Cross-country authors' tours may be replaced by online or virtual tours

The new, constrained, realities of book publishing means that the traditional author's tour is an endangered species; proof is provided by the launch of a new program by the Canada Council for the Arts to fund "travel" grants to authors so they can do their publicity tours completely online. 

According to a story by Quill & Quire magazine, authors must supply tour plans listing sites and blogs that will be hosting them and the amount of effort they are putting towards each.

Writing and Publishing spokesperson Kent Slater told Q&Q the decision to make new funding available for online tours was a reflection of the new realities of publishing. “There was a time when the publicity plans for most frontlist authors included travel to Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, and elsewhere,” Slater says. “These days, you’re lucky if you get a hometown launch. It’s brutal.”

[April Fool's]