The Guardian view on the writing business: readers must ultimately benefit | Editorial

People want stories and that means cultivating a publishing ecosystem where big and small can flourishThis week both the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority and the Department of Justice in the US announced investigations into the planned $2.2bn acquisition of the publisher Simon & Schuster by Bertelsmann, which already owns Penguin Random House. The merger, if allowed, would see Bertelsmann have almost one-third of English-language book sales. The move follows a year when a population cocooned at home, reaching for comfort reading, inflated the profits of big publishers. Bloomsbury and Pan Macmillan recently announced that they would be returning furlough payments; HarperCollins did not take them.Many of the UK’s smaller publishers fared rather differently: a Bookseller survey last summer found 60% feared they would cease to exist by autumn. Indies tend not to have the backlists full of household names that, say, a Penguin has; they depend far more on serendipity, on a customer wandering into a shop intending to buy one thing but coming out with something else as well. This happens far less with online shopping; at least one publisher lost up to 90% in sales. Some also found it difficult to qualify for furlough. They took to social media to announce their plight, or to try new selling tactics; some crowdfunded; some received emergency Arts Council England cash. Many were dragged back from the brink, for which we should be grateful. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2021-03-28 17:25:47 UTC ]

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-11-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-08 00:49:57 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-06 00:37:34 UTC ]
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Four Debuts Shortlisted for UK’s Times/Warwick Young Writer Award

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-11-05 06:45:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-11-05 05:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-05 01:04:10 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-04 14:03:51 UTC ]
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Announcing the Sunday Times PFD Young Writer of the Year Award shortlist

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[ British Council global | 2019-11-04 12:55:09 UTC ]
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[ Book Riot | 2019-11-04 11:38:38 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-04 03:15:10 UTC ]
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Being a crime writer doesn’t mean I condone murder. Do I even have to say it? | Garry Disher

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[ The Guardian | 2019-11-03 17:00:27 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-11-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-10-31 20:02:20 UTC ]
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A Most Rare Compendium: An 18th-Century Guide to Magical Treasure Hunting?

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[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-31 07:41:35 UTC ]
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