Anybody out there seen my book?

Macleans.ca ^ | November 02, 2006 | Mark Steyn

[NorthernRight]

November 02, 2006

Anybody out there seen my book?

You won't sell my book in Canada? Why, I'm flattered

MARK STEYN

Some years ago, back when this here Internet thing that the kids are crazy over was brand new, I remember reading a piece about Amazon.com. And some fellow was wondering whether he should invest in Amazon.com. "No," said the big financial journalist, "you should be amazon.com."

From the murky slough of my memory, this thought swam up to the surface for the first time in years. The other day my new book was published -- as you may recall, if only because it was the cover story in Maclean's a couple of weeks back. Don't worry; lest you think this is a book plug, I don't think it's possible to plug a book that at the time of writing is unavailable in any Canadian bookstore coast to coast, from Gander to Victoria. Authors have always been interested in inventory, of course. I don't know whether he still does it, but for many years the "novelist" Jeffrey Archer had a habit of wandering into shops and surreptitiously autographing all copies of his books, thus rendering them unreturnable. Less motivated chaps, on discovering the local emporium has not a single copy of the magnum opus, tend just to shrug and move on to writing our next unwanted book.

Which is pretty much what I did when kind readers -- well, technically, non-readers -- wrote after the Maclean's cover story to point out that Chapters-Indigo-Coles-Smithbooks and all the many aliases of Canada's multi-appellated monopoly bookstore chain had no copies of my new book, whose title escapes me, as evidently it did Heather Reisman. Ms. Reisman, if that is indeed her name, is the proprietress of Chapters-Indigo-Aliases R Us, and is famous for ostentatiously announcing the simultaneous banning from all her chains of Mein Kampf, which is tough on visitors from the Middle East, where the new Arabic edition is a bestseller. ("Kampf" is translated as "jihad." Really.)

I can't speak for Herr Hitler and his Arabic translator, but I took a relaxed view of being excluded from the diverse Dominion. I was a walking Red Rose tea commercial: "Everywhere except Canada? Pity." I felt oddly liberated at having been deemed of no interest to Ms. Reisman's many chains: "Take these chains from my heart and set me free!" as Ray Charles observed in another context. But this is the Internet age, and so within 72 hours I'd had hundreds of emails from my compatriots demanding to know why I'd made the mistake of shipping tons of copies of the book to Des Moines and Buffalo but none to Toronto or Vancouver. And for the first few dozen, I wrote back explaining that it's certainly not that we failed to deliver to Ms. Reisman, and thus her "World's Biggest Bookstore" was reduced to filling the front tables with a groaning cornucopia of thousands of copies of unreadable anti-Bush tracts (Dumbass) faute de mieux: Chapters chose to order that stuff.

But then, what with U.S. book signings cutting into my time, my assistant started sending out form responses: "Dear Sir or Madam, Thank you for your letter complaining about being unable to find Mark's book in (delete as applicable) (a) Chapters; (b) Indigo; (c) Coles; (d-y) other wholly independent operating units of Chapters or Indigo, as the case may be; or (z) Mom 'n' Pop's Home-Style Village Bookstore."

At that point, a helpful reader at my website pointed out that Chapters' site had a convenient feature enabling one to search the inventory to find the nearest store with a copy in stock. A reader in Halifax then wrote back to say that she'd looked and there were no copies anywhere in Atlantic Canada, and after that she'd given up. Another helpful reader pointed out that there was a copy at the Chapters branch on Robson Street in Vancouver, which we passed on to the Halifax gal, as Robson Street is a convenient and easy drive from Nova Scotia. Mr. P. Mennel from Vancouver then wrote to say he'd been to the Robson Street branch and, although the computer did indeed show my book as being in the store, the clerk had been unable to find it. We posted this on my website in hopes we could catch the Halifax lady before she reached Saskatchewan.

By this stage, I was beginning to get a lot of mail along the lines of: "Ha! So Heather Reisman assured us that banning Mein Kampf was strictly a one-time deal. It seems her list has gotten a little longer . . ." Etc. I was reluctant to impute such motives to Chapters, but I did find myself recalling something Don Black, the lyricist of Born Free and To Sir With Love and Diamonds Are Forever, said to me years ago. He remarked how he always feels like a schmuck going into a Virgin Megastore or HMV and asking the extravagantly pierced young thing behind the desk for a Rosemary Clooney album. To be honest, I've always felt a bit like that in a Canadian bookstore. If they had, say, David Frum's latest on the shelf, you could at least slip it in between the Pierre Berton and the Yann Martel and hope the guy in line behind you doesn't spot it. But if it's not on the shelf and you have to ask for it . . . A gentleman in Calgary inquired about my book and was told there was no demand for it. During this exchange, two other people asked the same question of a neighbouring clerk and got the same response. There's no demand for the book, just a huge demand for the explanation that no one's demanding it.

A frustrated Mr. Robert Werner received the following written reply from Laura Blight, Indigo's "Coordinator, Selling Services & Solutions, Store Performance Department": "Wow, this title is certainly generating interest!" In everyone except Ms. Blight and her colleagues, it seems. The book was at No. 6 at Amazon.com; it was in its fourth printing in the U.S. on the day it was officially released; even at Chapters' own website, at the time of writing 83 patrons have given it an "average customer rating" of five stars (or maple leafs, inevitably), and yet Ms. Reisman lists it as "not yet available."

So in the end, we directed readers to Amazon.ca, which Chapters, you'll recall, wanted banned from the Canadian market. At Amazon.ca, the book made the week's Top 10 bestsellers on its first day and rose to No. 2, before selling out. At which point, Canadians had to go to Amazon.com and order from down south. And, if you do that, something called "the Canadian Border Services Agency" charges you a couple of bucks for GST along with a five-dollar "service fee." It seems a little odd for a service agency to sting you with a service fee for the service they're meant to provide. Rather as if Maclean's charged you the cover price and then tossed in a five-dollar "service fee" for writing and editing. But I guess calling it a "service fee" is a way to disguise what it really is: a protectionist tariff that's in breach of the NAFTA treaty. That's if they let it through. A day or two before the cover story in Maclean's was due to go to bed, I received an urgent email from the editor saying their copy had been "held at the border." Hmm.

As a Canadian, I've found it an interesting experience to be on the receiving end of the decayed Dominion's narrow definition of "cultural diversity," and the peculiarly restrictive combination of government regulation in aid of corporate monopoly, in which Ms. Reisman decides what books she's prepared to stock and the Canada Border Services Agency then imposes a shakedown fee on those that don't meet her criteria. There's nothing more damaging for a book than to get cover stories and interviews and whatnot, but for it to be unavailable in any store. And no doubt Chapters-Indigo's decision to order three copies and use them to prop up the wonky rear right-hand leg of the Dumbass display means fewer Canadians who don't already know about it will ever see my book, which is kinda sad, but weirdly lucrative. According to the CBC, in Canada a "bestseller" sells 5,000 copies. I was amazed to discover that we've already sold that many just on my little website. And a huge number of that 5,000 were shipped out to readers across Canada who'd tried and failed to buy it at Chapters-Indigo and, like Shelley Ide of Port Moody, B.C., wrote to say that "I will never set foot in a Chapters again." If Heather Reisman carries on boycotting me, I should be able to retire to Tahiti within the year.

In a way, it's very exciting. I could be the first Canadian author to win the Governor General's Award without ever selling a copy in a Canadian bookstore.

But I expect they've got rules about that, too.

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May not be reprinted or republished without permission.

This story can be found at:
http://www.macleans.ca/culture/books/article.jsp?content=20061106_135622_135622

[NorthernRight]

The book America Alone: The End Of The World As We Know It is apperntly "banned" in Canada. Or at least isn't available at our monopoly bookseller, Chapters/Indigo/Coles/whatever...

As well, CAIR Canada, has attempted to get Steyn fired rom his position as a columnist for Macleans Magazine:
Fire Mark Steyn,...???
and,
CAIR vs. Mark Steyn.

Apparemntly CAIR is all hot and bothereed over a "derogatory" column Mark wrote.

Well, this ought to be fun!!!

[beyond the sea]

Anyone seen this :

http://img301.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mariaphotoshoot13jr7cl.jpg

[Bigh4u2]

"Has anybody out there seen my book?"

Yes.

About 7 posts down.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1731014/posts

[toddlintown]

Hey...anybody seen my book? They sell it in Canada.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1569803129/ref=pd_rvi_gw_1/002-0463541-7587226

[NorthernRight]

And I did a "search" and everything. Oh well. The more, the much, I guess.

[Bigh4u2]

Sometimes I find it easier to search on the authors name.

[NorthernRight]

Of course. That's where I got mine from. Certainly not from Chapters!!!!

[listenhillary]

Funny!

[Rummyfan]

Hilarious!

[aculeus]

Thanks for posting!

[fanfan]

MARK STEYN and Canada ping.

Please send me a FReepmail to get on or off this Canada ping list.

