London book fair has shown how upbeat the literary world can be – and how worried our cultural businesses have become at the thought of losing old certaintiesThe mood at this week’s London book fair appeared upbeat, with hotly contested auctions leading to the return of the six-figure publishing deal. Musicians did particularly well, with Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker, Suede’s Brett Anderson and drum’n’bass pioneer Goldie leading the way. Rumours of the death of literary fiction appear exaggerated. A collection of short stories, traditionally regarded as commercial suicide, earned Orange prize winner Lionel Shriver a place at the top of the sales league. The razzmatazz of such deals, however, is only part of the story of the modern books industry.Publishing is a commercial enterprise, and like all businesses it thrives in an atmosphere of certainty that ceased to exist the day the UK voted for Brexit. In a heated opening debate on the impact of the decision to leave the European Union, a succession of leading publishers rounded on the prime minister, Theresa May, for “playing with people’s lives” in her negotiations. The government emissary parried criticism by insisting that ministers were “at the fat end of the funnel”, sucking up information from businesses to understand how best to represent them. The information came fast and furiously, with much of the concern about freedom of movement. We have heard a lot about the fears of the university sector about the drain on research... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2017-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
4. In a story headlined "Facebook wants you to watch longer videos, so it's going to show you longer videos," Recode's Peter Kafka reports that Facebook "is tweaking its News Feed algorithm to emphasize longer videos that are able to retain their audience; the longer they hold them, the more... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2017-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that lending of ebooks and physical books should be treated the same. Publishers immediately objected to the decision, fearing unrestricted ebook lending would cut into revenues. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Departure from the European Union will mean government has a policy choice to make for the future direction of copyright, says William Bowes. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The central organization representing publishers in the U.K. has called on the government to keep barriers to trade "to an absolute minimum" and to publish a clear plan to minimize business uncertainty as it negotiates to leave the European Union. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As scores of politicians line up to release books, the first Theresa May biography is set to reveal far less racy details than David Cameron’s...Brexit means Brexit, and party conference season means the release of a slew of political biographies and memoirs. Not as punchy a slogan as Theresa... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Small publishing houses have been snapping up deals for a biography of the new PM, so when will the traditional political publishers join the race? A week is a long time in politics, but a year can go in a flash in the publishing world, where it is becoming apparent that there is currently no... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Biteback is to publish a biography of Theresa May, Britain's next Prime Minister, by journalist and Jeremy Corbyn biographer Rosa Prince. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Enders Analysis has downgraded its forecasts for the audiovisual sector following the referendum result that will likely see the United Kingdom exit the European Union. The analysts said the result offered “no clear benefits to the audiovisual sector” while a climate of uncertainty promised to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The UK division of a German publisher is pushing ahead with plans to expand its children’s book business, despite the economic uncertainty caused by the UK’s decision last week to leave the European Union. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In June 1975, ahead of the previous European Union referendum on whether the United Kingdom should remain in the European Economic Community, publisher George Weidenfeld argued that the “close connections between British and European publishers and retail organisations” would be “valuable to the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the wake of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, author Kazuo Ishiguro has called for a second referendum to “define the mandate that comes out of last week’s unfocused result”, while arguing that the country “cannot afford to be ruled by anger or self-righteousness”. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Industry leaders are urging a calm approach as the book trade faces a sudden and prolongued period of economic uncertainty following last week’s decision to leave the European Union. But some also expressed anger at the outcome of the referendum. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary and talent agent Diane Banks contemplates the next steps for the publishing industry following the UK's vote to leave the European Union. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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On a wrenching day, we learned that UK voted to leave the European Union. Despite Brexit, the book publishing industry remains internationally engaged. The post International Publishing and the UK’s Vote for Brexit appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Britain will vote this week on whether to remain in or leave the European Union, but what does the book trade think? Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Atonement author Ian McEwan has warned a vote to leave the European Union would set into motion "a dangerous unravelling" and urged the UK to "remain and reform". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House chair Gail Rebuck has said that she and other UK bosses for parent company Bertelsmann are "unanimous" in wanting to stay inside the European Union, because leaving "it is too big a risk to take". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Leading publishing figures, including Waterstones m.d James Daunt, chair of Penguin Random House UK Gail Rebuck, author Philip Pullman and poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy, have signed a letter to say they believe leaving the European Union would "severely weaken" the UK's creative industries. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Over a book-writing career of more than three decades I have produced a number of well received books with very modest sales mainly on European and international political themes. But never have I had a book - Brexit: How Britain Will Leave Europe (I.B.Tauris) - go through two editions in just... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a Nosy Crow blog post warning about the dangers of the UK leaving the European Union, illustrator Axel Scheffler has said there would have been no Gruffalo without the EU. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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