A survey of indie presses shows that 60% fear they could be out of business by the autumn, writes Galley Beggar Press cofounder Sam JordisonOver the past few years, the success of independent publishers such as Fitzcarraldo, And Other Stories, Bluemooose and Influx Press has been something to behold. They have won prizes, engaged readers and published innovative and important books. Now that wonderful literary flowering is in danger. A survey on the impact of Covid-19 on small presses, carried out by the Bookseller and writer development charity Spread the Word, reveals that 60% of the small presses polled fear they could be out of business by the autumn, 75% don’t know if they will make it beyond March next year, while 85% of the publishers have seen sales drop by more than half.Small presses have been hit especially hard because they are more dependent on physical sales in bookstores, rather than online retailers or ebook sales. I know, because my publisher, Galley Beggar Press, has also seen a big chunk of its income disappear. One of the great strengths of our kind of publishing is that we have a real connection with dedicated readers who love books as physical objects, readers who have an equally strong connection with booksellers. A great deal of what we do relies on the enthusiasm and personal recommendations of those heroes of our trade whose shops Covid-19 has closed. We have lost many of our best advocates, not to mention the most practical way of getting books... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2020-05-15 06:00:32 UTC ]
At Highlights, Jack W. Perry has been named v-p, print and ebook sales, effective March 31 Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Submissions are open for SPX’s 2014 Ignatz Awards, which recognize outstanding comics and cartooning works by small presses and creator-owned projects. Deadline for submissions is June 7. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, has made the prediction that self-published books will account for 50% of ebook sales by 2020. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When I penned the book, I was angry and alienated. Today I realize that violence can't be used to prevent violenceForty-four years ago this month, in December 1969, I quit my job as a manager of a bookstore in New York City's Greenwich Village and began to write the Anarchist Cookbook. My... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2013-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Physical sales of Sir Alex Ferguson's memoir, My Autobiography (Hodder & Stoughton),... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins reported a decline in quarterly revenue with total sales down 7%, to $328 million, for the first period ended September 30, 2013. EBITDA, however, rose 8%, to $43 million. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon is offering independent bookstores Kindles to sell and a commission on ebook sales, but most have rejected the proposal as bad business and "a lie." Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New data from Bowker Market Research provides more evidence of the slowdown in the growth of ebook sales in 2013, although the format still managed to capture more market share. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gains in its educational technology group were not enough to offset declines in the children’s book publishing and distribution unit resulting in a 5.8% decline in total sales at Scholastic for the first quarter ended August 31. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Although the growth of ebook sales has slowed in the first six months of 2013, there were still enough gains to largely mitigate the decline in print sales. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Coming off of a record 2012, when sales rose 125% to just under $3 million, Pegasus Books publisher Claiborne Hancock hopes to keep the momentum going in 2013 with new hires, more titles, and more ebook sales. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With reports showing ebook sales growth is in serious decline, Nicholas Carr examines possible reasons why and wonders if tablets aren't to blame. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Startup Crowd the Book launched in March, is using selective, online marketing to try and 'create a wildfire around great books published by small presses.' Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new survey in Japan shows that Amazon's Kindle is leading the market for ebook sales, with Apple (launched in March) second, followed by Kinokuniya's Kinoppy, Sony's Reader Store and Kobo. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Self-published titles make up 12% of all ebook sales, according to new findings from Bowker... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Argentine government’s economic protectionism is thwarting the growth of ebook sales,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At Publishers Weekly’s May 8 discussion series on trends in consumer book-buying, held at the offices of Random House in New York City, Carl Kulo, U.S. director of Bowker Market Research, highlighted the major shifts that took place in 2012 in such key areas as sales by format and by channel. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In 2012, Brazil became the latest battleground for the big international ebooksellers. Ebook sales have since skyrocketed, with Apple in the early lead ahead of Amazon. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It's well off the triple year-over-year growth that ebooks saw a few years ago, but the latest report from the Association of American Publishers shows that ebooks did inch up even further in 2012 to account for a sizeable chunk of overall book sales. According to its figures, ebooks now... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Eben Alexander’s Proof of Heaven and the latest Wimpy Kid title were the only books to sell over 300,000 print units in the first three months of 2013, according to Nielsen BookScan, but neither is in Amazon’s top 20 bestselling Kindle titles of the year, showing the disparity between print and... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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