Application Guidelines – Support for Publishers: Publishing Support

Canada Book Fund

On this page

• Objectives and expected results for the Canada Book Fund
• Objectives and expected results for the Publishing Support sub-component
• Application deadline
• Who can apply
• Eligibility
• Eligible expenses
• Limits of government assistance
• How to apply
• Application process
• How applications are evaluated
• Evaluation criteria
• Application processing time
• Funding decisions
• How funding is provided
• Funding conditions
• Workplace well-being
• Public Health Guidance
• Official languages requirements
• Acknowledgement of financial assistance
• Access to information requests
• Disclosure of information
• Audits of recipients and evaluation of the program
• Contact us
• Glossary
• Annex A: Conditions for members of affiliated groups

Objectives and expected results for the Canada Book Fund

The Canada Book Fund (CBF) ensures access to a diverse range of Canadian-authored books nationally and internationally, by fostering a strong book industry that publishes and markets Canadian-authored books.

Objectives and expected results for the Publishing Support sub-component

The Publishing Support sub-component assists the ongoing production, marketing and distribution of Canadian-authored books. Supplementary funding based on export sales is also available as part of Publishing Support.

Application deadline

April 2 by 23:59 (Eastern Time)

When an application deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or statutory holiday, it is extended to the following working day.

Who can apply

Only book publishing firms are eligible for funding. At the time of the application, and through to the end of the term of any funding agreement between us and you, a publishing firm must:

• have completed at least 12 months of operation as a book publisher;
• be at least 75% owned and controlled by Canadians;
• have its headquarters and at least 75% of its employees based in Canada;
• be a private-sector firm or university press;
• be financially viable; and
• have fulfilled all contractual obligations with respect to author royalty payments or other method of payment to authors, from the beginning of the reference year through to the end of any funding agreement.

The following entities are not eligible for support from the Canada Book Fund:

• publishers with net sales of own titles that were $50 million or greater in the reference year; and
• unincorporated divisions of larger organizations, with the exception of university presses.

Each individual applicant within an affiliated group must independently meet all eligibility criteria.

Eligibility

We are responsible for determining the eligibility of each applicant, the books you publish and related expenses.

The following conditions also apply:

Publication minimum

All titles counting toward the publication minimum referred to below must be new, eligible, Canadian-authored books, in print or digital formats. Books that are published in both print and digital formats only count as one title. Foreign-authored books that are translated or adapted by a Canadian do not count toward the publication minimum.

The publisher must have an active and ongoing publishing program.

Your organization must:

• have published at least one new title during the reference year and, if the new title is in print format only, have published at least one new, eligible, Canadian-authored digital title or one new, eligible, Canadian-authored digital edition.

We will consider a detailed, written explanation from those publishers unable to meet the program's digital production requirement. The explanation should be detailed enough for us to fully understand why you have not been able to publish a digital new title or a digital edition.

If you have completed three or more financial years at the end of the 2024-2025 reference year, you must:

• have published a minimum of 15 trade books or 10 educational or scholarly books by the end of the reference year. (For those applicants that publish a mix of trade, educational and/or scholarly books, a minimum of 10 books will apply, provided that at least five of those books are educational and/or scholarly); and
• have published a minimum of 12 trade books or six educational or scholarly books during the three financial years ending with the reference year. (For those applicants that publish a mix of trade, educational and/or scholarly books, the minimum of six books over three years will apply provided that at least three of those books are educational and/or scholarly).

If you have completed less than three financial years at the end of the 2024-2025 reference year, you must:

• have published a minimum of 15 trade books or 10 educational or scholarly books by the end of the reference year. (For those applicants that publish a mix of trade, educational and/or scholarly books, a minimum of 10 books will apply, provided that at least five of those books are educational and/or scholarly).

In order to meet the publication minimum criterion, Indigenous publishers must have published a minimum of 10 new, eligible Canadian-authored titles since inception and six over the past three financial years ending with the reference year.

