So far this year, Penguin Random House Canada is seeing an uptick in sales across multiple categories. CEO Kristin Cochrane attributes success to the surge in Canadian pride that has taken hold since President Donald Trump took office in the U.S.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince February, we have seen an incredible rise of national pride in all sectors of the economy,\u201d Cochrane told PW. For books, this has manifested in an increased consumer interest in Canadian-authored titles.<\/p>\n
One book in particular has been a standout: Values, by Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, originally published in 2021, leaped back onto the bestseller list after the publisher reissued the book with a new preface. It is one of PRHC\u2019s bestselling books of the year, second only to romance superstar Carley Fortune\u2019s One Golden Summer.<\/p>\n
In nonfiction, Cochrane says the company is seeing a socially and politically engaged readership picking up such memoirs as Omar El Akkad\u2019s One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This and David A. Robertson\u2019s 52 Ways to Reconcile, both published by McClelland & Stewart. A paperback reprint of CBC host Carol Off\u2019s At a Loss for Words, a national bestseller, will be released in October. In it, Off looks at the current interpretation of six words: freedom, democracy, truth, woke, choice, and taxes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn fiction, romance has been hot for the last few years, and we\u2019re seeing no signs of that changing,\u201d Cochrane says, pointing to Fortune\u2019s sustained success. \u201cThat Carley is Canadian and the books are set in Canada has been an extra boon to sales.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fantasy and horror represent other growth areas, particularly with Random House Canada\u2019s publication of Imani Erriu\u2019s Heavenly Bodies romantasy series. Cochrane is particularly looking forward to Final Orbit, the fiction debut of Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, famous for his 2013 rendition of David Bowie\u2019s \u201cSpace Oddity\u201d on the International Space Station.<\/p>\n
This year, the publisher championed two major Indigenous-focused initiatives. David A. Robertson\u2019s Indigenous children\u2019s imprint Swift Water Books has launched at Tundra Books, and McClelland & Stewart introduced Kanata Classics, described by Cochrane as \u201ca backlist series that explores the Indigenous\u2013settler dialogue.\u201d This series features a half dozen titles so far, including Nishga by Jordan Abel, Bear by Marian Engel, and Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese. \u201cCanadian and American readers continue to seek knowledge and be educated about Indigenous history and its impact and influence on Canada through books,\u201d Cochrane says.<\/p>\n
PRHC\u2019s fall list also includes two collections of letters from Indigenous writers, activists, and thinkers co-edited by sisters Sara Sinclair and Stephanie Sinclair (the publisher of McClelland & Stewart): one for adults, A Steady Brightness of Being, and another for children, You Were Meant for This World. Also coming in fall are memoirs from two of the country\u2019s best-known writers: A Truce That Is Not Peace by Miriam Toews and Book of Lives by Margaret Atwood. Atwood\u2019s novels The Edible Woman and The Heart Goes Last, the MaddAddam Trilogy, and others have all been repackaged by the publisher.<\/p>\n
Topical nonfiction includes Smartphone Nation by Kaitlyn Regehr and We Breed Lions by Rick Westhead and Stephen Brunt. \u201cWe\u2019re also publishing several books that reveal aspects of our country that others might not see\u2014for example, Vanished Beyond the Map, a true exploration of the Arctic wilderness by Canada\u2019s greatest modern explorer, Adam Shoalts,\u201d Cochrane says.<\/p>\n
Canada\u2019s cultural diversity is one of its key strengths and differentiators. To capitalize on this resource, Cochrane says, \u201ceach imprint at Penguin Random House Canada is broadening the perspectives of its editorial teams with new hires, our Read Canada cross-platform marketing campaign, and new imprints and programs to ensure as many Canadians as possible see themselves in the books we publish.\u201d<\/p>\n