Coralee Oakes, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, issued a statement on April 9 in recognition of B.C. Book Day.
“Our government is proud to proclaim April 9, 2014, as the first B.C. Book Day in the province of British Columbia. “A healthy book industry is important to the educational, social, cultural and economic life of our province, and beyond.
“British Columbia’s book publishers, represented through the Association of Book Publishers of BC, have experienced tremendous change in both the retailing and production of books into the digital era. Our government is pleased to celebrate the fact that provincial print and electronic books can be found across the world bringing B.C. literature and culture to millions.
“Recognizing the importance of books to all of us, the BC Arts Council, government’s lead agency for arts development and funding, will invest $615,000 in British Columbia’s book publishers during 2014-15 - an increase of close to 12 per cent over last year.”