For those of you not in the know, the Public Lending Right, PLR, is a program that pays Canadian writers a small sum based on the number of libraries that have purchased their book in any given year. Administered by the Canada Council for the Arts, the program aims to at least partially compensate authors for (potentially) lost royalties when readers borrow their book from the library rather than purchasing their own copy. It is one of the pillars of a truly civilized nation.

Every February, authors across the country eagerly anticipate the mail and the few extra bucks they hope to receive. It’s not a lot of money, it really, really isn’t, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that at least one acquisitions librarian thought your book deserved to be in a library. Seeing your book in the store is cool, but seeing it in the library, that is when you know you’ve really made it. That is something you’ve dreamed about since you were a kid.

So, thank you Canada Council and THANK YOU librarians who bought my book, catalogued it, and put it on the shelf. You literally made my day.