Vancouver is losing one of its largest publishers as the company moves to focus on its distribution business. The strong Canadian dollar has been blamed for the having a negative impact on the Canadian book market. From the cbc.ca website:
In interviews on Monday, Raincoast marketing vice-president Jamie Broadhurst said that, in response, the company dramatically dropped its suggested retail prices by 20 per cent. He described the shuttering of the publishing program as a tough but necessary measure.
Raincoast Books to ditch publishing arm
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
This means a loss of jobs in both Vancouver and Ontario, and a loss of yet another publisher of Canadian books.
Kirsti Anne Wakelin | picture book illustration 
Ugh, this is so depressing. I lost a contract because of this. I’m wondering if I should look south. On a lighter note, Your stuff is fabulous! I’m glad I found your blog.
It is depressing. And I’m sorry to hear that you lost a contract in this. I know quite a few local authors and illustrators who’ve been affected by this and you all have my sympathy.
Sadly, this seems to be the general theme for most Canadian publishers – children’s books seemingly the worst off since they are so expensive to produce. After listening to quite a few interviews with other Canadian publishers (not in relation to this Raincoast issue, mind you), the business looks pretty bleak on the financial front. I’m not sure what the answer is.
But yes, on a lighter note, thanks for stopping by and having a look around and I appreciate the compliment!