Canada Book Fund Publishers Business Development — Business Planning

• Publishing internships: Up to 50% of total eligible expenses or $15,000; up to 75% or $22,500 for Indigenous interns, interns from a Racialized community, official language minority communities, or interns with a print disability.
• Technology internships: Up to 70% of total eligible expenses or $20,000; up to 90% or $20,000 for Indigenous interns, interns from a Racialized community, official language minority communities, or interns with a print disability.
• Business planning: Up to 50% of eligible project-related costs or $50,000; up to 75% or $50,000 for Indigenous publishers, publishing companies owned and controlled by members of a Racialized community, or official language minority publishers.
• Combined government assistance (federal, provincial, territorial, municipal) cannot exceed 75% of total expenditures; 90% for designated publisher types; 100% for not-for-profit recipients.

• The applicant must be an individual publishing firm that received funding from either the Publishing Support sub-component of the Canada Book Fund’s Support for Publishers component in 2023-2024, or from the most recent Canada Council for the Arts’ Supporting Artistic Practice – Literary Publishers program.
• The business planning project must contribute to the development of a business plan, succession plan, or strategic plan related to significant business shifts.
• The applicant must submit a complete application package, including all required forms and supporting documents.

Who is eligible?

• Individual publishing firms that received funding from the Publishing Support sub-component of the Canada Book Fund's Support for Publishers component in 2023-2024
• Individual publishing firms that received funding from the most recent funding cycle from the Canada Council for the Arts’ Supporting Artistic Practice – Literary Publishers program

Who is not eligible

• Companies that are not individual publishing firms.
• Companies that did not receive funding from the Canada Book Fund's Support for Publishers component or from the Canada Council for the Arts’ Supporting Artistic Practice – Literary Publishers program in the specified reference year.
• Companies whose main activity is not book publishing according to the program's definition.
• Companies that are not Canadian-owned and controlled.
• Companies affiliated with applicants who have already received recent support, as multiple applications from affiliated groups may be deprioritized.

Eligible expenses

• Intern salary and benefits during the project period.
• Professional development costs for training interns who are Indigenous, from a Racialized community, from an official language minority community, or have a print disability (excluding travel and accommodation expenses).
• Fees to an independent third party for research, analysis of business strategies, and preparation and presentation of a business plan.
• Executive training costs related to business plan development (excluding salaries, travel, and accommodation expenses for owners, executives, and employees).
• Administration fees related to the project.

Eligible geographic areas

• Companies established and primarily operating in Canada.

• Alignment of the project with the objectives of the Canada Book Fund.
• Quality and clarity of project planning.
• Demonstrated organizational capacity to successfully undertake the project.
• Funding priority may be given to projects proposed by publishing companies owned and controlled by members of a Racialized community, official language minority, or Indigenous publishing firms, or to projects that emphasize innovative technology strategies.
• Preference may be given to applicants that have not received recent support for similar projects.

• If the application deadline falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, it is automatically extended to the next working day.
• The Canada Book Fund emphasizes compliance with anti-racism, anti-hate, and workplace well-being policies.
• Recipients must publicly acknowledge financial assistance in both English and French in all communications related to the funded project.
• Organizations are required to maintain project records for five years for potential audits or evaluations.