A Precarious Enterprise

The period from the late 1960s to the millennium was a golden era in Canadian book publishing. English-speaking Canada has always been one of the world’s toughest publishing markets, with massive American competition, but after the Centennial in 1967, Canadians were hungry to read their own stories. A new generation of publishers stepped up, dedicated to providing them. For 42 years, Vancouver-based Douglas & McIntyre (D&M) was one of the best.

Founded in 1971 by the late Jim Douglas and his younger colleague Scott McIntyre, D&M mined the rich resources of British Columbia’s unique culture to produce books of regional, national and international importance. In A Precarious Enterprise, McIntyre chronicles the company’s inspiring rise and unexpected fall.

The partners’ idealism was grounded by experience in book sales and marketing. They understood cash flow as well as good writing and design. An early success was the children’s classic Johann’s Gift to Christmas by Jack Richards, an international bestseller. The Days of Augusta by Shuswap (Secwépemc) Elder Mary Augusta Tappage Evans launched D&M’s long-standing commitment to Indigenous West Coast culture and art. After McIntyre became majority shareholder, output swelled to 75 titles annually: non-fiction on Canadian history; award-winning fiction and children’s books; and high-end volumes on such iconic B.C. painters as Emily Carr and Jack Shadbolt.