Bookseller blogs

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12/05/11--04:33: The future of publishing (chan 1007721)

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This year's SYP conference debated the effect technology will have on our future reading.

This year's SYP conference posed a key question for every young publisher: what challenges and opportunities will face publishers in the digital future?

Vintage editor Kay Peddle opened the debate on a positive note: the book is not dead. Throughout history there have been numerous 'threats' to publishing that have turned into opportunities, she argued. Publishing is an agile industry, but publishers need to maintain a strong relationship with authors to prevent them turning to self-publishing and promotion or going straight to companies like Amazon.

Mon, 05/12/2011 - 12:18

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12/05/11--04:41: Boldly going (chan 1007721)

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The book business is on the front foot when it comes to digital, but concerns remain.

This morning we opened the doors to more than 500 delegates attending the FutureBook Conference 2011, our annual event looking at and ­discussing the digital book business.

Mon, 05/12/2011 - 12:38

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12/06/11--04:09: Size matters (chan 1007721)

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In a survey of the top thousand publishers, the publishing literati's picture sizes tell their own stories.

I have just found myself sandwiched between the great John le Carré and the revered historian Anthony Beevor . . . and I really don't know who was more surprised.

To my huge astonishment, cringing embarrassment and secret delight, I found myself in this extraordinary situation in the Evening Standard's annual list of the thousand­ most influential Londoners.

Tue, 06/12/2011 - 12:00

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12/07/11--01:23: The Christmas rules (chan 1007721)

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Christmas is finally here, here are some of my top tips for indies.

With Christmas windows up all down the high street and publisher advertising, the stylish Waterstone’s “Joy oh Joy” campaign and W H Smith's primetime TV adverts, the retail shopping season is well underway.

We have even—finally—seen an uplift in sales as the day draws closer.

With this in mind what can we do in the world of independent bookselling to maximise our share and drive sales this Christmas?

Wed, 07/12/2011 - 09:17

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12/09/11--01:47: The new publishing (chan 1007721)

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The Faber chief's manifesto for a new type of publishing strikes a chord, but not all can evolve.

Speaking on Monday at Futurebook, this year’s biggest book trade conference, Faber chief Stephen Page said it was time for a new publishing to arise.

Three years ago Faber had asked itself how it could be more relevant in the conversation between reader and writer, how it could move from being a book publisher to being a business around reading and writing. Hence we now see spin-offs such as Faber Digital, Factory, Social and Academy, its writing school.

Fri, 09/12/2011 - 09:43

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12/12/11--06:32: The hot topics (chan 1007721)

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The Symposium of European Publishers uncovered some home truths about digital, rights and supporting indies.

At the Symposium of European Publishers, organised by the International Bureau of French Publishing (BIEF), in association with the French Publishers Association, Syndicat national de l'édition (SNE), the hot topic was the changing relationship of sales between digital and conventional books, which affects the revenue split between authors, publishers, agents, designers and booksellers.

Mon, 12/12/2011 - 14:15

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12/12/11--07:20: Paper chase (chan 1007721)

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British design is going through a purple patch—but publishers are devaluing their own product by using inferior paper stock.

Since Julian Barnes big-upped Random House creative director Suzanne Dean in his Man Booker speech, a welter of stories on jacket design have popped up in the Sunday supplements. The articles have roughly followed Barnes' line that: "if the physical book is to resist the challenge of e-books, it has to look like something worth buying".

Mon, 12/12/2011 - 15:08

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12/14/11--09:16: Hits from the radio (chan 1007721)

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With no runaway Christmas bestseller this year, some more unlikely titles are spearheading indies' sales.

Clothes retailers complain of unseasonal weather, but unseasonal is just how booksellers like it. Dry and warm enough to shop in comfort, and no ice to keep people at home in the company of their computers. James Daunt believes it will be a “range” Christmas, and there are no signs yet of a single title dominating sales—but then it is still too early to tell.  

Wed, 14/12/2011 - 17:12

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12/15/11--01:25: Two days of Christmas (chan 1007721)

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The e-reader phenomenon means booksellers get a second bite at the Christmas market.

I do hope you are all looking forward to Christmas, because we are going to have two of them. Lucky us.

We all know about the first one. We spend most of the year building up to it. Publishers are used to presenting their festive line-ups to retailers during a few frantic weeks in spring or early summer, and then occupying the next three months haggling over discounts and marketing spend until the final selections are piled, stacked, shelved and plonked across various display units up and down the land. And then crossing their fingers and hoping the buggers sell.

Thu, 15/12/2011 - 09:25

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12/20/11--01:47: Unhappy feet (chan 1007721)

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Lewisham libraries' alarming drop in borrowing highlights the dangers of "community ownership".