[fanfan]

Another helpful reader pointed out that there was a copy at the Chapters branch on Robson Street in Vancouver, which we passed on to the Halifax gal, as Robson Street is a convenient and easy drive from Nova Scotia.

ROFLOL!

[kanawa]

Bought Chapters gift certificates for Christmas presents last year
and was planning to buy the next Potter installment there.
They won't be getting my business now.

[GMMAC]

FYI, Heather Reisman & her Indigo/Chapters book selling empire somewhat explained in my post #39 here.

[mickey blue eyes]

if it/s the koran , I heard a flush

[firebrand]

Bookstores? Who needs them bleepin bookstores?

[VOA]

bump

[stainlessbanner]

Fitting headline for you, partisan

[since 1854]

I'd rather read his columns on-line.

[Unrepentant VN Vet]

Gosh, I'm close enough to the border that I could buy a "few" of Steyn's book down here in Montana and sorta bootleg (or would that properly be geltoob, since I'm running stuff NORTH?) books up to the provinces.

With my luck, I'd be stopped by my RCMP cousin and spend the next month locked away in his den, sipping on Canuk beer and catching up on family gossip while my loot sat out in the cold.

[GMMAC]

If you've ever noted the difference between the U.S. & Canadian list prices pre-printed on many books, you'll have seen it's considerably more than the exchange rate on the dollars.

Plus, Ms. Reisman sells a heck of a lot of her books at full pop &, even when she doesn't, a discount in excess of 30% is pretty much unheard of other than on very old stock being remaindered out.

I've bought books via the Internet which, aside from providing me with the satisfaction of not dealing with the Indigo empire, still ended up 15-20% cheaper even after factoring in shipping & exchange.

Bottom line FRiend: if today's gasoline prices aren't enough to scuttle your bootlegging scheme, the reality of e-commerce most certainly is.

[NorthernRight]

Obsequious timidity.

That's what it is. I'll bet the reason that Reisman refuses to carry Steyn's book is fear of Muslim outrage.

Steyn is pretty hard on Muslims, and pulls no punches with them. And that's why Reisman refuses to carry the book, Fear of Muslims boycotting, trashing or vandalizing her stores.

[Dustbunny]

We buy all our books from Amazon but that is because we live in the sticks and the nearest book store is 80 miles away.

[Blind Eye Jones]

I tried to find his book in two Chapters store here in London, Ontario, and they supposedly had one listed in their computer at one of the stores but nobody could actually find it on the shelves. Ironic, that Riesman (a rich, powerful Jewish family) now supposedly supports the Conservatives, forgoing their trendy leftist stance due to Harper's support of Israel's right to defend itself in the last war. And here you have Mark Styne writing a book about Islamic over population and the threat it posses, not only to Jews and Israel but the rest of the western world, and it is nowhere to be found in Canada. Is this some kind of weird technical error or is there some kind of cruel, duplicitous conniving involved at high levels? Why is Dumbass in the store and Mark being portrayed as the dumbass not in the stores? Have the Riesmans really given up the socialist ghost -- and there really is a lot of anti Bush books in these stores -- or have they resorted back to their default leftist position? Hard to tell. I don't envy Mark and this is a bummer about a book which, I have heard, is a bummer to read.

[NorthernRight]

Steyn's book can't be found in Canada

Author says bookstore chain 'boycotting' best-seller

Andrew Duffy
CanWest News Service

A Canadian author's book about the need to defend Western civilization against Islam's demographic juggernaut -- and the United States' vital role in that effort -- has become a best-seller in the United States, but remains all but impossible to buy at stores in this country.

Conservative columnist Mark Steyn's book America Alone has shot up best-seller lists: It stands at 13th on The New York Times list and 23rd on Amazon.com.

But Canada's largest book seller, Indigo Books and Music Inc., does not have the book in stock at its Chapters outlets or its other book-selling subsidiaries.

Mr. Steyn has charged that Indigo and its chief executive officer, Heather Reisman, underestimated demand for his book as a means of "boycotting" it.

His publisher made several attempts to persuade Indigo that its first order of several hundred books was inadequate, he said.

Mr. Steyn wrote in Maclean's, "If Heather Reisman carries on boycotting me, I should be able to retire to Tahiti within the year."

Sorya Gaulin, vice-president of public relation for Indigo, sought to quell the brouhaha yesterday, saying the company has in no way sought to boycott the book.

The company offered America Alone for sale as soon as it came out in September, but it quickly sold out, she said. Ms. Gaulin could not say how many books were originally ordered.

