Johanna Skibsrud's Giller-winning novel, The Sentimentalists, will now be available widely after a deal was struck to bring the short-run book to mass market.Mark Blinch/Reuters
The tiny Nova Scotia publisher of this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize winner has struck a deal that will see 30,000 copies of the sought-after book hit shelves within days.
Andrew Steeves, one of the owners of Gaspereau Press, said Monday morning that they had signed an agreement with Vancouver's Douglas & McIntyre. Books are expected to ship Friday.
Gaspereau Press, which prides itself on its hand-produced books, had come under intense pressure to speed up production since Johanna Skibsrud won the Giller last week for The Sentimentalists.
The publisher could produce only about 1,000 copies of the book per week. Their insistence on staying true to their principles won acclaim from some but production fell far below demand and the book was impossible to find on shelves.
On Monday, the book had a three- to five-week waiting period at Indigo.ca. Meanwhile, a few used copies were available at Amazon.ca for as much as $1,600.
(The book has been available in e-book form and was the bestselling Canadian book last week on Kobo, the digital-publishing arm of Indigo Books and Music.)
Behind the scenes, work toward the deal had been ongoing since shortly after Skibsrud won the prestigious literary award, Mr. Steeves said in a phone interview.
"As soon as she won, the game changed," he said. "This deal was hatched on Wednesday. The only reason we didn't do anything in advance is no small press had ever won the prize."
The British Columbia publisher acquired the trade paperback rights to the book Zoe Whittal described in a Globe and Mail review as "a sombre story about the emotional ghosts of war and the unreliable nature of memory."
The first 30,000 copies of the Douglas & McIntyre edition are expected to be shipped Friday. In a statement, the company said that paper is on hand for an immediate reprint of 20,000 copies.
"I have huge respect for Andrew and Gary's dedication to their craft," publisher Scott McIntyre said in the statement. "This includes putting their author first. With our sales, marketing and distribution system onside, an exceptional novel will quickly reach the wide audience it deserves."
Although Mr. Steeves had spoken firmly about the need to keep control over production, he said Monday that there was "no angst ... no handwringing" about criticism of Gaspereau's inability to print enough copies.
The book will be printed by Friesens, an employee-owned business in rural Manitoba that has produced many Canadian books, and also the iconic blue jewelry boxes for Birks.
"They're a shop that takes the same joy in making books as we do," Mr. Steeves said.