By Siobhan O’Leary
Virtual author readings are becoming a more common occurrence in Germany. The Tagesspiegel writes that publishers such as Berlin’s Galiani Verlag are creating bigger and better events that take place even if their authors cannot attend them or are unable or unwilling to attend. One of Galiani’s latest books, Nichts als die Welt (Nothing But the World) brings together 180 eyewitness accounts of some of the most important events of the last millennium. The author, who lives in Nairobi, can’t attend the launch party that publisher Wolfgang Hörner is planning, but he will be available for live interviews via Skype. Another example cited is the website Lyrikline.org, which is celebrating its 10-year anniversary next week by hosting readings in Berlin of poets from Canada to Malawi, all of whom won’t be on site.
The German media industry will experience moderate growth over the next few years thanks primarily to increasing consumer spending, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ recently released report entitled German Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2009-2013. As quoted in the Boersenblatt, income from advertising will be lower this year than in 2008, but the report predicts that advertising volume will increase by 0.9% per year from 2009 to 2013, landing at 12.4 billion euros. This bump is a consequence of additional online advertising, which is the only industry segment expected to see any advertising growth by 2013. Overall sales for that same period are expected to grow 2.4% per year to 57.9 billion euros.
Bertelsmann-owned Arvato print Management GmbH and the Reader’s Digest Association, Inc., have signed an agreement granting Arvato responsibility for a large portion of the sales and production management of RDA in 35 countries in North America, Europe, and Asia. Arvato will also be responsible for production output in Asia on behalf of RDA in Latin America. BuchMarkt reports that the agreement comprises a purchasing volume of more than $400 million per year over the 5-year term of the contract.