vtotanes

Personal Information

Full Name

Vernon R. Totanes

Bio

Vernon R. Totanes is a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information, specifically the Collaborative Program in Book History and Print Culture, where he is researching the history of the Filipino history book. He is a licensed librarian with a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of the Philippines, and owner of the blog Filipino Librarian.

Affiliation

University of Toronto

Country

Canada

Personal Statement About Topic

I thought of writing about Pierre Berton and his royalties because of the research I am doing on a popular Filipino historian and his royalties. I have since learned that while there are significant differences between Canadian and Philippine publishing practices, the dissatisfaction that authors express regarding publishers’ royalty reports is not uncommon.

Case studies by Vernon R. Totanes

Case study :

Royalties and the Rails: Pierre Berton’s Railway Books

In 1971, a Canadian history book debuted at the top of the Toronto Star’s bestseller list, displacing another that had been listed for much of the previous year. Both were written by the same author and issued by the same publisher, and each remained in the top ten for at least another year. The bestseller list, however, did not fully reflect the books’ success because it only counted hardcover sales in Canada, and excluded paperback, book club, and foreign editions. This case study examines facts related to royalties for the two books based on available evidence in the archives of the author and his publisher at the McMaster University Library.