Noah Genner (Yvonne Bambrick)

BookNet CEO emeritus Noah Genner made bettering how things work in the Canadian book business his life’s work. 

Genner, who died on Aug. 27 at the age of 52, spent nearly four decades working in the book industry. Almost from the very start, he was committed to improving how things worked.

He got his start as a teenager working as a bookseller at Guelph indie The Bookshelf in the 1980s. When the business added a second-floor cinema in 1987, he became one of the first crew of film projectionists, learning how to handle 35 mm film and obtaining his projectionist’s licence. Genner’s enthusiasm and capacity for taking on new challenges was on display again in the 1990s, when he worked alongside a group that included founding BookNet CEO Michael Tamblyn to set up Canada’s first online bookstore for The Bookshelf. 

“Noah was somebody who was always interested in whatever the next thing happening was, and so when we were approached in the early 90s to build this first online bookstore, Noah was one of the team of gifted amateurs who excelled,” Bookseller co-founder Doug Minett said. 

Genner played a key role in establishing the fulfilment logistics of that online bookstore, the first of many projects he spearheaded that focused on the book industry’s supply chain. 

Genner joined BookNet in April 2004, and he was appointed president and CEO in June 2009, a role he held until May when he moved to the part-time role of CEO emeritus. 

“Noah was incredibly special,” said BookNet president and CEO Lauren Stewart. “He really wanted to make an impact and better the working conditions out there in the industry and make Canadian publishing work better, smarter, faster for the people working in it.”

As a leader, Genner valued collaboration, taking time to thoughtfully consider the ideas and contributions of others. Over his 20 years at BookNet he led the launches of nearly all major projects, including SalesData, CataList, and BiblioShare. But his work didn’t focus just on the practical: his sense of fun informed his focus on innovation. He brought his love of fantasy sports leagues to the book biz with PubFight, a fantasy publishing game that began as a way to encourage people to use sales data and ran annually for 12 years until its final 2019-2020 season.

At the Association of Canadian Publishers’ 2024 Annual General Meeting in June, publisher James Lorimer made a motion “that the ACP express its deep gratitude to Noah Genner for his work on behalf of Canadian-owned publishers and Canadian-authored books in his role as President and CEO of BookNet Canada.” It passed unanimously and to a round of applause. 

Despite his singular contributions to the industry, Genner never sought the spotlight, and was so committed to work that he would often handle clients’ issues directly – not exactly a typical CEO habit.  

“He was deeply kind and generous with his time, with his insight, and with his friendship,” Stewart said. “He was also deeply loyal. Someone with his skillset could easily have been popping around different firms, but he was staunchly loyal to BookNet and to our industry. I consider it a real gift to have spent so many years working at BookNet with him.” 

Genner’s influence on the book industry and his generosity with his expertise extended beyond BookNet – and beyond Canada. In 2016, he won the Book Industry Study Group’s Most Valuable Volunteer award, and in 2020 he co-founded the Green Book Alliance with the U.S.-based Book Industry Study Group and U.K.-based Book Industry Communication. 

During the pandemic, when Minett was working with other booksellers to establish the Canadian Independent Booksellers Association (CIBA), he consulted Genner for advice on navigating the complex funding possibilities – advice Minett credits for CIBA’s successful launch.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do it otherwise,” Minett said. “I started out as his mentor in bookselling in the 1980s, and in expanding the business into movies, and later online retail and technology, and later on he returned the favour.”

Since announcing his death last week, BookNet has received dozens of messages of condolence as people and organizations across the book industry in Canada and beyond share the impact Genner had on them and on the industry, Stewart said.

Genner is survived by his partner Annette Synowiec and their dogs, Murphy and Malina; his brothers and stepfather; and his nieces and nephews. 

A celebration of his life will be held on Oct. 27 at the University of Guelph Arboretum. Those interested in attending are encouraged to RSVP to [email protected].