The Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association is helping readers get out and discover Atlantic Canada this summer with a collection of more than 75 regional books.

The Discover #ReadAtlantic collection features a wide variety of books from local authors and publishers for readers to experience Atlantic Canada this summer. The collection includes more than 75 titles from six Atlantic regions, including Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, north Nova Scotia, south Nova Scotia and mainland Nova Scotia.

The Atlantic Provinces continue to update pandemic restrictions based on population case numbers and vaccinations, and reopening plans have begun for a safe return to exploring our local and neighbouring communities. COVID-19 safety measures and restrictions are continuously updated on provincial websites and media outlets. Discover #ReadAtlantic explores Atlantic regions and local storytelling.

“Get out and discover, go in your community, go hike a waterfall or down a trail or learn some local history,” Alex Liot, Chief Marketing Officer of Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association says. “Go to your local bookstore, use a book to get outside, go experience some history, take a book on vacation, sit on the beach and read it.”

Readers can find the Discover #ReadAtlantic collection at local bookstores, giftshops, museums, libraries and on the Atlantic Books website. Each has a unique description written by magazine editorial staff. “We create these promotions,” Liot says, “but then we really try and feed them out to support the rest of the community, the ecosystem, the libraries, the bookstores, authors and publishers.”

According to a BookNet Canadian Book Consumer Study in 2020, 38 percent of readers discover their books through bookstores or retailers. The tourism industry is also closely connected with local publishers that promote books through their giftshops, museums and local bookstores, but during the pandemic the tourism sector has suffered significant losses.

“It’s the discovery process that is challenging,” Liot says. Small independent publishers have a hard time promoting local books compared to major multinational companies, Liot says, so local books are harder for consumers to find.

APMA has a map to help readers find local bookstores, and has run several campaigns featuring local books, authors and publishers, including Time to #ReadAtlantic last summer during initial pandemic lockdowns. The Spring 2021 issue of Atlantic Books Today highlighted the unique global reach of Atlantic titles and contributors outside of the Maritimes.

Discover #ReadAtlantic includes books from different genres ranging from fiction, non-fiction, history, biographies, guidebooks, children’s books and more, and has English and French titles. Twenty different Atlantic publishers contributed books to the collection.

“You get to live the story of our area, and areas slightly peripheral to you,” Liot says, “You share a community with them, so in many ways, you share perspective, but it’s close enough they can offer a new perspective.”