A paper crisis for Christmas | Press

Behind the well-stocked shelves of Quebec bookstores, an entire industry is paying the price for a shortage of paper. And work hard to have books under the Christmas tree this year. Decryption.

Lea Carrier
Press

The Zviane case

“My publisher no longer gives me a publication date. My comic book will arrive when it arrives, ”Zviane drops on the phone. Since the fall, congestion in printing houses has delayed the publication and reprinting of works, sometimes up to several weeks or even months.

We can name A little treatise on racism by Dany Laferrière, Sgoubidou’s investigations by Cathon or Symptoms by Catherine Ocelot. Zviane was no exception. A prolific author, she crossed her fingers to receive her latest project, Football-Fantasy, in time for the Montreal Book Fair, which will be held from November 25 to 28 at the Palais des congrès.

On the boards for five years, the comic – a brick of 500 color pages, a printing challenge in itself – was originally due to see the light of day in October. The publication date has been postponed to November 16. Then, another time on an undefined date. “There are going to be a lot of people [au Salon du livre] for me to sign my old books. It is certain that I would have liked to have my book for the occasion, but these are things that we do not control and that we do not have the choice to accept ”, resigns Zviane.

Puzzle for publishers

Between the multiple delays and the stockouts, the fall was a “hell”, affirms Luc Bossé, founder of the Pow Pow editions, which publishes Zviane. And no time to catch your breath: the Book Fair and the holiday season, crucial periods for the industry, will not wait. ” The conquest of the cosmos [d’Alexandre Fontaine Rousseau et Francis Desharnais], for example, I have no more copies since September. This book is hot, I would find it boring to miss this momentum, ”laments Mr. Bossé.

He is not the only one to raise the issue of reprints, a real headache for publishers. The Boréal publishing house tried to anticipate the blow by increasing the circulation of certain works, but this is not a miracle solution. “It requires more costs from us, therefore more risk. What is also more difficult are the surprise enthusiasms that we had not foreseen, ”says deputy director Philippe Gendreau, who nevertheless considers himself lucky to have had to postpone only one title.

At Québec Amérique, we are also reporting postponements of publication – sometimes until next spring – and of reprints. Flexibility and preparation are the watchwords to get through this crisis, says production manager Véronique Loranger. As of Monday, her printer informed her that a specific paper was missing for a reprint. “Finally, I changed paper. It was more important to have the book with a paper you like less than not to have it at all for Christmas. ”

Several nodes in the chain

No, there is no shortage of trees to print all these books. “Without going too far back in time, we must position ourselves before the pandemic [pour comprendre la crise actuelle] », Explains Serge Loubier, president of the printing house Marquis. In recent years, paper has lost its luster in favor of digital technology. For their survival, several mills have reoriented themselves towards packaging products; others have closed their doors altogether. And then, suddenly, the demand exploded.

Confined, the population rediscovered the pleasure of reading, far from screens and harsh reality. The local industry found itself overwhelmed by demand and the arrival of new customers – Canadian and American publishers who have turned their backs on Asia due to the uncertainty of shipping. “It all created the perfect storm. Right now we have to place our orders six to eight months in advance. I have clients who are starting to book for next August, ”explains the printer, who does not expect a return to normal before spring 2023.

In the wake of the scarcity of paper, prices have also exploded on the world market. The bill is likely to be passed on to consumers.

A Quebec health edition

The Montreal Book Fair has scheduled a round table, on November 26, which will bring together industry professionals to discuss the paper shortage and think about possible solutions.

If the current crisis causes its share of challenges, the director general of the great literary event, Olivier Gougeon, also sees it as an encouraging sign.

“We notice a desire of the population to discover new authors, to dive back into the pleasure of reading. The Quebec edition is healthy, ”he says.

And to those who imagine a Book Fair with empty tables, Olivier Gougeon immediately reassures them: “There will be thousands of books available at the Book Fair. We will finally be able to meet and celebrate! ”

View over Europe

Tensions in the paper market are wreaking havoc on the other side of the Atlantic. Once again, strong demand is the source of the bottleneck. “Where I needed four weeks to get supplies, it takes eight to twelve weeks today, or even more,” said Pascal Lenoir, production director of the Madrigall group – parent company of the great Gallimard and Flammarion – at french newspaper The world.

In Quebec, Nadine Perreault, general manager of distributor Dimedia, which imports books from all over the Francophonie, notes that the crisis is hitting the Old Continent harder. “From what I can see, the paper shortage has hit Europe faster than it has here. It is sometimes more complicated to receive quantities because the prints are limited, ”she notes.