For all of us that missed Frankfurt, Publishing Perspectives’ Ed Nawotka gives us the top ten buzzwords that came out of the worlds biggest book fair. Number one according to Nawotka, is discovery,”There are sophisticated digital solutions to help readers find your books, but it was frequently noted, “bookstores are still the best showroom for publishers, and once they are gone, we won’t get them back.” he quotes. Click here to find out what the rest are.
‘Ecosystems and the discoverability gap have been the main themes running through the two pre-Frankfurt digital conferences, Publishers Launch and TOC, with how publishers add value, pricing, piracy, and inevitably DRM not too far behind,’ reports Philip Jones on the Booksellers’ daily newsletter.
The IPA has launched the 2012 Global Map of Publishing Markets, an interesting tool, which allows the industry to visualize how publishing markets outside of Europe and North America are, literally, bulging.
The map is based on extensive statistical research by Rüdiger Wischenbart, IPA’s statistics consultant, in an effort to seek existing publishing statistics, identify secondary sources, interview major industry players and triangulate estimates for most major markets. The map was created by Dr Benjamin D. Hennig from University of Sheffield using special the worldmapper toolset. Together with this map, IPA is publishing a list of the world’s top 20 publishing markets.
Says Jens Bammel, IPA’s Secretary General: “IPA’s first global map of publishing markets is an important step towards more comprehensive global publishing statistics. It shows the surprising strength of a number of markets, such as Poland, India, Brazil or Korea.”
“At the same time it reveals the shocking truth that publishing in large parts of the world is virtually non-existent. Most of Africa and parts of Latin America and Asia are, almost literally, not on the map. These countries need national book policies to develop their local industries. ”
The Global Map of Publishing Markets is available for download here:
global_statistics
Around 70 authors and 100 artists are set to arrive from New Zealand; about 300 events will take place. The Guest of Honour 2012 deals in superlatives, and offers a refreshing mix of youthful storytelling, multimedial avant-garde and an oral tradition.
Read more at www.buchmesse.de
Dennis Abrahams writes a wonderful review on African Violet and Other Stories on Publishing Perspectives. This new anthology includes the five short stories shortlisted for the 2012 Caine Prize (often called the Booker of Africa — it’s given for the best original short story by an African author), as well as an additional ten stories from The Caine Prize African Writers’ Workshop written by authors from across the continent, it gives readers worldwide a taste of the diversity and talent coming out of Africa today.
The book is being published in six countries simultaneously by Sub-Saharan Publishers (Ghana), FEMRITE (Uganda), Bookworld Publishers (Zambia), Internationalist (UK), Jacana (South Africa), Cassava Republic (Nigeria), and Kwani? (Kenya). Read the full review on www.publishingperspectives.com
Author and editor Anton Harber reveals why he chooses journalism, on Thursday 18 October, in the final 2012 event in the Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts (GIPCA) Great Texts/Big Questions public lecture series.
A recent article in the Natal Witness highlights the plight of Publishers facing the reality of the National Education Department’s new textbook policy. Quoting the Publishers’ Association of South Africa in saying that it could destroy a quarter of South Africa’s publishing industry, or half of the country’s capacity to create textbooks and other materials.
Read the full article at www.witness.co.za
Digital watermarking, also sometimes called social DRM, has long represented a possible but underutilized third way. In case you’re unfamiliar, a digital watermark consists of pieces of data inserted into a file. If a publisher finds an illegally copied version on a file-sharing site, it can use the watermark to identify the original purchaser. It’s often lauded for being reader-friendly, since it doesn’t hinder moving files between devices. Publishing Perspectives spoke with Huub van de Pol, manager of BooXtream about how the digital watermarking services it provides have developed and the challenges it faces. Read more on www.publishingperspectives.com
Editor-in-Chief of City Press newspaper and former Editor of the Mail & Guardian, Ferial Haffajee, will speak as part of the Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts (GIPCA) Great Texts/Big Questions public lecture series, on Thursday 27 September. She will discuss the National Development Plan, considering many questions that arise from it, most significantly whether it is an unattainable dream, or initiates our every potential.
Worldreader and the Caine Prize have formed a partnership that will allow the Worldreader app to publish some of their prize winning short stories. Worldreader aims to make digital books available free of charge to children and teachers across four projects in three sub-Saharan African countries: Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda. Children in the program have access to e-readers loaded with Worldreader’s e-book reading platform. Read more at www.publishingperspectives.com