New editions and reprints are not considered new titles. However, for the purposes of the publication minimum, new editions may be considered new titles for official-language minority, Indigenous, small literary publishers and publishing companies owned and controlled by members of a Racialized community provided that previous editions of the title were not published by the applicant or by a publisher in the same affiliated group, if applicable.

Sales minimum

In the reference year, you must have eligible net sales of own titles of at least $50,000 or $30,000 for official-language minority, Indigenous publishers and publishing companies owned and controlled by members of a Racialized Community.

Restrictions on revenues and production

In your reference year:

• at least 65% of your net revenue, including grants and contributions, must be related to the publication and sale of books (excluding author-subsidized titles), including distribution, printing and the sale of rights. The percentage for official-language minority, Indigenous publishers and publishing companies owned and controlled by members of a Racialized community is 40% provided that the majority of the other revenues are derived from activities that are, in our opinion, cultural in nature;
• revenue derived from the sale of author-subsidized titles must not exceed 25% of net revenue; and
• the number of self-published titles must not exceed 50% of the total number of new titles.

Eligible books

To be eligible, a book must be:

• either written by a Canadian author or adapted or translated by a Canadian;
• at least 48 pages in length for a printed book, except for children's books, which can be less than 48 pages;
• at least 15,000 words in length for a new digital title (i.e. not published in print or another physical format), except for digital children's books, digital editions of eligible printed books and certain educational books, which can be less than 15,000 words;
• clearly and publicly attributed to the author(s) and/or translator(s);
• the publisher's own title;
• bearing an ISBN assigned to or acquired by the publisher (exceptions may apply in the case of international co-publication);
• published under your imprint or under an imprint for which you have acquired publishing, management and marketing rights; and
• printed or manufactured in Canada, except for co-published books or books with an acceptable justification.

The following materials are not eligible:

• author-subsidized titles;
• directories, agendas with less than 36 pages of original editorial content, catalogues, calendars, maps or books of maps, loose-leaf updates, colouring books, sticker books or other activity books, games in the form of a book, and other similar products;
• books written by a political party or written by the paid staff of a political party;
• software;
• music recordings;
• books that contain advertising other than the publisher's own promotional material;
• periodicals published two or more times a year at regular intervals; or
• titles that, in our opinion, contain:
  • material that is hate propaganda, obscene or child pornography, or any other illegal material, as defined in the Criminal Code;
  • pornography or other material having significant sexual content unless it can be demonstrated that there is an overriding educational or other similar purpose;
  • material that contains excessive or gratuitous violence;
  • material that is denigrating to an identifiable group; and
  • any other similarly offensive material

Notes on authorship

• The author or translator is always the person to whom the book is publicly attributed. The name of the author(s) or translator(s) must appear on the outside of the cover, the spine, the title page or the copyright page.
• A book with multiple authors is considered Canadian-authored if at least one of the co-authors is Canadian.
• A collective work (e.g., an anthology) is considered Canadian-authored if at least 50% of the contributors are Canadian.
• If less than 50% of the contributors to a collective work are Canadian, the editor of the work can be considered the author if the book is clearly and publicly attributed to the editor and he or she has written a substantive preface, introduction, afterword, or conclusion to the book. The work of an editor in overseeing and guiding a book to publication is not considered authorship.
• For children's picture books only, an illustrator is considered an author.

Meeting the eligibility criteria does not guarantee funding.

Eligible expenses

Support is available to offset eligible cash expenses between April 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025, for activities that support the production, marketing and distribution of eligible books, including:

• editorial;
• design and printing;
• author development;
• author royalty and salary;
• overhead;
• managing bibliographical data;
• promotion and advertising;
• packaging and shipping,
• capital expenses; and
• travel directly related to business activities (which must not exceed the rates permitted for travel on government business).

Funding may not be used to pay dividends, bonuses or other extraordinary compensation to shareholders or owners.

We cannot fund expenses incurred before the application deadline. If you incur expenses before receiving written confirmation of your funding approval, you will be doing so at your own risk.

