Launched in 2015 by the Association of Book Publishers of BC, Read Local BC is a project that celebrates the vibrant community of authors, publishers, bookstores, and libraries that make up our province’s literary landscape.
The project originated as a series of events held annually to encourage the public to support our local industry by reading, sharing, and purchasing BC-published books. To date, Read Local BC has featured the works of BC publishers at readings and literary gatherings held in cities throughout the province, including Fernie, Haida Gwaii, Prince George, Salt Spring Island, Vancouver, Victoria, and Williams Lake.
Read Local BC now offers year-round promotions, a website with recent BC-publisher news and events, and dedicated social media. The project has changed but the vision remains the same: to highlight the diversity and accomplishments of BC publishers and to encourage reading, sharing, and buying of BC-based books year-round.
We would like to acknowledge that the Read Local BC initiatives take place on the traditional unceded territories of Indigenous peoples. The Association of Book Publishers of BC is based in Vancouver, which is the unceded land of the the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. The member publishers of the Association are located across the province; approximately 95 percent of British Columbia is unceded Indigenous land. There are many distinct First Nations in BC and we at Read Local BC feel very fortunate and thankful to also call this place home.
Regarding Editorial Content:
The content on Read Local BC highlights the members of the Association of Book Publishers of BC. We also feature BC authors, poets, booksellers, and people with strong ties to the BC literary and publishing landscape. Our goal is to shine light on books written by British Columbian and Canadian authors, with a special (but not exclusive) focus on books published by our member publishers.
The views and opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Association of Book Publishers of British Columbia, the organization behind Read Local BC.