Purpose
The program supports Ontario-based, Canadian-owned book and magazine publishers that publish works of literary, artistic or cultural importance for the general public. There are two categories:
- Book publishers: Organizations that publish books in print or digital format as their primary activity. Some publishers may publish magazines or journals as a secondary activity
- Magazine publishers: Organizations that publish magazines in print or digital format as their primary activity. Some publishers may publish books as a secondary activity
Eligible applicants
Organizations must:
- be Canadian-owned and —controlled (see definition under Program-specific Definitions, below) with its head office (at least 50 per cent of employees and editorial, management and financial control) in Ontario
- have been operating as an Ontario-based publisher for at least two years (excepting affiliated companies (see definition below)
- have at least $75,000 in total revenues for the last fiscal year, and in projected revenues for the current and requested years (for applicants not currently receiving funding from this program)
- have completed at least two years of sustained, regular, ongoing programming in its community as of the application date (for publishers, publication is considered programming)
- have book and/or magazine publishing as their primary activity
- be free to make their own editorial decisions and sign contracts in their own name
- conduct the majority of their publishing activity in English. (Funding for Ontario-based, French-language publishers is available through OAC’s édition francophone — fonctionnement program.)
- be governed by a board of directors or an advisory body solely responsible for the publisher (exception: sole proprietorships and private companies)
- have a range of revenue sources such as private and government
- have proof of sound financial management
- submit verification of financial results of the last completed fiscal year with their application. The type of financial statement required depends on the amount of your grant request and the size of the organization’s annual budget, as follows:
- requests over $50,000 from not-for-profit organizations: audited financial statements
- requests over $25,000: review engagement (or, if available, audited financial statements)
- requests $25,000 and under, unaudited financial statement (or, if available, review engagement or audited financial statement)
All financial statements must be verified or prepared by an independent auditor or chartered or certified accountant.
We will reduce your grant request to an eligible level if you do not provide the type of financial statement required.
Organizations that publish both books and magazines apply in the category responsible for the largest share of revenue related to eligible publishing activity. The distinct eligibility criteria for book and magazine publishers will be applied on that basis.
Book publishers must:
- demonstrate a significant and ongoing trade book publishing program. New applicants must have at least six eligible trade books (see eligible and ineligible books sections under Program-specific Definitions, below)
- have published at least three eligible trade books in the previous calendar year
- have published at least 10 eligible books in the previous calendar year if the books make up less than 25 per cent the total annual book publishing program
- have established a marketplace presence through bookstore distribution and marketing
- have devoted less than 25 per cent of its previous year’s publishing to books authored by its owners, staff, editors or their families
- provide authors with a signed contract before announcing books, regularly issue clear royalty statements and fully meet all royalty and contractual commitments, as defined in its contracts with authors, illustrators and translators
Magazine publishers must:
- publish (print or online) at least two issues a year, or post original online content at least 40 times a year
- have an identified readership and an appropriate distribution method to reach it
- pay writers and artists established fees, issue contributor contracts prior to publication, and have fully met your contractual commitments to your contributors
- be dedicated to the publication of original fiction and poetry and/or critical commentary on the arts, culture and society
- have and follow a clear policy with respect to the use of contributors’ writing and intellectual property
Magazines that primarily reach their audience through print:
- must either have a paid circulation (single copies, subscriptions, back issues) of at least 50 per cent of the copies printed or derive at least 25 per cent of revenues from advertising sales and have at least 60 per cent of the magazine devoted to editorial content
Magazines that primarily reach their audience through a website or other digital media:
- must either receive significant traffic to their online magazine (at least 2,000 unique hits per month), or demonstrate a dedicated readership (via sales reports from digital retailers, regular visitors who provide their email addresses for updates, RSS subscribers, crowdfunding donors, social media conversion analytics, etc.)
Magazines linked with associations:
- may only report on copies sold or readership of non-members as circulation
Free circulation print magazines:
- must show clear evidence of a dedicated readership via distribution reports, reader surveys, etc.
Important:
- If your publisher is within a multi-purpose institution (i.e., university, museum, municipality), you must clearly demonstrate your independence by being able to fulfill all OAC eligibility requirements separately and distinctly from the multi-purpose institution.
- This includes a fully segregated and itemized financial statement specifically for the revenues and expenses of the publisher.
- Publishers within a multi-purpose institution must be governed by a board of directors or an advisory body solely responsible for the publisher.
Read the Guide to OAC Operating Programs for more eligibility information.
To apply
Complete and submit an application in Nova, OAC’s online grant application system. You will be able to do this about two months before the deadline.
Before applying, you must:
Your application includes:
- your answers to the application questions
- book publishers: one copy of each eligible book published in the last calendar year
- magazine publishers: two copies of each issue published in the 12 months prior to the program deadline
- book publishers: a PDF of your most recent trade catalogue or a link to a BookNet CataList version of this catalogue
- PDF of up to 20 pages extracted from eligible books or magazines published in the last year
- companies that publish books and magazines should submit both with their application
- support documents: financial and statistical information through our Excel form and financial statements for your organization’s last completed year
Complete instructions and requirements are in the application in Nova.
For information on how assessors rate applications see the Evaluation Rubric - Operating Programs.