Championing BC publishers & the stories they create
Books BC supports independent publishers and raises awareness of the cultural and economic impacts of a thriving publishing landscape.
Our Members
Our members are innovative publishers specializing in a range of genres including fiction and non-fiction, early and young adult readers, and Indigenous literatures.
Featured initiatives
Whether you’re looking to shop local, discover BC books for the classroom, or celebrate the vibrant literary landscape of BC, we have a program for you.
Designed for teachers, educators, and librarians, our Books for Schools digital database includes hundreds of BC and Canadian-published books for the K–12 school system.
Poetry in Transit is an annual community engagement project in partnership with TransLink and BC Transit. Every year, Canadian authors and publishers are invited to submit their poetry to the project and a jury selects 10 local poets whose work will be displayed on transit vehicles across the province.
Each spring BC Book Day invites British Columbians to celebrate the province’s book & magazine publishers, authors, illustrators, bookstores, libraries, festivals, and literary prizes that connect us with local stories.
Read Local BC is a project that celebrates the vibrant community of authors, publishers, bookstores, and libraries that make up our province’s literary landscape.
Discover year-round bookish content, a literary events calendar and our BC Bestsellers list.
Advocacy
Books BC is the voice of the BC publishing industry.
The association’s advocacy work has resulted in the creation of the BC Book Publishing Tax Credit, the formation of Creative BC and the BC Book Section on BC Ferries.
Our current priorities
- We recommend that the Ministry of Finance remove the “sunset clause” from the BC Book Publishing Tax Credit to stabilize funding for BC publishers in an uncertain trade environment.
- We join our BC Arts Coalition of Arts, Culture, and Heritage colleagues in urging the provincial government to increase the overall BC Arts Council Budget to $58 million. We ask that adequate funding be allocated to the Book Publishing Operating Assistance Program so that emerging and equity-deserving publishers be allowed entry into the program.
- We join the Association of Canadian Publishers and industry associations across the country in urging the federal government to clarify fair dealing provisions to ensure compensation for creators for the use of copyright-protected work.
Featured Publisher
Did you know?
$1.1B
Canada’s Publishing Industry
50M
Books sold in Canada every year
40
Active Book Publishers in British Columbia
100
Independent Bookstores in BC
500
New BC Titles Released Annually
About us
Books BC works to support the long-term health and success of the Canadian-owned book industry in British Columbia.
Through public-facing multi-channel marketing campaigns and public engagement programs, Books BC raises awareness of and promotes BC−published titles to booksellers, educators, librarians, and audiences across Canada and beyond.
Join Books BC
Join our Association as a member publisher or supporting organization to access our services and keep in touch with industry developments.