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 ]
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Tribune Co. took a key step in the planned spinoff of its publishing business on Monday, filing a Form 10 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Continue reading at Baltimore Sun
[ Baltimore Sun | 2013-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The new imprint of the online bookseller has already released works by authors including William Lashner and Rebecca Adams Wright. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Social mobile games studio Storm8 announced today that it will start marketing, distributing and advising on third-party games via a new arm, Storm8 Publishing. Its first title, War of Dragons for iOS, is a Puzzle & Dragons-esque match-three game originally released as Tower of Saviors.... Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2013-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Indie publishing via online writing communities and ebooks can provide valuable feedback, and even set you on the path to mainstream successNews that a quarter of the top 100 Kindle books on Amazon.com are from indie publishers doesn't surprise me. I started out writing online. Fed up with the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2013-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The guy who runs Facebook's most valuable real estate explains why the company just changed its rules. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2013-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Even before the demise of Borders, the trend of opening superstores was waning, and new bookstores were getting smaller and cozier (many were in the 3,000 to 5,000 sq. ft. range). Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The first ever "USA Pavilion" contributed to an increase in American publishers' participation at this year's Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL). Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When we reviewed the GameStick Android console, one of our main concerns was how the library of titles on offer would pan out over time. Today, it's just been announced that Ubisoft will be bringing its Prince of Persia franchise to the platform. .. Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Japan’s new “authoritarian” Designated Secrets Bill will have dire consequences... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This month's starred reviews of self-published books includes a "stellar" historical novel and a "touching" memoir of life as a teacher of disadvantaged students. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Every retail premise with a rateable value of up to £50,000 will receive a discount of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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I can't repeat my Ipso facto joke yet again. But there, I just did. The announcement that almost all of the major publishers have signed up to fund the Independent Press Standards Organisation, and agreed therefore to be regulated by it, is hardly a shock.But Paul Vickers, the Trinity Mirror... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2013-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Figures from world's biggest bookseller trumpeted as sign of how self-publishing and smaller labels are changing the industryAs many as a quarter of the top 100 Kindle books on Amazon.com are from indie publishers, according to data revealed at a trade presentation by the retailer.A chart... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2013-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Medium is debuting a slew of new look-and-feel tweaks designed to let would-be columnists pretend they're working for a well-designed print publication. The site says that one of its initial goals was to empower writers with "dead simple" tools to ... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers like to think that their content is getting read. But at the expense of advertising dollars? Not so fast. Increasingly popular apps like Pocket, Instapaper and Evernote’s Web Clipper have been billed as a way to help publishers combat fragmentation by letting users read bookmarked... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2013-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Under the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia's reading culture was destroyed, but over the past five years it has returned with the help of a revitalized publishing industry. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's new charitable Web site, AmazonSmile, offers challenges for presses that would like to earn 0.5% on purchases. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An informal survey of new and established bookstores finds that holiday sales should be up again this year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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To any small newspaper publisher still holding out against a digital platform, consider a visit to Linton, N.D. There, few publishers serve as small or rural a community as Allan Burke, whose family-owned Emmons County Record, a 3,100-circulation ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook says it wants to continue sending traffic to publishers, citing how news stories perform well in the News Feed. Facebook said it would start showing more links to news stories in particular to mobile users. And it would begin resurfacing articles in News Feeds that have attracted... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2013-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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