Limits of government assistance

To ensure the success of your organization, we encourage you to have other funding sources. This may include contributions from your organization, the private sector or other levels of government.

The total financial assistance received from the CBF’s Publishing Support sub-component and other levels of government (federal, provincial, territorial and municipal) cannot exceed 75% of your book publishing expenses, 90% of your book publishing expenses for official-language minority publishers, Indigenous publishers, publishing companies owned and controlled by members of a or small literary publishers and 100% of your book publishing expenditures for not-for-profit recipients.

If you receive funding of $100,000 or greater, you must repay the contribution if your profit margin - excluding all CBF funding - was 15% or more during your financial year in which the funding agreement was signed, and during its two preceding financial years.

How to apply

Read these Application Guidelines in their entirety before completing your application.

Contact us to request an application package.

You must meet all eligibility requirements and submit a complete application package to be considered for funding. A complete application package includes the Application Form and the following supporting documents:

• the financial statements (returning applicants with sales of Canadian-authored books during the reference year equal to or greater than $3 million, including any distribution fee adjustment, must provide audited financial statements. All other returning applicants must provide at minimum a review engagement report. Compilation Engagements (or Notice to Reader) and internal statements are not accepted. The one exception to these requirements is for first-time applicants, which can provide a Notice to Reader as part of its application package. Should a first-time applicant become a program recipient, they must submit either a review engagement report or audited financial statements in subsequent years);
• the production report;
• the business plan;
• the author payment / royalty certification report;
• the catalogue;
• the books;
• the justification for printing outside of Canada;
• the distribution contract(s);
• the confirmation of distributor’s fees;
• the incorporation papers;
• the geographic analysis report;
• the letter authorizing submission of the application; and
• the export sales certification.

Application process

Your application, including all supporting documents, must be submitted electronically through the Canadian Heritage Funding Portal.

Should you be unable to access the new online system or apply online for any reason, please contact us using the information in the Contact Us section below.

How applications are evaluated

Each application is verified and tested against program eligibility criteria. The financial viability of your organization will be evaluated against a grid of financial ratios and, in certain cases, by reviewing additional financial information. Eligible sales are used as the basis for the calculation of each grant or contribution and the funding amount is generated using a formula.

We will determine financial viability based on the publisher’s application form and supporting documentation, business plan and other information, as needed. We also reserve the right to request additional information and/or documentation from an applicant to determine eligibility.

Failure to comply with any conditions of a previously funded project will be considered in the evaluation of your new application and could result in a rejection of your new application.

Evaluation criteria

Your application will be evaluated based on the following formula.

Funding amounts from the Publishing Support sub-component of the CBF are composed of two possible amounts: a base amount and a supplementary amount based on export sales. These two amounts are determined using distinct formulas, described below.

Base amount

There are two main steps in working out the base amount of your funding amount. First, what are known as "factored sales" are calculated by multiplying domestic and export sales of eligible books — both finished products and rights — in the reference year by the appropriate sales coefficient for each category. The coefficients are shown in the table below.

Notes:

For official-language minority publishers, Indigenous publishers and publishing companies owned and controlled by members of a Racialized community, the Canadian-authored books coefficient is 5 for eligible sales of up to $100,000.

Learning Content Management Systems will be reviewed to determine the percentage of an applicant’s sales that can be attributed to content versus technology. Only content-related revenue will be considered eligible.

The second step is to allocate the budget designated for the base amounts proportionally among all recipients based on factored sales. For example, if your factored sales represented 1.2% of the total factored sales, you would receive 1.2% of the budget for Publishing Support (excluding the supplementary support based on export sales).

Supplementary amount based on eligible export sales

In addition to the base amount, a supplementary amount may be added to the funding to encourage export marketing activities for Canadian-authored titles. To benefit from the supplementary support, you must be eligible for Publishing Support in the current year, have achieved eligible export sales of at least $5,000 in the reference year, and have provided all required documentation to the CBF.

A designated budget for export marketing support will be divided proportionally among eligible applicants based on the export sales of eligible books.

