Lament for a Literature: The Collapse of Canadian Book Publishing

by Richard Stursberg

Genres: Nonfiction

100 pages, Paperback

Published January 27, 2026

Reviews

[Stephanie]

I make a point of reading everything I can get my hands on about Canadian publishing and cultural policy. Lament for a Literature amounts to little more than an attack on DEI policies. Though the author traces policy failings that have left the industry in peril, the work contains no footnotes, bibliography or citations of any kind. I also found multiple factual errors: he doesn’t accurately describe fair dealing (neglecting to mention that it allows up to 10% of a work to be copied—I agree that the policy has been harmful, but it’s a policy a lot of librarians love and fight for, so why not explore it in a little more depth?) He also claims that “no new publishing houses” apart from Sutherland House have been opened in the past twenty years—I can name at least five. He actively laments the decline of history on the bestseller lists—readers might draw the conclusion from his remarks that Canadian presses no longer publish works of history—but this too isn’t true. All the university presses publish history. It’s historians themselves who have grown critical of sweeping histories that contain a single overarching narrative and pay homage to “great figures” this doesn’t mean that quality works of engaging Canadian history are not being produced. Stursberg frequently laments the titles that make up best seller lists, without acknowledging the fact that a lot of culture happens outside of the best seller lists. Apart from co-op money, he never talks about the challenges smaller firms face when it comes to marketing books or address the benefits that extra marketing dollars could yield.

I also find it interesting that he lays so much of the blame for “cultural decline” at the feet of DEI initiatives, when attacking those initiatives has lately become a hallmark of the Trump administration’s policies. If DEI did in fact erode a sense of Canadian-ness than why are current separatist sentiments most strongly felt in Alberta—the province where American-style book bans have lately become the policy du jour?

In an industry that heavily employs women (including as owners/senior leaders of many publishing firms) the author only thanks men in his acknowledgments, and does not breathe a word about children’s publishing at all.

There are some interesting policy suggestions made in the book’s final pages, but I was too fatigued with the book to engage heavily with them. They could have been a substack post.

If you’re interested in Canadian book policy, forego this one and read “The Handover” instead.

[Faye]

Ugh. I got tired of saying out loud, "Well, that's not true" or "I disagree" or "Have I been living under a rock or have you?" so I quit reading this. No, Richard Stursberg, DEI and non-white-authored memoirs have not caused the "complete collapse" of Canadian literature.

Honestly, if this had been written 5 years ago, I might have been worried. But I've seen the renewed interest in all things Canadian over the past few months, so I have a feeling we're going to be okay.

[Brendan D · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cogent, compellingly systematic look at the history and present economic, social and political reasons for the decline of the industry. I can only guess that the very negative reviews collected here so far are in malevolent response to the author’s critique of DEI overzealousness.

[Alberta Views Magazine]

The demise of print culture has long been forecast due to the rise of digital media, but Canada perhaps leads the world in hastening its decline. Unlike the strict regulation of radio and television by the CRTC, which requires both Canadian ownership and content, Ottawa has done little to enforce its competition laws or foreign ownership limits in print media. The result in newspaper publishing, which I study, now sees US hedge funds owning 98 per cent of our dominant chain, Postmedia, despite a supposed 25 per cent limit on foreign ownership. Postmedia gobbled up the historic Southam chain in 2010, added Sun Media in 2014, and more recently took over Atlantic Canada’s Brunswick News in 2022 and Saltwire Network in 2024 without a peep from Ottawa. Local news provision has been devastated from coast to coast as a result, while more than $500-million in debt payments has flowed south from our newspaper industry to the hedge funds.

The story in book publishing is similar and is ably told by Richard Stursberg in Lament for a Literature, which documents in only 88 pages of text the collapse of Canada’s book business over the past 20 years, deeming it now the “weakest domestically owned publishing sector in the industrialized world.”

Review by Marc Edge
Full review at https://albertaviews.ca/lament-for-a-...

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

This slim volume is a must read for anyone even slightly interested in preserving Canadian cultural identity. (Regrettably, too many Canadians may not even be aware there is a threat, or even a need.) Cultural identity is essential for social cohesion, and however difficult it is to define it, or its many elusive parts, attention should be paid. Canadian books, by and about Canadians, is a one such part.
Stursberg gives us a brief history lesson as to how the Canadian book industry (sellers, publishers and authors) has reached such a low and vulnerable point. It’s an easy and eye-opening read.
While I may not agree with all his solutions (heavy on government agency) or that he has offered all the possible solutions to thriving in this critical cultural element – preserving and advancing a positive image of itself for Canadians – there should be little doubt this needs active attention from the federal government, and from all Canadians.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stursberg argues Canlit is dying because of the amalgamation of publishing houses that used to be based in Canada and prioritize Canadian work, the shift to personal identity rather than national identity, the shift from history and culture to memoir, and the Canadian authors who do rise to the top setting their stories in places other than Canada. I agree with the person who says it would have benefited from footnotes and/or a list of material referenced. It was nevertheless an interesting read.

[Adrineh]

I have a lot of thoughts about this book, but best I discuss them with other book publishing professionals before sharing them publicly online!