WHSmith Travel is turning unlikely books into bestsellers, expanding internationally, and maintaining revenue in the midst of a recession.
Idyllic Fernando de Noronha Island Stars in New iPad App
New iPad app published by Bei in Brazil features the Fernando de Noronha island. The app includes video, animation, photos, maps and more.
Can Niche Bookstores Survive in the Age of Digital?
By Edward Nawotka Niche bookstores are being squeezed on both side: first from the chains which offer an increasingly broad range of products and second from digital, which offers virtually all products. To survive, niche bookstores — whether focusing on mysteries, travel, or mind-body-spirit (such as Watkin’s Books, discussed in today’s feature story) — will need to be offer to …
Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu…Who Knew?: Words Without Borders’ Surprise Hit
By Chip Rossetti Last fall marked the release of Tablet & Pen: Literary Landscapes from the Modern Middle East, an anthology of modern Middle Eastern literature in translation that has had a surprising success in the American market. Tablet & Pen represents a fruitful collaboration between the literature-in-translation online magazine Words Without Borders and anthology editor Reza Aslan, author of …
Ho Ho Humbug: Weather Delays German Overnight Book Deliveries
By Siobhan O’Leary Next day delivery nationwide is standard among German book wholesalers, giving small and large brick and mortar stores alike a chance to compete with the speediness and broad selection of online retailers. In fact, medications are the only other product that German consumers can expect to receive in as short a time span. But as anyone who …
Going to Göteborg? Tell us About It.
We at Publishing Perspectives are busy preparing our show daily issues for the Frankfurt Book Fair and won’t be able to join the crowds at the Göteborg Book Fair this year. If you’ll be there, we’d love to hear from you — what you see, feel, experience at the Fair — and will post summaries here. Let us know what …
Dropping by the Almost Corner Bookshop in Rome’s Trastevere
By Rachel Aydt New York writer Rachel Aydt is traveling through Europe this summer, and has been filing occasional posts on her bookish adventures. Today, she visits an English-language bookshop in Rome. We headed to Rome for a few days after spending two days with my mom and stepdad, who’d done an apartment swap in Anzio (despite its somber WWII …
Are You Flying British Airways to Bologna? Not Anymore!
By Hannah Johnson As reported in the Bookseller today, British Airways cabin crews have announced strikes that will affect travel both before and after the Bologna Children’s Book Fair this year, which will be held March 23-26. The strikes are scheduled to take place on March 20-22 and March 27-30. British Airways says that not all of its flights during …
Up Close and Personal: Magali Travels the World in Search of Publishing
By Hannah Johnson In a digitally connected world, having friends and co-workers in several time zones has become common place, thanks to tools like Skype and devices like smartphones. We are always reachable and always connected. But talking into your computer microphone is not the only way to meet people and learn about publishing around the world. Magali Tardivel-Lacombe was …
My Publisher, My Wing Man
By Franz Wisner Why stop at piddly promotions or insufficient inventory when you can blame your publisher for every setback in life? A cavity? The scoundrels diverted me from quality floss time. Bounced check? Sorry, Mr. Banker. I used publisher math. With my latest book, How the World Makes Love, I had a change of heart. My publisher gave me an assist …