Atlantic Books Today MESSAGES
Editor’s message In late 2016, in response to a Facebook post about the first issue of this publication I edited, Elizabeth Eve posted this comment: “Nice to see the new editor, proudly holding a copy. ABT will be 25 years old next year—I may be the only one that’s counting!!” She probably was. She was the inaugural Editor c. ABT1 editor of the magazine, and she went on to give us a history lesson about ourselves: “The Board of the Atlantic Provinces Book Review Society and I scrapped the APBR in 1991, got an ACOA grant to do a plan, begged the Canada Council to think of us in a state of renewal, published 2 issues of ABT in 1992 ... and went from there, till 2002 when the publishers wisely took it over.”
There’s much more to that story, and with this now being the magazine’s 30th year, the esteemed Stephen Kimber has the whole origins in our cover story. It’s been fun looking back through 30 years of issues, not to mention photographs of staff partying with—er, celebrating the work of—authors. Ah yes, the days before pandemic, when people raised glasses together in public. This issue celebrates us celebrating books, and in the spirit of meta, celebrates books at the same time. We look at a ridiculously unsung part of bringing books into the world—the design process. We look at how art books have grown from pamphleteering afterthoughts to a respected genre and how graphic novels have become better understood as a sophisticated storytelling form. We also profile a few writers who have become rather big deals since that way-back first issue, like Lisa Moore, Lesley Crewe, Alexander MacLeod and Elaine McCluskey. And as always, we shine some light on the ones still rising. Retrospectives are fun, nostalgia’s hot. But let us also remember the revolutionary Kwame Nkrumah’s catchy and wise political slogan, “Forward ever, backward never.”
CMO’s message I’m proud to write this message for Canada’s premier book consumer magazine’s 30th anniversary issue. For 30 years, ABT has been initiating conversations about local books, and helping book lovers find their next great read. In 2022, the challenges remain the same, even as the means of conversation change. CMO c. ABT1 Change. How about the past few years? Four years ago, about half of books were purchased online. That number jumped to nearly two-thirds during the pandemic and has since settled around 60 percent. Digital discovery is increasingly important and helping booksellers reach a broader audience. And yet, selling books online is in its infancy—we are exploring new models for connecting local retailers to online local-book purchasers. New and improved models should help local retailers reach more people, more effectively. 4
Like remote buyers without access to a bookstore. We survey Atlantic Canadians regularly. Consistently, over 80 percent of respondents highly value local books, authors and publishers. Nearly two-thirds express the desire to purchase local books. Only 40 percent actually do. Our challenge remains making consumers aware of the astounding variety of local books available—skim this issue for the latest proof—and helping them find those books when it comes time to buy or borrow. We’ve seen good progress. I’m pleased 51 percent of Atlantic book buyers recognize our Teal Lighthouse icon and #ReadAtlantic hashtag, up from 37 percent in 2020. We’ve also reached a younger demographic through social media. #BookTok on TikTok has almost 95 million views, with 40 percent of users between 18 and 24. Our TikTok video on Tunes and Wooden Spoons by Mary Janet MacDonald had over 50 thousand views. I’m confident you’ll enjoy the beautiful 30th-anniversary issue of Atlantic Books Today—but in the spirit of the times, don’t forget to grab your phone and check out our bonus digital content at atlanticbooks.ca. And follow us on your favourite social media feed.
