Territorialism has become increasingly prominent in corporate publishing, with both consolidation and globalization playing a role. These days, Canadian agents must weigh the financial benefits of combined North American deals against the marketing advantages of separate Canadian publication.

“If Canada is sold off before the Americans consider the work, some of the Big Five will pass without North American rights on offer, unless the author is a preexisting bestseller or competition for the U.S. is significant,” says Samantha Haywood, president of the Toronto-based Transatlantic Agency. “Corporate publishers with U.S. and Canada teams that acquire together for North America are strong contenders in my auctions.” While selling Canada-only rights enhances a title’s domestic marketing focus, she adds, “it’s seen as harder to create a major bestseller, at least internationally, as a Canada-only publication.”

Haywood, a former president of the Professional Association of Canadian Literary Agents, joined Transatlantic in 2004, after working in international rights at Random House. The agency represents authors including Khaled Hosseini, Iain Reid, and Jesse Thistle.

Sam Hiyate, president of the Rights Factory, another prominent agency based in Toronto, points to emergence of online bookselling as a contributing factor in the push to control rights in more territories. “The moment that Amazon became a big player, suddenly everybody wanted world English rights because all you had to do was put it on Amazon and you could export it,” he says. “Most of the time movement on a book originates from an American offer, because only then the Canadians will jump.”

The Rights Factory, which specializes in debut authors, started representing Americans “because I realized it was easier to sell an American writer to an American publisher than a Canadian,” Hiyate explains. “I thought, okay, well, if Canadian writers could have American agents, we can have whatever clients we want.”

Hiyate has adopted the slogan “agenting without borders” and has 16 affiliate agents across the world. He says his agency now represents approximately equal numbers of Canadian and international authors, with American submissions increasing. Recent successes include bestsellers Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close and More by Molly Roden Winter.

Both agents take time to praise independent Canadian publishers, including Biblioasis, Coach House, Cormorant, and ECW, for their ability to find and champion overlooked literary talent. But they also note that Canadian publishers are becoming more commercially minded—a significant shift. “There was a period when every Canadian writer writing genre had to get either an American agent or deal because the Canadians were so focused on literature,” Hiyate says. “The difference is visible on the Canadian bestseller lists.”

This stronger sales for commercial titles doesn’t preclude the existing appetite for stories that center on Canadian culture, from history to hockey. One of the strongest growth areas has been the promotion of Indigenous storytelling. “Indigenous writers are working across all genres, and their stories can command a lot of attention and budget from our publishers,” Haywood says. “That is something incredibly exciting and special to our marketplace.”

Looking ahead, the agents are sanguine about the book business, despite the territorial issues and threats from AI and other digital distractions. “I’ve been in this business for over 30 years now, and I’m optimistic that we’re going to find a way through,” Hiyate says. “I just don’t know what it looks like.”

The shifting landscape, both commercial and political, has fundamentally changed how these agents and their agencies approach their business. As Canadians, with their modest home market overshadowed by the U.S., they have been forced to become experts on the global market as well.

“Canadians are more outward looking as a culture than our American cousins,” Haywood notes. “That shines through in the interests and subjects of our writers.”

And when your job is selling books to the world, that surely gives you an edge.

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