. Now it’s never been easier for the world to read more Canada.
Publishers taking part in this initiative include:
Annick Press
Anvil Press
Breakwater Books
Brindle and Glass
Coach House Books
Dundurn Group
ECW Press
Heritage House
James Lorimer & Company
McGill-Queen’s University Press
Napoleon & Company
Orca Book Publishers
Playwrights Canada Press
Rocky Mountain Books
Second Story Press
Touchwood Editions
Véhicule Press
Wilfrid Laurier University Press
Wolsak & Wynn Publishers
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
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I totally agree. I was recently involved in a project with a Canadian publisher (I hail from the Untied [sic} States) and was amazed at the latitude I was given on the book. A breath of fresh air indeed!
Congrats on the new initiative.
My concern is whether Shortcovers could adequately handle the additional titles. The platform’s search capabilities are very weak, although improving. I hope I could still find the books I am actually after.
Thanks
Hooray. Let’s see the greats back catalog: Roberston Davies, Howard Engel, Norman Levine, David McFadden, etc. Can hardly wait.
No Robin Brass Studio? They publish a good library on Canadian Military History.
Mike: Search just got a whole lot better. Give it another try and tell me what you think.
Tyler: Would love to see Robin Brass on board. Shoot them an email and tell them you want to see their books on Shortcovers!
I stayed away from the Kindle since even though it is available in Canada now, we still have to buy it from the US and pay more. A Lot more. Then a lot of the features aren’t available too. Also I would be limited to Amazon. I don’t know why Amazon just sells ebook files for the Kindle. It would be like Apple selling music for the iPod through iTunes that only plays on the iPod. It’s why I went with a new Sony reader since it’s open to ebooks from all over. I’m grateful that Shortcovers is here in Canada and I hope it will grow to get more of the titles I’ve been searching for.
What a beautiful example to the world! Congratulations!
Darren & Teotonio — thanks for the kind words! We’re doing our best. The goal is to allow people to read the books they want on the devices they already have, wherever they are. We’re always adding new titles, so keep checking in!