First, your export sales of eligible books — of both finished products and rights — in your reference year are multiplied by the appropriate sales coefficient. The coefficients for 2024-2025 are indicated below:

The designated budget for export marketing support is then allocated among all recipients based on the factored export sales. The maximum supplementary amount based on export sales of eligible books is $55,000.

If you wish to obtain export marketing support, you must provide an export sales certification.

Total amount

The amounts that come from the two formulas are added together for the Publishing Support funding amount.

Although funding amounts are based on sales of eligible books in a previous year, the funding is intended to support an applicant's publishing program between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025.

For details on the maximum amount for members of affiliated groups, see Annex A.

Application processing time

Please refer to the Service standards for Canadian Heritage funding programs or visit the Contact Us section.

We will acknowledge receipt of your application within two weeks of receiving your application by email.

Funding decisions

Please note that decisions regarding eligibility and funding amounts are final.

How funding is provided

We will determine if funding will be disbursed as a grant or as a contribution.

A grant is a payment issued to a recipient for a project. The conditions you agreed to at the time of application will apply. At the end of your project, you may be required to submit a report and/or participate in the evaluation of results.

A contribution is a conditional payment issued for a specific purpose, as outlined in a funding agreement. The funding agreement is signed by your organization and by us and specifies the terms and conditions to receive payment. At the end of your project, you must submit a final report.

Funding conditions

You may be required to submit interim reports during your project.

Additional conditions may apply and, if applicable, will be included in your funding agreement.

For example, applicants and recipients must immediately inform the Canada Book Fund of any change of ownership. We will review a change of ownership to ensure that any funding considered, recommended or provided is consistent with the program’s eligibility requirements and objectives.

We would like to remind you that you have an obligation with regard to legal deposit. Legal deposit is the means by which a comprehensive national collection is gathered together as a record of the nation’s published heritage and development. You must, in compliance with the legal deposit provisions in the Library and Archives Canada Act, send a copy of the books produced to Library and Archives Canada. For further information, visit Legal deposit - Library and Archives Canada.

Workplace well-being

The Government of Canada is strongly committed to promoting healthy workplaces where harassment, abuse and discrimination are not tolerated. Organizations that receive funding from Canadian Heritage must take measures to create a workplace free from harassment, abuse and discrimination.

Public Health Guidance

We expect that you will act in compliance with applicable statutes, laws, bylaws, regulations, orders, codes, standards, directives and guidelines governing the activities for which funding is being sought, including those related to public health and safety due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Official languages requirements

We are committed to taking positive measures to enhance the vitality of official-language minority communities and to promote the use of English and French in Canadian society. If you receive funding, you agree to comply with the official languages requirements set out in your application and in your funding agreement.

Acknowledgement of financial assistance

If you receive funding, you must publicly acknowledge – in English and in French – the financial support received from the Government of Canada in all communications materials and promotional activities. Additional requirements may be included in your funding agreement.

For additional information, please refer to our Guide on the public acknowledgement of financial support.

Access to information requests

We are subject to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. The information you submit in your application may be disclosed in accordance with these acts.

Disclosure of information

By submitting your funding application, you authorize us to disclose any information submitted with this application within the Government of Canada or to outside entities for the following purposes:

• to reach a decision;
• to evaluate the results of the project; and
• to support transparency, accountability and citizen engagement.

Audits of recipients and evaluation of the program

We reserve the right to audit your accounts and records to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of your funding agreement. We also conduct periodic program evaluations, during which you may be required to present documentation.

You must keep any records, documents, or other information that may be required to perform the audit or the evaluation for five years. Demonstrated failure to maintain such records may result in the repayment of amounts previously received.

Contact us

For further information, please contact us:

Department of Canadian Heritage
Canada Book Fund
25 Eddy Street, 25-8-T
Gatineau, Quebec
J8X  4B5

Email

flc-sae-cbf-sfp@pch.gc.ca

Telephone

819-997-0055
1-866-811-0055 (toll-free)

TTY

1-888-997-3123 (for people who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired)

Agents are available to answer your questions Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (Eastern Time).

