The Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP) is delighted to announce that Hamish Cameron, Vice-President, Distribution at the University of Toronto Press (UTP), is the recipient of the 2021 President’s Award. The ACP is also pleased to report that Quill & Quire (Q&Q), Canada’s longstanding and leading magazine of book news and reviews, will be recognized for its contribution to Canadian publishing with an honorary lifetime membership in the association.
Hamish Cameron, the President’s Award recipient, served both as executive director for the ACP from 1987-1989 and trade editor at Q&Q, starting in 1982. Hamish has worked with UTP for 31 years, where he oversees distribution for 70 publishers and imprints. He has been a longstanding contributor to the ACP Trade Committee and the association’s professional development programming, and has also served on the boards of the Canadian Telebook Agency and BookNet Canada. In 2020 Hamish was recognized with the Janice E. Handford Award, presented by the Ontario Book Publishers Organization, for advancing the cause of independent literary Canadian publishing. He will retire from his role at UTP at the end of June.
“Over the past three decades and more” said ACP President Melissa Pitts, “Hamish has been instrumental in providing information, ideas, and guidance to the benefit of not only client publishers in UTP’s warehouse, but the Canadian-owned publishing sector as a whole. There are very few people as knowledgeable as Hamish about how the book chain in Canada works, familiar with every small detail in bringing a book to market, be it freight costs, terms of business, ONIX exports, co-op initiatives, inventory write-downs, press-wide software, and the list goes on. Hamish is a brilliant thinker and problem solver, generous in sharing his insights and suggestions—all presented with goodwill and an indelibly wry humour.”
Quill & Quire began publication in 1935 and grew alongside the burgeoning Canadian publishing industry, beginning to cover Canadian books and news in earnest in the 1970s. Over the years Q&Q staff and editors have provided fine critical commentary on the industry’s growth and direction, perceptive if sometimes controversial books reviews, and a meeting place for the exchange of ideas and company updates. “Quill & Quire has long provided an inestimable service to the Canadian publishing industry,” said ACP Executive Director Kate Edwards. “ACP is delighted to recognize their many contributions to Canada’s rich book culture, and their continued championing of Canadian writing and publishing.”
The President’s Award is awarded to ACP members who have made a significant contribution to the Canadian publishing industry and to the ACP. Honorary lifetime membership in ACP is presented to an individual or group who is not a member of ACP, but has made a significant contribution to the association and to the Canadian publishing industry.
This year’s awards are being announced in conjunction with ACP’s 2021 Annual General Meeting, which will be held online on June 22-23, 2021. The association looks forward to presenting Hamish and Q&Q with their awards, and to celebrating their many achievements, at the earliest opportunity.