Penguin Books South Africa is delighted to announce the completion of the first phase of their e-book roll out in which most of their titles have been made available as e-books. Going forward, they will be releasing new titles in e-book format at the same time as their release in printed form.
we are a bit late on this one, but have to report on the launch of Kobo in South Africa. Now retailing through Pich n Pay store nationwide. Ben Williams attended the launch and give an excellent write up on Bookslive. Check it out here.
President Jacob Zuma has withdrawn his claim for compensation and an apology against cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro (“Zapiro”). The International Publishers Association (IPA) welcomes the withdrawal of the case and calls on all similar defamation cases breaching freedom of expression to be dropped to send a signal that the authorities fully respect freedom of expression.
This is the third such industry survey commissioned by SA Booksellers and done by Willem Struik, with previous surveys reporting on industry outcomes in 2008 and 2006. The survey looks at South African Book Data and is a very interesting read for those interested in the trade. Download the executive summary here.
The announcement last Thursday that Newsweek will cease publication of its weekly magazine and become a digital-only publication
sent shock waves through the print media industry, representing a capitulation to the inexorable rise of digital media. Read Arthur Goldstuck’s take on the rise of digital media on News24.com here.
And if it does, what will this mean for the Brazilian book lovers? Amazon is said to be negotiating to acquire Saraiva, Brazil’s dominant bookseller, with 102 stores. Is it realistic? Publishing Perspectives breaks down the facts and scenarios. Read more here
Amazon is forcing British publishers to cover the cost of a 20% VAT charge on ebook sales – even though the true VAT cost to the online retailer is only a fraction of that amount under its generous Luxembourg-based tax regime, reports the Guardian. Read more here.
The biggest hurdle to establishing a culture of reading in South Africa is neither access nor infrastructure, writes Nick Mulgrew on the M&G website. Read his article on literacy here.
Barnes & Noble made it clear at the Frankfurt Book Fair that they plan to play nice with publishers during their international expansion.Read Edward Nawotka’s article on www.publishingperspectives.com
Bloomsbury Executive Director Richard Charkin was full of positivity on the opening morning of the Frankfurt Book Fair. Publishing had reacted remarkably quickly to digital, he insisted – academic publishing is now 90% digital, with trade now at around 15% and rising quickly. The problem is that the lessons publishers have learned from digital aren’t being applied to the rest of their businesses: royalties are still being paid on a recommended retail price that nobody actually pays, and there are complexities in the distribution system that would make a rocket scientist blush. Read more on the Frankfurt Book Fair’s blog
