European publishers may be lagging behind in e-publishing, but they have time to learn from the mistakes of publishers in the US, UK and Japan
How To Get Published When You’re Not a Cliche
David Unger is the US rep for the Guadalajara International Book Fair. Born Guatemala, he lives in New York, writes in English, but is more widely published in Spanish. By David Unger NEW YORK CITY: I am the US rep for the Guadalajara International Book Fair so I know more than I need to know about the schizoid business of …
Has Apple’s iPad Cornered the Market for Children’s E-Books?
By Edward Nawotka When will a viable competitor to the iPad emerge? Today’s feature story discusses the Tools of Change conference at the Bologna Book Fair, where nearly all the talk developing apps and e-books for the iPad. The simple fact is, up until now, nothing has been able to compete with the iPad when it comes to the readability …
Tips from THE Frankfurt Book Fair Veteran
By Fred Kobrak As the world’s biggest book fair, there are thousands of exhibitors spread over many buildings. Getting to your appointments will take more time than at the London Book Fair, BookExpo America or even Bologna. The busiest time for everyone is Wednesday to Friday of the Fair –- time when everyone has scheduled advance appointments for those 50 …
The Kids Are Alright! Why Digitization and E-books are Good for Literacy
By Kristen McLean, executive director of the Association of Booksellers for Children (ABC) After several hundred years with a stable model, some of our most basic ideas about books and reading are now under the microscope. The most pessimistic opinions tell us that the book as we know it is dead, but I don’t believe it. It is important to …
Face Time
Editorial by Thomas Minkus, VP, Frankfurt Book Fair NEW YORK: We in the publishing community tend to take book fairs for granted: dreading the preparation and extra work, facing questions about how much time and resources are necessary to attend, arranging for time away from the home and office. Only unforeseen events that disrupt our attendance, like 9/11 or the …
What’s Bedeviling Paris’ Salon du Livre?
By Olivia Snaije PARIS: It should be an occasion for celebration — it’s the 30th anniversary, after all — but Paris’ Salon du Livre opens today in a climate of sniping and mudslinging. It’s “the fair we love to hate,” quipped Nicolas Gary on his literary blog, Actualitté. For years, French publishers have been complaining that the fair is neither …
Against the Odds: Bringing Arabic Kids Books to Life in Beirut
By Olivia Snaije BEIRUT: Dar Onboz is a small, Beirut-based publishing company with big dreams. Founded in the spring of 2006, just before the Israeli summer bombing of Lebanon, Dar Onboz has faced down financial worries, problems with distribution and the general difficulties of running a company in country where the political situation is volatile and corruption is commonplace. The …
Can Books Help Kids Better Cope with Digital Multitasking?
By Edward Nawotka Today’s lead story by Sharon Glassman features an interview with Antonio Faeti of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, who discusses the role kids books have in the digital age. Among his arguments — which include describing kids books as a kind of vitamin 2.0 — Faeti cites a study done at the University of London that prescribes exposing …
Vitamins 2.0: How Children’s Books Can Change the World in the Digital Age
What type of illustrated kids’ books are most valuable? Perhaps those of most importance are the books done with manual, as opposed to digital artistry.