Issue: Does A Critic Own Review Copies He’s Been Sent?

When Greg Gatenby was director of Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre’s literary programming, he collected review copies of books. Thousands of them. Now he’s planning to sell about 28,000 volumes worth an estimated $2-million, amassed in part during his time as director of Harbourfront. The issue (and the controversy): “When publishers send out free review copies of a book for promotional purposes, are they sending them to the individual or to the institution the individual works for? Gatenby maintained that the publishing industry sends them to the person and that the books then become that person’s property.