By Siobhan O’Leary httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldC7FQiUJ6s German publisher Eichborn may just win the award for the most bizarre marketing stunt at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The Frankfurt-based publisher let loose 200 flies with small banners attached to them bearing the Eichborn name, logo (you guessed it—a fly), and stand number. The banners were attached with wax that so that they would fall …
IPA Freedom to Publish Chair on China
On Wednesday at the Frankfurt Book Fair, Norwegian publisher Bjorn Smith-Simonsen, in his capacity as chair of the International Publishers Association’s Freedom to Publish Committee, suggested that one of the first potential steps toward resolving the issue of censorship in China was to encourage the Publishers Association of China [PAC] to join the IPA: “They [PAC] could eventually become a …
Independent vs. Corporate Publisher? The Question is Moot, Argues Agent Ira Silverberg
By Chris Artis In the US, the conventional wisdom has always been that a writer must make his career either with a large corporate publisher or with one of the dozens of smaller independent houses. The thinking was that since the corporate and indie publishing worlds are so different in terms of priorities and styles an author and his collective …
Print-Your-Own Book May Be the Answer for Emerging Markets
By Kassia Krozser, Booksquare.com As publishing great and small struggles to see into the future—will it be ebooks? Will mobile phones or the mythical Apple Table save publishing? How are we going to put all these pieces together? Discussions of the implications of the Google Book Settlement make for intellectual fodder, but out there in the real world, people are …
Literary Agent Profile: Yasmina Jraissati of RAYA Agency
Based in Lebanon, Yasmina Jraissati founded Raya Agency to represent Arab authors and build more connections between international and Arab publishers.
Changes and Challenges in the Supply Chain
By John Mutter of Shelf Awareness Online challenges and opportunities were major themes yesterday at the 31st International Supply Chain seminar, sponsored by Editeur and the Boersenverein. Jonathan Nowell of Nielsen Book noted that the difficult economy has led to a “huge shift in consumer spending.” While the freefall has ended, he said, “restraint characterizes consumer spending behavior.” Book sales …
Graphic Novels Spur DC Comics’ Global Growth
By Chris Artis Even during the worldwide economic downturn, the global popularity of graphic novels continues to grow, says Sandy Resnick, DC Comics’ Director of International Business Development. “Fortunately for us, it’s been a growing category in general bookstores for a long time now. This adoption is at different stages in different countries, but it still seems to be increasing …
Whither Book Publishers? TOC Frankfurt on Tech and Readers
By Hannah Johnson (This article also appeared in our Frankfurt Edition on October 14) Describing the philosophy behind the launch of the Stanza iPhone reader, Neelan Choksi, COO of Lexcycle (the company behind Stanza), set the tone of the TOC Frankfurt Conference on Tuesday in his keynote speech, saying, “We focused on the readers because that’s all we knew.” Stanza …
Frankfurt Preview: Director Juergen Boos Discusses Economy, Rights, China
By Edward Nawotka “If you’re talking about an economic crisis, then you have to talk about an economic crisis hitting American and UK publishers alone,” said Frankfurt Book Fair director Juergen Boos on the eve of the opening of this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair. “Latin America has already come back from its economic crisis, which it experienced ten years ago, …
Bonus Material: Li Jiwei on His “Book Mountain” for the Frankfurt Book Fair
By Edward Nawotka Artist Li Jiwei’s “Book Mountain” is the artistic centerpiece of the official Chinese exhibit at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair. The installation takes the form of a giant sheet of paper that undulates over a “river of books” incorporating 10,000 volumes. Surrounding the exhibit is a display that traces more than 2,000 years of Chinese writing, from …