In the months leading up to the first Inspire! Toronto International Book Fair, some publishers I spoke to were skeptical about its chances for survival. At the fair itself, which took place November 13–16 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, I heard grumbling from some participating writers and publishers. So I shouldn’t have been surprised by news of the fair’s demise, but I was.

Disappointed, too. Since launching Linda Leith Publishing nearly four years ago, a public event of this magnitude and potential was the best thing I can recall happening in the Canadian book industry. With many bookstores closed or closing and books media coverage reduced or cut, it’s been a challenge to let readers know about the titles we publish. Online visibility is all very well, but there’s nothing like a physical space where readers can browse, discover, and buy.

Here in Montreal, I organize an annual event in April for LLP authors at the Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival. I was looking for a similar showcase in Toronto, and TIBF looked like just the ticket.

As founder of Blue Metropolis, I know the challenges of setting up a consumer book fair. I had sympathy for the organizers when I heard complaints that there weren’t enough people – it’s true that there were quiet periods during the three-day event. Not enough books were sold, many complained. Exhibitors didn’t get enough bang for their buck. There were other complaints about timing, logistics, and the floorplan – all of which could have been addressed in the event’s second year.

But it’s fair to say the organizers got a lot right, too: respectable attendance figures, a good physical space, decent media coverage, star authors, first-rate programming, and much more. Maybe that wasn’t said loudly enough. TIBF also brought in thousands of children, and getting kids interested in books is the future of the publishing industry. Given the tremendous commitment and energy that went into the first fair, I don’t doubt the second would have been bigger and better.

So what went wrong? I haven’t seen much analysis since the news broke on Feb. 9. I have heard it argued that there are other public book events in Toronto – from Word on the Street to IFOA – but Metropolitan Toronto has millions of readers. The Montreal area supports not only Blue Metropolis, but the Festival international de la littérature and a vast number of other book events, including the great Salon du livre de Montréal.

Even the Salon du livre started modestly when it was launched at the Windsor Hotel in 1950. According to organizers, it had “a passion for books, a passion for reading, a passion that has never wavered from 1950 to the present.” In 1978, the Salon moved to Place Bonaventure, where it has grown ever bigger over the past 37 years. In November, just a few days after TIBF launched in Toronto, the Salon attracted 115,200 visitors, including tens of thousands of schoolchildren. That takes more than passion. Throngs like that take patience, too, and they require support through thick and thin.

There was passion in the planning for TIBF. There was some support from the industry, but not enough. In the final press release, executive directors John Calabro, Rita Davies, and Steven Levy said they “were not able to secure a timely commitment from exhibitors regarding their participation for a second year.”

Linda Leith Publishing has as great a need for a return on investment as others – as an emerging publisher, we may have an even greater need than most. The investment we made was not in those few days in Toronto last November; the investment we made was in a book fair that would grow, thrive, and provide the opportunities we all lose every time a bookshop closes or a book-review page is cut. We didn’t expect a return on that investment by 6 p.m. on Nov. 16, 2014. We expected it to take years, and we were prepared to support the fair in the interim.

It does take time to establish a new event with the reading public. A consumer book fair needs to be given a chance to find its feet. The Toronto International Book Fair didn’t get that chance, and I think we’re all the poorer.

Montreal writer and publisher Linda Leith founded Linda Leith Publishing in June 2011, six months after resigning as president and artistic director of the Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival.