News Summary

The Canadian Bookmark Project, pioneered by Chandler Jolliffe, owner of Cedar Canoe Books in Huntsville, is gaining traction across the country. This initiative aims to make Canadian authors more visible in bookstores by marking their books with a bookmark featuring a red maple leaf. The project has increased Canadian book sales at Cedar Canoe Books from the industry average of 9% to 27-28% of their sales. The program, which started locally, has been adopted by Canadian publishers like Jim Lorimer and Terrilee Bulger, who are working with various bookstores, including Indigo, to implement it nationwide. The initiative has received widespread positive feedback from bookstores and customers, who appreciate the ease of identifying Canadian authors. The project is supported by the Canadian publishers, who have organized the distribution of bookmarks across different regions, with support from the printer Copywell. The effort is timely, coinciding with a surge in interest in Canadian products due to geopolitical shifts.