Glossary

Adaptation

The publication under a Canadian publisher's imprint of a foreign-authored book in its original language with either substantial changes to at least 25% of the original written content or at least 25% new content written by a Canadian author to ensure that it is suitable for the Canadian market. The adaptation and the original foreign book cannot be co-publications.

Affiliated group

A group of companies in which the same person, group of persons, or entity holds the majority of shares with full voting rights or has control in fact of these companies.

Audited financial statements

A complete set of financial statements including a statement of financial position; a statement of operations; and a statement of changes in financial position. Audited financial statements are completed by a certified accountant who is not part of your organization. The certified accountant performs auditing activities in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

Author-subsidized title

A title for which an author has made a material financial contribution that could reasonably be expected to impact the publishing decision. This includes funds going from the author to the publisher, or a related third-party, as well as an author’s obligation or commitment to purchase copies.

Book pack

A book packaged and sold together with a non-book item, such as a CD or a toy. Exception: books sold with a CD inside the cover that is not visible from the outside are not considered book packs, but are considered books.

Book publishing

Professional activity involving the selection, development and editing of manuscripts; contractual agreements with authors or copyright holders; production, marketing and/or distribution of books under the firm's imprint; and the assumption of the costs and risks associated with these activities.

Canadian

A citizen within the meaning of the Citizenship Act or a permanent resident within the meaning of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

Canadian-owned and controlled firm

A firm:

1. that is a sole proprietorship, partnership, cooperative or corporation (for profit or not for profit) established under the laws of Canada or a province;
2. whose activities are based primarily in Canada;
3. whose firm’s headquarters is based in Canada;
4. whose chairperson or presiding officer and more than half of whose directors and other similar officers are Canadian; or permanent residents within the meaning of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act;
5. if a corporation with share capital, of which Canadians beneficially own or control, other than by way of shares held only as security, directly or indirectly, in the aggregate at least 50 per cent plus 1 of all the issued and outstanding voting shares;
6. if a corporation without share capital, of which Canadians beneficially own or control, directly or indirectly, interests representing in monetary value at least 50 per cent plus 1 of the total value of the assets;
7. if a partnership, trust or joint venture, of which a Canadian or Canadian corporation or any combination of the two, beneficially own or control, directly or indirectly, interests representing in value at least 50 per cent plus 1 of the total value of the assets of the partnership, trust or joint venture, as the case may be, and of which the Chairperson or other presiding officers and more than half of the directors or other similar officers are Canadian.

If at any time one or more persons that are not Canadian have any direct or indirect influence through a trust, an agreement, an arrangement or otherwise that, if exercised, would result in control in fact of the firm, the firm is deemed not to be Canadian-owned and-controlled.

Children's book

A trade book published for the children's or young adults' markets, including picture books, easy-to-read books, chapter books and young adult books. Educational books intended for elementary school students are also considered children's books. Teacher's guides and books of reproducible material are not considered eligible children's books.

Co-authors

Two or more authors who jointly conceive and write a book and to whom the book is clearly and publicly attributed.

Co-publishing

Joint financial investment by two or more publishers to conceive, produce and print, under their respective imprints, individual titles or collections to be sold in their respective markets. Provided all other eligibility criteria are satisfied, co-published books are eligible, but applicants may claim as eligible sales only their portion of the total revenue. The partner publisher of the applicant may be foreign-owned.

Co-publishing may also include situations in which an applicant sells rights to an own eligible title to foreign publishers and coordinates production of the books. The applicant's revenues associated with such arrangements may be considered eligible export sales.

Digital edition

Digital editions differ from digital rights in that the former do not normally involve a licensing arrangement through which a third party acquires rights to produce and/or sell a title.

Digital new title

A book with more than 50% original content and that is only published in digital format.

Digital rights

Licensing by the applicant to a third party to produce and/or sell digital versions of a book, including extracts from or other derivations of a book.

Direct promotion of books by authors

Expenses directly related to the in-person promotion of books by authors.

