Quebec bookstores have achieved a feat. With five and a half weeks of business closures, the book sales growth virus continued to advance, reaching 16.3% in 2021. Literature here is the locomotive of this historic rise, with 21.3 % increase last year. This growth marks the “third historic moment when Quebec turns to its own books”.
This success is “completely linked to the pandemic”, according to all the stakeholders that The duty questioned. The decline in the cultural offer, which at certain times has left only small screens and books as possibilities, is by extension beneficial to book sales.
“Here as elsewhere, the book benefits from the confinement of culture in the same way as television series,” indicates the sociologist of literature Anthony Glinoer, of the University of Sherbrooke. When it is difficult or impossible to go to the cinema, the theater or the concert, we fall back on what can be appreciated by subscription or on what we can easily acquire a copy. “
Digital fatigue and eye fatigue that arise from our virtual lives are also involved. “Sales of digital books have not exploded, and the conditions should be there for them to experience the same kind of increase”, explains Benoit Prieur, general manager of the Association of exclusive distributors of French-language books. .
On the other hand, all the printed books had good sales. In 2021, foreign books, with a 13.5% jump in sales, were almost as successful as Quebec books. Christian Reeves, director of Gaspard, which compiles bookstore sales data, is delighted to announce such good news.
Here as elsewhere, the book benefits from the confinement of culture in the same way as the television series.
The beginning of this growth dates back to 2014 – Mr. Reeves quotes the first August 12 “I buy a Quebec book” as a pivotal moment – and is noticeable in 2015. “But for the last two years, it’s been mentally stupid as increase ! »Exclaims the director. Last year, Gaspard noted a 2.5% growth in sales between 2019 and 2020 for the entire market.
From Ixe-13 to Kukum
“We are in one of those historical moments when the population turns to its literature, and particularly to its popular literature,” says the sociologist of literature Marie-Pier Luneau, director of the Group for Research and Studies on Books at Quebec.
It has already happened twice in the history of Quebec literature, says the professor at the University of Sherbrooke. First at the end of the Second World War. “In the 1940s and 1950s, readers discovered popular literature issues. It was the golden age of Ixe-13 [28 millions d’exemplaires vendus entre 1947 et 1967], until the 1960s, when people abandoned them for the soap operas of the brand new Télé-Métropole, ”recalls the specialist.
The 1980s were the second moment, according to Mme Luneau, where the Quebec book was pulled to the heights of sales by the first successful and very successful Quebec books, such as The Tomcat, by Yves Beauchemin, The Sorcerer, by Francine Ouellette, and Caleb’s daughters, by Arlette Cousture. “People have started to read and like to read Quebecois,” continues the sociologist. We are witnessing the same movement today: Kim Thúy and Michel Jean are now overtaking Marc Lévy and Guillaume Musso in sales, it must be done! It is not a small passing craze. New readers then look to read something else. And that, all literary genres will benefit from it. “
New old readers
Booksellers in the field confirm the specialist’s analyzes. “For almost two years, our members have seen people they had never seen in their bookstore,” said the general manager of the Association des libraires du Québec (ALQ), Katherine Fafard. “And they are coming back. And those who came already come more often. “
The president of the ALQ and owner of the Librairie du Square – located in the Saint-Louis square -, Éric Simard, is happy about it. “The pandemic has brought home those who once enjoyed reading and who had quit. These are the ones I see coming back – and I’m really happy. Buyers, too, have more budget for books now that they spend less on cultural outings and dining, Simard believes. And perhaps not only for books: Gaspard’s balance sheet does not count only independent bookstores, recalls Mr. Reeves. “There are small chains, stationery, Indigo… We see that they make + 16% of sales in 2021, when the independents make + 15%. Last year, the independents were doing a little better. Renaud-Bray and Archambault are not included in these figures.
But the two largest bookstore chains in Quebec are experiencing the same kind of curve, as confirmed by Floriane Claveau, director of communications. “The Quebec book remains the darling, all categories combined, even in psychology or in practical life. In foreign books, we saw a big influence of Book Toks ”, these videos of literary recommendations published on the TikTok network. Renaud-Bray and Archambault also note the influence of TV series, such as Lupine on Netflix, which ignites the sale of certain titles and which brings to life screen and book pleasures linked, but not necessarily opposed, according to Mme Claveau.
For the entire book chain, the air brought by this increase in sales is beneficial. If some would like to take advantage of this magical moment in the book, increasing production is currently almost impossible, explains Arnaud Foulon, president of the National Association of Book Publishers.
“Everyone is short of staff and manpower. It is impossible to think of double-digit growth next year without running out. Pandemic shortages are also causing production and printing difficulties for publishers. Broadcasters and distributors already have manpower issues in book warehouses, which can only have consequences if they continue, according to Benoit Prieur. Already various titles are often missing in bookstores, for several weeks and sometimes several months …
The bookseller Éric Simard calls, as a solution, for a decrease in production. “Publish less and publish better,” he suggests. Katherine Fafard confirms: with 33,000 new releases from abroad and 6,000 to 8,000 from Quebec per year, bookstores are now unable to absorb them all. “We would all benefit from leaving more time for books to live on our tables, in our windows… rather than turning them over every three months,” they say.