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Johanna Skibsrud's Scotiabank Giller Prize-winning novel The Sentimentalists is Kobo's top-selling title in Canada, according to an executive with the online eBook store.
Tiny Nova Scotia publishing house Gaspereau Press has made headlines across the country for being unable to keep up with the high demand for physical copies of the novel, which won the $50,000 Giller on Tuesday night.
Gaspereau co-owner Gary Dunfield has said that he and fellow publisher Andrew Steeves were considering several options that would allow them to produce the book more quickly, but said that no decision had been made when reached this morning.
Gaspereau prides itself on high-quality books and can only print about 1,000 copies of The Sentimentalists a week. Indigo Books & Music has thousands of copies of the book on order but none on store shelves.
Thus far, the publisher's inability to keep up with demand has been a boon for Kobo — the only online retailer currently selling the book, which isn't available at Amazon's competing Kindle store.
Though Kobo declined to release hard sales information, The Sentimentalists has sold 10 times as many copies since winning the Giller as it did in its entire run before that, said Michael Tamblyn, executive vice-president of content, sales and merchandising with Kobo.
"To put it into context, that book is outselling George W. Bush's memoir that landed the same week with an incredible amount of promotion and buzz behind it," Tamblyn said Friday in a telephone interview.
"So it's shown both the power of the Giller Prize in terms of being able to focus Canadian readers' attention, and also the degree to which people really wanted to get their hands on this book as soon as possible."
The 30-year-old Skibsrud — the youngest Giller winner in the 17-year history of the prize — has expressed concern that readers can't get their hands on physical copies of her debut novel.
Published over a year ago, The Sentimentalists charts a daughter's quest to learn about her dying father's experiences in the Vietnam War.
Skibsrud, who grew up in Pictou County, N.S., and is based in Montreal, says she mined her own father's experiences in the Vietnam War for the book.
Tamblyn says Kobo approached Gaspereau about converting the novel into an ebook after the Giller nominations were announced.
"Had we not been there, there really would be no way to read The Sentimentalists right now," he said.
"Having an ebook available — not only are consumers and readers able to get access to this book when they want it, but it has ensured that both the author and publisher aren't missing out on sales during this critical period right after the announcement of the award," Tamblyn added.
"Every piece of data that we've seen from the bricks-and-mortar retail side says that that first couple weeks after the book is announced are incredibly valuable.
"And were it not for the ebook, these would all be lost sales for both the author and publisher."