Hi. Thank you so much.
I'm a Winnipeg resident and a writer. I think I represent probably about 50 other writers who couldn't make it tonight for maybe obvious reasons.
I'm the author of three novels. I take writing very seriously. I'm here to talk, I guess, from the position of a creator. I see it as a means to tell stories that will change the way people think about the world.
For example, my most recent novel, The Opening Sky, is about a middle-class family living in my own city. It looks at the psychic weight and the moral dilemmas of being a thoughtful citizen in a changing world and a changing climate.
I heard that shot about using your time to say how great you are. I don't want to do that, but I want to say that my work has been relatively successful and has been nominated for prizes like the Governor General's Literary Award, the Scotiabank Giller Prize, and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. I want to say that because it sort of frames the challenges that writers face even when their work is relatively successful.
I want you to note that my average annual income over the 13 years that I've been writing, from direct income from writing, from royalties and advances, is $3,385. That's because I spend three or four years on each book.
In the precarious economics of book publishing, creators are served a very small slice of the pie. I make less than $2 for every book that is sold. Licensing fees for photocopying my work may not seem like a huge sum, but in 2011, the cheque I received from Access Copyright was 15% of my writing income. Of course, that's dropped now. This year it was $168.
Unlicensed photocopying strikes creators as illegal publishing. It feels like a theft of copyright. It feels like pirating. I'm baffled at the logic of educational institutions that want Canadian ideas and stories to challenge and shape the thinking of students and then set about stealing this work from its creators.
Thank you.