How This Site Works
I was doing four other blogs when I started this, and thought it would be very much a side project, but it actually grew to be bigger than I ever imagined — for a short period even bigger than my personal blog was at the time.
Here in Canada, changes to our industry are coming fast and furious and it’s really hard to keep up. Some days it’s hard to find someone to talk to who really knows and really understands the unique features of our commercial ministries.
So by putting this blog up, and leaving the comments section open, I’m hoping that those who want to talk can talk, and those who want to rant can rant, and those who have questions can ask them.
This was originally intended as a forum for CANADIAN Christian Bookstore OWNERS and STAFF, but if you’re reading this from the USA or the UK, or you’re just a big huge FAN of Christian books; feel free to chime in, but identify yourself as such. Stores which want to can SIGN their comments, or you can just use a username, or you can create something anonymous if it’s a really contentious topic. Feel free to come back to the discussion often; and feel free to post comments to various discussions at the same time.
Where it asks for your URL, if you’re not a blogger, you can use your store website instead; just use it in the form beginning http://
If you have something that’s more ‘chat’ oriented; a question about where to find something, or what to do in the face or particular circumstances, check out the Canadian Christian Retail Insights group on Facebook. You need to be accepted to this — it’s not public at all — so contact me and I’ll put you in touch with the people at Graf-Martin who are managing that page.
BTW, readers here include some fairly significant industry people, so you’re in good company; but if you decide to trash someone’s sacred cow, at least be polite about it. That cow may be somebody’s pet.
~Paul Wilkinson
Your Response (Value-Added Comments Only)
Christian Book Shop Talk 
Wow! am I really the first to respond or is it that I cannot see the other responses
First, many, many thanks for your blogs. Without the CBA organization having gone this is just what the Canadian Industry needs
Secondly, Many, many thanks for keeping me up to date on what is happening in the industry that filled more than 26 years of my life.
Thirdly, anyone not asking these questions in the face of daily changes are doomed to failure. You have to be asking questions that are outside the bookcover
God Bless you and keep on blogging, Roy Kitchener,, Ontario
I have a question for you. We have received a selection of Life/ Lawson Falle valentines cards, from Marian Heath of course, and I’m thinking some of them are totally inappropriate for a christian bookstore. I think they have send us remainders from the dollar store that haven’t sold, but these do have bible verses in them. Is anyone else finding them a little lacking? For example, here is the wording on one card, #52820 “Your feet are like Ice. You’re hogging the Covers. Something stinks.” Inside it reads “Mmmmmm. The timeless art pf seduction. Happy Valentines Day Hon.” Of course, 1 Cor 13:4 is printed on it.
I guess I find this sadly lacking. I’m all for humorous cards, but this one and others aren’t even funny. Anyone else? Is Marian Heath really a christian line of cards?
We dropped the LF/Life everyday line about three years ago. More recently we had a sense about fifteen months ago, that LF/Life seasonal cards weren’t going to be a good fit for our store. We saw what they did to the Through the Ages line (special birthday years) and realized there was a decrease in the spiritual integrity of the product. Plus we would be promised that a credit card payment was being processed in CDN dollars only to have it hit our statement in USD.
I’m gonna go out on a limb here, but I think that Lawson Falle is under kind of spiritual oppression and has been for about five years now. I don’t usually make statements like that, but this is what I truly believe. We use Dayspring, the Don Folwer Distributing line (Celebration, I think) and Dear Cards.
Question please… which body can a would-be bookshop in Canada join in order to be approved by the government for operation in the country?
The answer is none. They would simply need to register the business federally, and comply with municipal and provincial standards. The same as any other retailer or online vendor. The provinces don’t regular bookstores as they do motor vehicle repair shops or hair salons.
However, book publishing is considered “culturally sensitive” so given that you’re writing from Nigeria, I’m not sure you could do anything if you didn’t actually live here.