P.E.I. restores publisher assistance

The P.E.I. government has reinstated its publishers assistance program, following a meeting between the Island's publishing community and the culture minister.

The $10,000 grant was brought in a couple of years ago to help P.E.I. book publishers, but government dropped the funding saying only one or two companies had accessed the money. Culture Minister Robert Vessey reversed that decision after Thursday's meeting.

"I got a little better understanding of the program that was in place and decided to reinstate it and to get it with a better uptake that more publishers will be able to access it," said Vessey.

"It's a not a huge dollar figure but it helps the publishers and I think it's very important that we continue that program."

Vessey said the budget for the program, and how much each publisher might receive has not been decided yet, but he said money should be in their hands in the next two months.

Acorn Press owner Terilee Bulger had said it would be difficult for her to keep publishing on P.E.I. without the assistance, and she would have had to move the business elsewhere.