Navigating the challenges of the art book market: co-publishing Raven Travelling

Art books are a tough publishing niche for several reasons. Like all books, art books are cultural products, which means they behave unpredictably in the marketplace. Furthermore, they are expensive to produce because of high production standards and the cost of reproducing images. These books are often limited in audience as well, which makes it difficult for publishers to achieve economies of scale in their unit costs. By co-publishing with museums and galleries, publishers can overcome these pitfalls and create successful art books that don’t break their backs financially. Exhibition catalogues, specifically, enjoy larger publicity and marketing campaigns because of their connection to the gallery’s exhibit. The case study of Raven Travelling, an exhibition catalogue co-published by Douglas & McIntyre and the Vancouver Art Gallery, shows how co-publishing can successfully overcome the pressures of the art book market if both partners can work together successfully.