Indigo won’t put a book about the Freedom Convoy in stores, despite it being a bestseller
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The publisher says Indigo did not say why it won’t stock the books, but he fears it might be because the bookstore has ‘a problem with the subject matter’
People walk with Canadian flags near signage of support for the Freedom Convoy, as truckers and supporters protest vaccine mandates and other COVID measures in Ottawa on Feb. 17, 2022. Photo by Lars Hagberg / Reuters Article content
A best-selling book about the Freedom Convoy that took over downtown Ottawa earlier this year will not be sold on shelves in Indigo bookstores, and the book’s publisher says he’s mystified.
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The book, The Freedom Convoy: The Inside Story of Three Weeks that Shook the World by Andrew Lawton, a journalist and broadcaster for True North, combines on-the-ground reporting with exclusive interviews with convoy organizers and volunteers to “tell the whole story” of the weeks-long protest against COVID-19 restrictions. It was published by Sutherland House.
“Maybe they don’t think the people who would be interested in this book would shop at Indigo,” said Kenneth Whyte, publishing executive and founder of Sutherland House. “You would think they understand that people who go into their stores don’t all share the same outlook and probably want to see some diversity of opinion on their shelves.”
Whyte said the publishing house approached Indigo before the book’s launch, as it usually does with all its books, but the company was not interested in putting it on its shelves. It would only make the book available for digital purchase on its website.
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“We have a good relationship with Indigo,” said Whyte, who was the founding editor of National Post. “So, this was surprising.”
Book excerpt: The lost nuances of the Freedom Convoy 
Andrew Lawton: The Freedom Convoy’s ‘who’s in charge here?’ problem As it got closer to the publication date, June 24, The Freedom Convoy was topping bestsellers lists, including reaching second on the Amazon Charts for non-fiction.
Whyte said he reached out to Indigo again to ask if they would reconsider the decision to keep the book off its shelves because it was already selling so well.
“Obviously, there’s an audience for it,” he said. “But they still weren’t interested.”
Whyte said Indigo did not provide a reason why it will not stock the books in stores, but fears it might be because the bookstore has “a problem with the subject matter or the perceived politics in the book.”
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The Canadian bookstore giant said it is not selling The Freedom Convoy in stores because they only make a limited number of titles available on shelves.
“We believe that access to books fuels discussion and can bring about change. We are committed to representing the diversity of Canada in the books and products we sell, feature, and promote,” Indigo said in a statement.
The book can be purchased from Indigo’s website and customers can either have it shipped to their home or to a store location for pick up.
“We carry 15 million titles online and only curate 30,000 in our biggest stores. Smaller stores carry even less,” said Madeleine Löwenborg-Frick, director of corporate communications and public relations for Indigo, in an email.
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She said the company’s in-house print team decides which books to make available based on customer interest as well as available space. The team uses their “deep knowledge of the Indigo customer” to make these decisions.
“They carefully select the edited list of books to include titles that will connect our customers to what they will find the most meaningful,” said Löwenborg-Frick.
Since publication, The Freedom Convoy has topped a variety of bestseller lists. On July 13, it reached number one on the Toronto Star’s bestseller list for non-fiction books in Canada. That same week it also ranked in the top spot on The Globe and Mail’s bestselling list for hardcover non-fiction.
Currently, Indigo’s website, shows many Sutherland House books that are available to be purchased in stores. Whyte said the publishing house has never had this issue with the bookstore before.
“They have stocked and sold a lot of our books,” he said.
While he is not worried about The Freedom Convoy’s sales, he does think that there would be people who would be interested in the book if they could see it on shelves.
“I’m pretty sure we’re losing sales because it’s not in the bookstore,” he said.
Whyte said the publishing house is keeping Lawton, the book’s author, busy doing interviews and podcasts rather than dealing with this issue.
“We’re trying to keep him concentrated on meeting his audience, rather than worrying about bizarre decisions that Indigo is making.”
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