As part of our continuing coverage of the London Book Fair, we offer a variety of perspectives from the show floor. Interview by Liz Bury Lucy Luck, Literary Agent, Lucy Luck Associates I come to London Book Fair to meet editors and to talk about books. With literary debuts it takes time to create a reputation and recognition. They’re difficult …
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London Digest: Kirsty Dunseath, Publishing Director, Weidenfeld & Nicolson
As part of our continuing coverage of the London Book Fair, we offer a variety of perspectives from the show floor Interview by Liz Bury Kirsty Dunseath, publishing director of Weidenfeld & Nicolson I went to a lunch at the Icelandic embassy in London on Monday, of course no Icelandic publishers had made it and so it was just the …
Digitizing Double Page Explosions: London Looks at Comics as E-books
By Liz Bury LONDON: The Comics & Graphic Novels Pavilion, complete with Comics Café, made its debut at the the London Book Fair this year. The category has enjoyed an upswing in the UK in recent years, as products from the US and Japanese manga has tapped a growing market, and the new forum generated some of the biggest buzz …
LBF Digest: Erupting Eyjafjallajökull is Unexpected Boon to Some Authors
By Liz Bury The London Book Fair 2010 will no doubt go down in publishing folklore as, like the title of an episode of Friends, “the one with the volcano.” Monday was to be the busiest day in Earls Court in London, but the aisles were noticeably quiet. Simon Master, former Random House deputy chairman and now adviser to the …
London Book Fair Digital Conference Digest: “Take Risks, Fail, Learn and Try Again”
By Liz Bury The pre-show digital day at London Book Fair kicked off in good spirits on Sunday but regrettably, with numbers depleted due to the volcano eruption in Iceland. Slated speakers Susan Danziger from America’s DailyLit and Michael Tamblyn from Canada’s e-book store Kobo were absent, and about 20% of the seats at the sell-out conference were empty. The …
Volcano Threatens London Book Fair’s Digital Day
By Liz Bury By now it’s well known that plumes of volcanic ash from an eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in southern Iceland have drifted across the Atlantic to cover Europe at high altitude. The ash is damaging to aircraft engines and the UK National Air Traffic Service announced that all the country’s airports have been shut down until at …
Author Contracts 2.0: Putting Cash Before Copyright and Control
By Liz Bury In the world of multi-channel digital distribution the future author contract is likely to put transparency and cash flow above copyright protection, as a new working dynamic emerges between publishers and authors. The advent of digital distribution means that authors should “surrender to the inevitable” and let go of control of their work, said Clive Rich, principal …
“E-book ISBN Mess Needs Sorting Out,” Say UK Publishers
By Liz Bury LONDON: The subject of how book digitization is affecting the future of the ISBN may not be as sexy as say pricing or sequencing issues, but it is just as important. Right now, publishers around the globe are taking different approaches to assigning ISBNs to e-books, that is if they are assigning them at all. The situation …
Radical Changes Needed to Put UK E-book Strategy on Track
By Liz Bury It was a curious experience listening to speakers at the recent e-books industry strategy event in London, run by the digital directors group of the UK Publishers Association. A lot of rational ideas about how to combat piracy were being talked about, like how improving access to content and enhancing the quality of experience offered to e-book …
Why Mumbai’s Hot for Mills & Boon
By Liz Bury MUMBAI: Of the numerous UK publishing houses to set up new operations in India during the past few years, Mills and Boon has perhaps the best brand recognition among its target audience. The publisher’s special formula of boy-meets-girl romance found a loyal readership in India during the 1980s and 1990s, when English language editions were first exported …