Last updated: 23 October 2026
Our Commitment to Your Privacy
At Diwan Canada, we believe literature brings people together through trust, curiosity, and dialogue. We believe that same trust should extend to the way we handle your personal information.
Your reading choices are personal. Your data should be treated with care.
We do not sell your personal information, share our customer mailing lists with advertisers, or use customer personal information to train generative artificial intelligence models.
We collect and use information only for legitimate and clearly identified purposes related to operating our bookstore, serving our readers, and building our literary community.
1. Who We Are
Diwan Canada is operated by Grotte des Merveilles, a registered Québec nonprofit organization (NEQ 1176933118), based in Montréal, Canada.
Grotte des Merveilles also supports literary and cultural initiatives, including Rowayat.
This policy applies to personal information collected through www.diwancanada.com, associated customer accounts, purchases, communications, and newsletter subscriptions.
2. Information We Collect
Depending on how you interact with our website, we may collect:
Information you provide directly:
- Your name and email address;
- Your billing and shipping addresses;
- Your telephone number, where necessary for delivery or customer service;
- Account details and preferences;
- Orders, purchases, and transaction history;
- Books saved to your Favourites list;
- Messages or enquiries you send us;
- Your newsletter subscription preferences.
Information collected through website functionality:
- Device and browser information;
- IP address and basic technical information;
- Cookies necessary for website operation;
- Information relating to website performance and functionality.
We collect only information reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy.
Payment card information is handled through the secure payment services integrated with our checkout. We do not require customers to send full payment card details by email.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use personal information to:
- Process purchases and payments;
- Arrange shipping and delivery;
- Provide order confirmations and tracking updates;
- Manage returns, refunds, and customer enquiries;
- Create and maintain customer accounts;
- Save your Favourites and preferences;
- Improve website functionality, accessibility, and security;
- Maintain required financial and business records;
- Send newsletters and literary announcements when you have subscribed or otherwise validly consented.
We do not use your reading history to make assumptions about your political, religious, cultural, or personal beliefs.
4. Your Account and Favourites
Creating an account allows you to save books, manage your details, and access features such as Favourites and purchase history.
Creating an account does not automatically subscribe you to marketing communications.
You may update your account information or request account closure by contacting us.
Certain purchase records may need to be retained for accounting, legal, or fraud-prevention purposes even after an account is closed.
5. Newsletters and Literary Updates
Our newsletter is an invitation to stay connected with literature and the conversations it makes possible.
If you subscribe, you may receive information about:
- New books and featured writers;
- Literary events, readings, and conversations;
- Independent publishers and translated literature;
- Special offers, promotions, and bookstore news;
- Diwan Canada and related literary initiatives, where covered by your consent.
Newsletter subscriptions are optional.
You do not have to subscribe to our newsletter to create an account or purchase books.
You may unsubscribe at any time using the link included in our promotional emails or by contacting us.
We will process unsubscribe requests in accordance with applicable law.
6. Sharing Information With Service Providers
To operate an online bookstore, we work with trusted service providers.
These may include:
- Our e-commerce platform and payment processors;
- Warehousing and fulfillment partners;
- Shipping and delivery carriers;
- Email and customer communication services;
- Website hosting, technical support, and security providers;
- Professional advisers when necessary.
We share only the information reasonably required for the service being provided.
For example, a delivery partner needs your shipping information to deliver your order, but does not need unrestricted access to your reading preferences or newsletter history.
We do not provide customer lists to publishers, authors, advertisers, or commercial partners for their independent marketing.
Where operational coordination with our publishing or bookselling partners is necessary, we limit personal information disclosures to legitimate, disclosed purposes.
We may also disclose information when required or authorized by law.
7. Relationship With Rowayat and Other Literary Initiatives
Diwan Canada is part of a wider literary and cultural ecosystem supported by Grotte des Merveilles.
However, purchasing from Diwan Canada does not automatically enroll you in the mailing lists of Rowayat or other associated initiatives.
If we invite you to receive communications from another literary initiative, we will explain that choice and obtain the consent required by law.
We respect the distinction between being a customer, a reader, a contributor, and a newsletter subscriber.
8. Artificial Intelligence and Reader Data
Diwan Canada is committed to supporting human creativity, literary translation, publishing, and the communities that sustain them.
We do not use our customers’ personal information to train generative AI models, nor do we provide customer information to third parties for that purpose.
We do not disclose private reading histories to external AI-training services.
We may use ordinary technical systems for tasks such as website operation, fraud prevention, and inventory management, subject to appropriate privacy safeguards.
Our commitment to human creativity also informs the way we approach technology: it should serve readers and writers, not undermine their trust.
9. Cookies and Website Analytics
Our website may use cookies or similar technologies.
Essential cookies support functions such as:
- Maintaining your shopping cart;
- Keeping your account session active;
- Enabling secure checkout;
- Remembering necessary website settings.
Optional analytics technologies, where used, help us understand website performance and improve the experience.
Where consent is legally required, optional identification, location, or profiling technologies will not be activated without the required choice or consent.
You can manage available cookie preferences through the website’s privacy controls and, where applicable, your browser settings.
Disabling essential cookies may prevent some website functions from operating correctly.
10. Where Information Is Stored and Processed
Our organization is based in Québec, but some service providers may process or store information outside Québec, including in other parts of Canada, the United States, or other jurisdictions.
Where personal information is communicated outside Québec, we will take the steps required by applicable law to assess privacy risks, ensure appropriate protections, and establish necessary contractual safeguards.
Information processed in another jurisdiction may be subject to its applicable laws.
We remain responsible for ensuring that our handling of personal information meets our legal obligations.
11. Security and Retention
We take reasonable organizational, contractual, and technical measures to protect personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or loss.
Access is limited to authorized persons who require information for their work.
We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected or to meet applicable legal, accounting, and operational obligations.
When information is no longer required, we securely destroy or anonymize it, as appropriate.
No online service can guarantee absolute security, but we are committed to addressing privacy risks responsibly.
12. Your Privacy Rights
Subject to applicable law, you may request to:
- Access personal information we hold about you;
- Correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
- Withdraw consent for optional uses of your information;
- Request deletion or de-indexing where legally applicable;
- Request your information in an accessible or structured technological format where applicable;
- Ask questions about our privacy practices or raise a complaint.
We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling certain requests.
We will respond within the time limits prescribed by applicable law and explain any legal restrictions that apply.
13. Children and Young Readers
We welcome younger readers and families, but we do not knowingly collect personal information from children in circumstances where the consent of a parent or legal guardian is legally required and has not been obtained.
Parents or guardians may contact us with concerns about a child’s information.
14. Updates to This Policy
We may revise this policy to reflect changes in our services, technology, or legal obligations.
We will update the date at the top of the policy and provide notice of material changes as required by law.
We will not apply new practices requiring consent without obtaining that consent.
15. Contact and Privacy Requests
For privacy questions, access or correction requests, withdrawal of consent, or complaints, please contact:
Privacy Officer — Person Responsible for the Protection of Personal Information
Grotte des Merveilles / Diwan Canada
Email: info@diwancanada.com
Website: www.diwancanada.com
We take privacy questions seriously and will examine concerns fairly and confidentially.
Our guiding principle is simple: your relationship with books should remain yours.