London book fair: UK publishers cheerfully splash cash as sales rise

Decline of reality TV and soap star memoirs greeted with glee, but publishers say it is time to turn the page on Gone Girl-style ‘grip-lit’On the eve of the London book fair, publishers were excited by news that sales of physical books were up for the second year in a row – 7% more than in 2015. And, following Waterstones’ return to profit for the first time in years, there was also good news for bricks-and-mortar bookshops, with a 4% rise in purchases across the UK. Meanwhile, ebooks declined by 4%, the second consecutive year digital book sales have fallen. Is this the start of a trend? While it was too early to tell at this year’s book fair, more than one publisher was whistling a happy tune as they entered the Olympia exhibition centre on Tuesday. With print books having a higher average price point than ebooks, and with a weaker pound benefitting exporters – German publishers in particular bought big this year – the mood among the hundreds of publishers was optimistic. As an industry that works 18 months ahead of the reader, the future of publishing looks bright. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2017-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "London book fair: UK publishers cheerfully splash cash as sales rise"


France and Luxembourg ordered to restore ebook VAT

The European Court of Justice has ordered France and Luxembourg to restore their standard VAT rates on ebooks in a ruling announced today (5th March). The court upheld a decision previously made by European Commission, which ruled that the two countries cannot charge the same VAT rate on ebooks... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


No reduced tax rate for ebooks, top EU court rules

E-books must be subject to the full rate of value-added tax (VAT), and European Union countries may not extend tax exemptions for books to include ebooks, the EU’s highest court ruled Thursday, adding that it considers downloadable ebooks to be services.Most EU member states, with the exception... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2015-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Bangladeshis protest after atheist writer Avijit Roy hacked to death

Hundreds rally against fundamentalism in Dhaka as Islamists claim responsibility for murder of prominent US-Bangladeshi bloggerHundreds of people have taken to the streets of Dhaka in protest at the murder of a prominent secular American blogger of Bangladeshi origin who was hacked to death with... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Mary Berry to be LBF Guest of Honour

Cookery writer and television presenter Mary Berry will be Guest of Honour at The London Book Fair (LBF), officially opening the conference on Tuesday 14th April. Jacks Thomas, director of LBF, said: “What better way to celebrate LBF’s move to a much-loved and world-renowned new home than to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


'Transitioning' Folio scrapes into profit

Sales at The Folio Society fell by almost a quarter in the year to the end of August 2014, compared to the year before, results for the 12-month period show. However the company made a small profit, after losing nearly £3m the previous year. In accounts filed on Companies House this week, The... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Amazon tool converts print into ebooks

Amazon customers in the US can now convert their print titles into Kindle books with a software package called Kindle Convert. Currently available in the US for computers running Windows 7 and 8, the software helps users to scan in pages of their print books, converting the image into usable... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Mixed Results for Bricks-and-Mortar Stores with Digital Content

For many bricks-and-mortar bookstores, 2014 was a banner year, helped by the overall improvement in the sale of print books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Sales of printed books fall by more than £150m in five years

New figures from Nielsen BookScan show continuing decline since 2009 as more and more readers migrate to ebooksPrint sales of adult fiction have declined by over £150m since 2009, new figures show, as ebooks take an increasingly large bite out of the market.A review of 2014 from book sales... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Man Booker Prize modifies longlist availability rules

The Man Booker Prize has made significant tweaks to its rules for 2015, abandoning its former rule on the availability of print books following the longlist announcement, placing time limits on the eligibility of titles published outside the UK, and defining the term "publisher" more closely. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Print market solid in 2014

The print book market for 2014 is down just 1.3% by value year on year, the full year's statistics from Nielsen BookScan reveal.  Just under £1.4bn was spent on print books for the 52 weeks ending 27th December, generated from 180.6 million book sales. Year on year the value of the print book... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Macmillan Reaches Amazon Deal, Will Try Subscription Services

In a letter sent to authors, illustrators and agents today, Macmillan CEO John Sargent said the company reached a sales agreement with Amazon last week for ebooks and print books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


UK isolated on ebook VAT as Italy and Malta cut rates

The UK is looking increasingly isolated in charging 20% VAT on ebooks after two more European countries lowered their rates to be in line with print books. Italy has ruled that VAT on ebooks will be cut from the standard 22% to 4% so it matches the rate imposed on printed books. Meanwhile,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Children's socioeconomic status 'affects digital reading preference'

Print books are more popular with three to five-year-olds than reading on devices, but children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds spend more time reading on devices than their wealthier peers, according to a new report from the National Reading Trust (NLT) and Pearson. For the report... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Will Print Unit Sales Rise in 2014?

With unit sales of print books up about 2% in the first 47 weeks of 2014, year over year, at outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan, the industry is poised to post its first increase in print sales since 2008. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Exhibitors Find a Buzzing Shanghai Fair and a Booming Children's Market

A bigger venue and a much expanded professional program awaited exhibitors and visitors to this year's China Shanghai International Children's Book Fair, which recently completed its second run from November 20–22. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Shanghai Children’s Book Fair: Bigger, Better, Busier

The three-day event runs from November 20 to 22 at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition Centre. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


How Pelican Books Is Reimagining The Cover In The Age Of E-Books

Penguin's storied non-fiction brand is trying to redefine the book cover, as well as bridge the gap between physical books and ebooks.The covers of our favorite books are doors that lead into their internal literary worlds, and that's enough to make their designs important: a book's cover is the... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2014-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Why is Sharjah Investing So Much its Book Fair?

The Sharjah Book Fair may seem to indulge foreign visitors with excessive perks, but it's all for the good and growth of the Emirate. The post Why is Sharjah Investing So Much its Book Fair? appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Reed Elsevier revenue grows by 4%

Underlying revenue at Reed Elsevier increased 4% over the first nine months of the year, although print book sales declined.   The information company released an interim management statement yesterday (24th October) saying that although revenues in the scientific, technical and medial... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-10-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Will Amazon Disrupt Sweden’s Book Market?

Sweden's book market is bracing for the launch of Amazon, where ebooks are hamstrung by high taxes and print books are still relatively affordable. The post Will Amazon Disrupt Sweden’s Book Market? appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this