Editor

The individual who works closely with the authors and who is responsible for overseeing and guiding the content of a book to publication. The editor may also be involved in other activities, such as manuscript revision, acquisitions and title management.

Educational book

Instructional material, such as textbooks, teachers' guides and learning kits designed for the primary, secondary or post-secondary school markets.

Ethnocultural communities

A group of people whose members identify with each other through a common heritage. An ethnocultural community or group is defined by the shared characteristics unique to, and recognized by, that group. This includes characteristics such as cultural traditions, ancestry, language, national identity, and/or country of origin.

To the extent that religion is inextricably linked to the group's racial or cultural identity, it can also be recognized as a defining characteristic. In some cases, a group may view its common origin as pan-national, or it may be based on geographic region of origin.

Ethnocultural communities may or may not overlap with racialized communities (See definition of racialized communities).

Employee

Full- and part-time paid staff working directly for the publishing firm. Owners are considered employees unless they have no active role at the firm. Independent contractors are not considered employees.

Final report

A final report is submitted at the end of your project based on the requirements in the funding agreement. Your final report needs to provide the results of the activities you have undertaken for the duration of your project.

Financial statements

A complete set of financial statements, including a statement of financial position; a statement of operations; and a statement of changes in financial position. Financial statements may be audited or unaudited.

Foreign-licensed brand Canadian-authored title

A Canadian-authored book published under an applicant’s own imprint, but based on franchise characters licenced from a foreign entity (e.g., Disney’s Mickey Mouse, Nickelodeon’s Dora the Explorer).

Imprint

The trade or brand name under which a book is published. An imprint is not a separate legal entity, and a single publishing company may have multiple imprints.

Indigenous publisher

A publisher owned and controlled by members of the Indigenous peoples of Canada, which includes First Nations, Métis and Inuit people.

Independent accountant holding a designation acceptable to the program

A professional designated a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) operating at arm's length from the applicant and from the firm or individual who maintains the applicant's financial records and statements. Applicants that wish to have their application documents prepared by an accountant holding a different designation should contact the CBF in advance.

Interim reports

Interim reports are submitted during your project based on the requirements in the funding agreement. These reports indicate the results of the activities undertaken for a specific period. In addition, they include a status report on the work to be accomplished and updated revenue and expense reports.

Learning Content Management System

Web-based software used to create, store, organize, and manage learning content.

Learning kit

A product for the primary, secondary or post-secondary school markets consisting of one or more eligible educational books packaged and sold together with other complementary materials, such as software, audiovisual material, maps or activity sheets. To be considered eligible, a learning kit must be made up of elements intrinsically linked to each other. The focal point of a learning kit must clearly be the eligible educational book(s). The entire learning kit is considered one educational title.

Net sales

Sales after trade discounts and credits for actual returns and allowances for returns have been deducted.

New applicant

An applicant that did not receive Publishing Support funding from the CBF in each of the two previous years of the program.

New title, new edition, reprint

• A new title is a book with more than 50% original content.
• A new edition is the publication in modified form of a book previously published by the same or a different publisher.
• In contrast with a new title, a book is considered a new edition if more than 50% of its content is taken from the previously published book.
• In contrast with a reprint, a new edition must have at least one of the following:
  • substantial changes in the format or binding;
  • either substantial changes to at least 25% of the original written content or at least 25% new written content; or
  • substantial changes to the illustrations, other than on the cover.

Official language minority publisher

A publisher based outside Quebec who publishes primarily in French or a publisher based in Quebec who publishes primarily in English.

Official or Indigenous-language translation

A Canadian-authored book translated by a Canadian from an official or Indigenous-language to an official or Indigenous-language.

Own titles

Titles for which the publisher holds publication, development and marketing rights for its own market.

Physical non-print editions

Physical non-print editions include audiotapes, audio CDs, CD-ROMs, DVDs, or a similar product.

Publisher

The individual who is responsible for the overall vision and direction of the publishing house as well as the entire process of producing books. The publisher is usually the ultimate editorial decision maker regarding the publishing house's output of titles.

