
Coach House Books’ Heidelberg printing press
Having some time at home — okay, a lot of time at home — during the pandemic has reminded many Canadians how edifying, relaxing, and downright satisfying it is to read a good book. The pandemic also reminded a lot of us how important it is to support smaller and local businesses. So, as people settled into lock-down, demand for Coach House books was high. But with a shattered supply chain, it was difficult for them to meet that demand.
Coach House Books publishes literary fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, and is one of only three publishers in Canada to print their own books; they have a Heidelberg press in their office, an old coach house in an alley at Bloor and Spadina in downtown Toronto. But the shut-down order issued by the province in mid-March meant that they had to close down the printing shop — at a time when only half of their Spring 2020 books had been printed. Those titles have now been rescheduled for times throughout the rest of the year.
Continue reading “A shattered supply chain and unprecedented online demand; how Coach House Books has weathered the pandemic”