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Canada Periodical Fund guidelines unveiled, with no exception for litmags

The application guidelines for the Canada Periodical Fund were released late yesterday, and it looks as if no exception is being made for small literary magazines. The new fund, unveiled last February to replace the Canada Magazine Fund, is restricted to magazines with annual paid circulation of more than 5,000 copies, a threshold that will exclude most Canadian literary magazines. From the industry blog Canadian Magazines:

The rules are undoubtedly going to be a major disappointment to the many groups who lobbied hard to have the draft changed, including Magazines Canada and the Canadian Business Press and the ad hoc group of small literary and cultural magazines that mounted a concerted Facebook campaign to get the floor on funding lowered or eliminated.

Indeed, the new funding guidelines put the very existence of small literary magazines in question. Their publishers and editors are now facing a dire situation: either raise annual circulation (a proposition many claim is impossible) or do without a substantial source of revenue. (See Q&Q‘s past coverage.)