The harder their fall is for everyone.
Today, a new chapter in Canadian publishing history may have begun. One that does not involve the largest homegrown distributor and publisher. H.B. Fenn, a company that's been around for over 30 years filed for bankruptcy protection. Now there are conflicting reports - some media outlets say they have ceased operation, others say they are proceeding under the restructuring option available under the act. Either way, what was may never be again and the industry is reeling.
Pretty much anyone I know in publishing has worked for Fenn at some point in time. In early 2002, before the boy and I moved back to Alberta, I was offered a job as Inside Sales Rep with Fenn. I had to turn it down when the boy was offered the job in the Hat. Luckily, the company that took over my old company thus resulting in my need to look for another job had a mat leave contract available in Alberta so it all worked for best.
A few years ago, after losing the distribution rights to Hatchett Books (including stuff like Disney, Meave Binchy & James Patterson) Fenn laid off all but three of their sales rep. We lost three reps in Alberta alone - all the accounts being handled by the Winnipeg rep after that. Then Fenn picked up Oxford University Press. Not as big as Hatchett but we thought things were looking up. Then word came just a short while ago, that Key Porter, one of Fenn's publishing division was being shut down. Like Fenn, Key Porter was a Canadian publishing icon, putting out books by Margaret Atwood and the like. Perhaps that why this latest news has hit us so hard. We've haven't gotten over Key Porter yet.
Now as sad as this might be, I am tempted to question how bad could this really be. Stoddard/General Publishing, what some believed to be a unsinkable goliath, went down in a big ball of flames in May 2002. They reportedly owed $45 million at the time; Authors went unpaid, books were never delivered, overnight hundreds of people lost their jobs across the country, book rights were lost in the shuffle - some authors are still trying to figure out if they own what they wrote.
But as report in the Quill&Quire at the time "It’s been a difficult month in a business that’s used to them." Mergers, closures, distribution changes, all pretty much par for the course. The demand for the books sold by Fenn is still there. (Yes, e-books are gaining popularity but not every farmer wants the Old Farmer's Almanac in e-form.) Hell, if I was in any position to do so I'd start contacting the publishers offering my distribution services right now, "psstt, Oxford, have I got a deal for you."
(And just in case anyone from work is reading this - Don't worry, I am no position. I know how much you pay me to travel. That's just too good to give up.)
I suppose what I'm getting is this, while I am sad that some people in the industry will suffer from this, there is no telling the effects in the long run. Perhaps it will serve to strengthen the smaller houses & distributors - not just with book sales but also with people experience. Perhaps it will serve as caution to the big house from getting any bigger and over extending their corporate debt load.
But for now, all we can say is "Good, Bad, Who Knows"
Today, a new chapter in Canadian publishing history may have begun. One that does not involve the largest homegrown distributor and publisher. H.B. Fenn, a company that's been around for over 30 years filed for bankruptcy protection. Now there are conflicting reports - some media outlets say they have ceased operation, others say they are proceeding under the restructuring option available under the act. Either way, what was may never be again and the industry is reeling.
Pretty much anyone I know in publishing has worked for Fenn at some point in time. In early 2002, before the boy and I moved back to Alberta, I was offered a job as Inside Sales Rep with Fenn. I had to turn it down when the boy was offered the job in the Hat. Luckily, the company that took over my old company thus resulting in my need to look for another job had a mat leave contract available in Alberta so it all worked for best.
A few years ago, after losing the distribution rights to Hatchett Books (including stuff like Disney, Meave Binchy & James Patterson) Fenn laid off all but three of their sales rep. We lost three reps in Alberta alone - all the accounts being handled by the Winnipeg rep after that. Then Fenn picked up Oxford University Press. Not as big as Hatchett but we thought things were looking up. Then word came just a short while ago, that Key Porter, one of Fenn's publishing division was being shut down. Like Fenn, Key Porter was a Canadian publishing icon, putting out books by Margaret Atwood and the like. Perhaps that why this latest news has hit us so hard. We've haven't gotten over Key Porter yet.
Now as sad as this might be, I am tempted to question how bad could this really be. Stoddard/General Publishing, what some believed to be a unsinkable goliath, went down in a big ball of flames in May 2002. They reportedly owed $45 million at the time; Authors went unpaid, books were never delivered, overnight hundreds of people lost their jobs across the country, book rights were lost in the shuffle - some authors are still trying to figure out if they own what they wrote.
But as report in the Quill&Quire at the time "It’s been a difficult month in a business that’s used to them." Mergers, closures, distribution changes, all pretty much par for the course. The demand for the books sold by Fenn is still there. (Yes, e-books are gaining popularity but not every farmer wants the Old Farmer's Almanac in e-form.) Hell, if I was in any position to do so I'd start contacting the publishers offering my distribution services right now, "psstt, Oxford, have I got a deal for you."
(And just in case anyone from work is reading this - Don't worry, I am no position. I know how much you pay me to travel. That's just too good to give up.)
I suppose what I'm getting is this, while I am sad that some people in the industry will suffer from this, there is no telling the effects in the long run. Perhaps it will serve to strengthen the smaller houses & distributors - not just with book sales but also with people experience. Perhaps it will serve as caution to the big house from getting any bigger and over extending their corporate debt load.
But for now, all we can say is "Good, Bad, Who Knows"
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