"Upon realizing we had grossly underestimated the demand for this title, Indigo immediately reordered several thousand more books, but Mr. Steyn's U.S. publisher was unable to fulfill our order because they, too, underestimated demand in the U.S. and Canada," Ms. Gaulin said.

Like other book stores in Canada, Indigo is now waiting for shipments that are expected to arrive this month, she said.

Mr. Steyn's U.S. publisher, Regnery, has said the book is in reprint and that all back orders will be filled.

The company did not respond to inquiries yesterday.

In Ottawa, the Steyn book is available neither at Chapters nor at such independent bookstores as Nicholas Hoare. A clerk at the Nicholas Hoare bookstore said the book has been difficult to obtain for Canadian retailers.

"Our speculation is that they're keeping the book in stock in the States because of the demand there," said the clerk, who identified herself as Stephanie.

A Canadian citizen, Mr. Steyn lives in New Hampshire with his wife and three children. He is a former National Post columnist and now writes for the Atlantic Monthly, Maclean's and the Western Standard, among other publications.

In an e-mail exchange, Mr. Steyn yesterday said the excuses of Canadian book sellers, who insisted there was no demand for his book, are increasingly hilarious.

In Canada, he said, there are enough copies of Jules Carlysle's Dumbass "to carpet the Arctic Circle," but no one thought enough of his book to order sufficient copies.

"I can understand that there are products one might consider it prudent to restrict distribution of -- certain Canadian novels spring to mind -- but, oddly enough, my publishers prefer the old-fashioned model: They're in the bookselling business not the book-withholding business.

"My advice to Canadian readers is drive over to the Buffalo Barnes & Noble and smuggle it back in, cunningly hidden under the Algerian terrorist in the back seat."

In his book, Mr. Steyn asserts that Western nations must become more culturally assertive to counter the transformative influence of their growing Muslim populations. "Those self-detonating Islamists in London and Gaza are a literal baby boom," he writes.

One reviewer, Mona Charen of the National Review, said of his book: "I've never read such an amusing book about such a grim subject."

A Canadian citizen, Mr. Steyn lives in New Hampshire with his wife and three children. He is a former National Post columnist and now writes for the Atlantic Monthly, Macleans and the Western Standard, among other publications.

© National Post 2006

[GMMAC]

"Obsequious timidity."

Think I'd put my money on:
'residual knee-jerk liberalism' and/or hiring policies at Indigo which reflect as much since it's reasonable to assume Reisman isn't directly involved in every single purchasing/marketing decision.

Also, given Reisman's pretty much always worn her Zionism on her sleeve, it's doubtful she's suddenly become any more mindful of Muslims' ever fragile sensibilities.
(see the linked comment within my post #14 above if you haven't already)

[Candor7]

Liberals and Liberal book sellers are rank sociopaths, and should be treated as such.

Sociopath defined:

"A personality disorder characterized by chronic antisocial behavior and violation of the law and the rights of others."

http://www.answers.com/topic/antisocial-personality-disorder

[Tal Bachman]

Hi

Just saw this thread as I was browsing round the internet about this Mark Steyn/Indigo controversy. Here's a bit of info for you.

I emailed Heather Reisman a couple of days ago about this issue, the day after I'd chatted with Mark about it at a get-together in Toronto. I emailed Reisman because, as a big fan of Mark's, I was planning on writing a guest editorial for Jonathan Kay at the National Post, calling Reisman to task for her alleged boycott.

Reisman emailed me back saying she "absolutely and of course" would be carrying Mark's book, that she was a big fan of Mark's writing, that she was disappointed this rumour continued to be circulated despite her having sent a note to Mark explaining there was no boycott at all, that they had an order for four thousand copies in to Regnery but that there was a wait since they had to print more copies, and that if I wanted, she would personally notify me as soon as the books arrived.

I sent a note to one of Mark's assistants about this the day before yesterday, but have not heard back.

My best guess is that Chapters/Indigo, like many other parties, including fans of Mark's, simply underestimated the demand for the book (according to Mark, the initial order was 200 copies), and under-ordered. Since there is an implication here of political bias, which may be real but which I have not seen solid evidence of, I should note that Reisman and her husband publicly resigned their membership in the Liberal Party last August (no small thing for establishment Torontonians), and that she and five others took out a newspaper ad that same month praising Stephen Harper's government for their support of Canada's democratic ally, Israel.

I am a big fan of Mark's, but I suggest people use caution before jumping on the "stomp Chapters" bandwagon. It may be the result of simple misunderstanding.