TORONTO — One of Canada’s oldest book distributors, Thomas Allen & Son, will close its doors at the end of March next year.
Jim Allen, the president and CEO, says the move is due to “ongoing consolidation” in the publishing industry and the upending of “traditional book distribution practices.”
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The company, which distributes books, stationery and calendars to bookstores, libraries, and other retailers, says Richmond Hill, Ont.-based Firefly Books will take over the distribution rights for the American and Canadian publishers it works with.
In a statement, Allen says “key staff” from Thomas Allen & Son will be offered contracts at Firefly Books.
It is not immediately clear how many people will lose their jobs.
Allen says plans for the closure were made in 2021 after Workman Publishing, whose books and calendars made up a significant portion of his company’s annual sales, was acquired by Hachette Book Group. Hachette handles its Canadian distribution in-house.
Thomas Allen Ltd. was founded in 1916, and published books by Nellie McClung, William Lyon Mackenzie King and Agatha Christie.
Three decades later, the founder’s son, Forbes Duncan Allen, joined the company and built up the distribution business.
Jim Allen is the fourth Allen to helm the company, and in 2000 he launched a renewed publishing division, Thomas Allen Publishers, which he sold to Dundurn Press in 2012.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2022.