Publishing company owned and controlled by members of a Racialized community

A publishing company that is owned and controlled by persons, other than Indigenous peoples, who are members of a Racialized community.

Racialized (person or group)

Often used to replace “visible minority,” this more nuanced term acknowledges that race is a social construct and that racialization is a process through which groups come to be socially constructed as races, based on characteristics such as ethnicity, language, economics, religion, culture and politics. It can be applied to people and attributed to them as a group in ways that negatively impact their social, political, and economic life (e.g., Black, Asian, Muslim).

Racialized communities

Communities of shared heritage who have been historically disadvantaged as a group and may experience discrimination based on colour, culture and/or race.

Rights

Licensing by the applicant to a third party to produce and/or sell print and/or digital versions of a book, including extracts from or other derivations of a book. This includes subsidiary rights, which permit the use of a book to create another work of the same nature, whether printed or not (digital book, work or extracts on a CD or any other medium, etc.). Revenues from the sale of rights to use a book to create a work of a different nature (film, video, electronic games, television program, website, music, etc.) will not be considered eligible by the CBF, nor is income derived from the sale of rights for the use of a book or element thereof (character, place, object) in order to produce and/or sell products (toys, games, cards, posters, promotional tools, etc.).

Scholarly book

A book based on research that makes a significant contribution to the development of knowledge in a given field and is subject to peer review prior to publication.

Self-published title

A publication with at least one author who is a shareholder or an owner of the publishing firm.

Small literary publisher

A publisher with sales of Canadian-authored books during the reference year of less than $400,000, who has also been awarded a Supporting Artistic Practice – Literary Publishers program grant by the Canada Council for the Arts or an operating grant from a provincial arts council in the most recent funding cycle.

Trade book

A book intended for the public in general, including literary works, how-to books, dictionaries, encyclopaedias and reference works intended for professionals. Any title that is not an educational book or a scholarly book is considered to be a trade book.

Translation

The publication under the applicant's imprint of a Canadian- or foreign-published book in a different language. A book with text in more than one language is not a translation.

Annex A: Conditions for members of affiliated groups

1. Overall limitations on funding to members of affiliated groups

No affiliated group can receive a base amount of more than $850,000 or a supplementary amount based on eligible export sales of more than $55,000. If either of these amounts is calculated to exceed the maximum, they will be lowered to the maximum amounts. Individual funding amounts to the members will be based on their shares of the total factored sales of the group for the base amount and/or the supplementary amount.

The Publishing Support funding to a newly acquired member of an affiliated group will not, however, be counted toward the group's total contribution for one program year, potentially allowing the group to exceed the maximum annual funding for that year up to an annual total of $1,500,000, including the base amount, export supplement and Business Development support. For transactions completed from September 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024, the one-year period will be applied in the 2024-2025 program year. In addition, both the acquired and the purchasing publishers (or another subsidiary or affiliate of the purchaser) must be Publishing Support recipients. An acquired publisher can benefit from this rule only once during its history as a Publishing Support recipient. A maximum of one transaction per affiliated group per program year will apply.

2. Editorial independence

In addition to the above, unless members of an affiliated group can demonstrate editorial independence, their funding will be subject to a modified calculation. Members will be considered editorially independent if their publisher and/or editor do not share time in any way with other members, and if they do not make use of the time of the publisher and/or editor of another member. If there is only one editorial staff person filling the role of both publisher and editor, that person's time must not be shared in any way with other members, and other members must not make use of the time of that person. We will determine editorial independence based on the publisher's application and supporting documentation/information, as needed.

Members of an affiliated group who submit individual applications, but fail to demonstrate editorial independence, will be subject to the following modified funding calculation:

• the members' sales will be combined for the purposes of calculating a funding amount (please note that the affected members' combined eligible sales will be subject to the corresponding sales coefficients); and
• this amount will then be pro-rated between the members, proportionally based on factored sales.

Members of affiliated groups are encouraged to contact us to discuss their status under this rule before applying.