The latest book issue figures from Lewisham libraries should give cause for concern to those local authorities who are thinking about transferring their public library services to "community ownership". Borrowing figures released by Lewisham show catastrophic falls in book loans at all the libraries which were transferred from council control in May. At Blackheath Library, the number of loans fell by a factor of 10, from 5,044 to just 572—a decrease of nearly 90%.

Tue, 20/12/2011 - 09:44

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12/21/11--03:33: Skills school (chan 1007721)

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The demands of the publishing industry are evolving—and would-be employees need to as well.

Publishing has long been a popular career option, but how would-be employees reach their workplace goal has changed dramatically in the last 20 years.

Wed, 21/12/2011 - 11:30

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12/22/11--07:52: Looking ahead to 2012 (chan 1007721)

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Next year has some strong titles coming up, and some consistent themes.

It’s around this time of year that I start receiving calls from journalists wanting to know what books and literary trends will be “hot” in 2012. I’ll get on to the potential big sellers in a future blog but first here’s a quick look at some trends I’ve spotted in new fiction so far . . .

Thu, 22/12/2011 - 15:44

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01/05/12--02:42: No cheers for rights (chan 1007721)

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An ECJ ruling late last year has major implications for territorial rights.

There has been much press comment on the European Court of Justice decision in the cases brought by the FA Premier League (FAPL) against the sellers and users of satellite TV decoder cards, shipped from Greece to the UK and used in British pubs—including Karen Murphy’s The Red, White and Blue—to screen live Premier League games.

Thu, 05/01/2012 - 10:37

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01/06/12--03:57: The ghost of Christmas past (chan 1007721)

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Christmas 2011 was better than we feared - and yes, The Etymologicon helped

Christmas 2011 is over and booksellers are already busy with New Year promotions, sales, sorting out returns, doing the accounts and planning for the year ahead. 

Fri, 06/01/2012 - 11:48

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01/09/12--03:30: Digital to the rescue (chan 1007721)

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With digital sales soaring, both booksellers and publishers will need to adapt fast in 2012.

The dust is still settling from Christmas but the trends are clear: the celeb market down, cookery down, but other areas reasonably strong, and the bloodbath some had predicted was partially averted.

Mon, 09/01/2012 - 11:26

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01/12/12--01:49: I'm not lovin' it (chan 1007721)

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The deal to give away Michael Morpurgo's titles in McDonald's is another example of giving away for free what we booksellers work so hard to give value to.

It is no secret that the nutritional value of a book from an ex-children’s laureate will outweigh any burger from McDonald's, but the news that Michael Morpurgo’s Mudpuddle Farm series will be given away as the free gift with Happy Meals could go either way for booksellers.

Thu, 12/01/2012 - 09:41

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01/13/12--07:22: Green shoots (chan 1007721)

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Despite the stormclouds overhead, evidence of optimism and innovation are to be found.

Last week we pointed out that although the mood music right now is pretty bleak, the year ahead looks reasonably solid, so today it is doubly pleasant to point out a few green shoots poking through. And, for once, they are not digital.

The announcement by the level-headed Foyles c.e.o. Sam Husain that he is looking to expand his chain at the same rate in 2012 as it did in 2011, when he added two stores, shows that there is still optimism to be found in classic bricks-and-mortar retailing.

Fri, 13/01/2012 - 15:18

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01/16/12--07:40: Apostrophegate (chan 1007721)

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The furore over Waterstones' dropping of the apostrophe shows that the trade is still passionate about the chain.

Either people of the book trade collectively lost their senses last week or Apostrophegate reflects something more significant.



To say there has been a lot of reaction to Waterstones' apostrophe, or dropping of, is an understatement. The debate has gone way beyond trade news and has appeared in broadsheets, on BBC Radio 4 and even in the Daily Mail.

Mon, 16/01/2012 - 15:27

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01/17/12--04:48: The lovely hardback (chan 1007721)

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As digital sales grow, physical books must become more durable—and desirable.

One of the world’s most beautiful books is the Bodleian Library’s Shakespeare. It is the only edition left in its original, simple 1623 binding. “Patina" is too effete a word to describe how handled, battered and well-worn it looks. It’s like that old pair of boots that Van Gogh painted.

Tue, 17/01/2012 - 12:43

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01/18/12--01:34: Share the passion (chan 1007721)

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Can the trade pull together to hit a key deadline for World Book Night?

Giving someone something that you love is almost always a satisfying experience. And it is an experience that all of us working in the book industry have had on plenty of occasions when it comes to literature. For sharing your passion for a book with another person who has yet to go on that reading journey is one of the joys that drives our business and motivates us as people. The personal recommendation is one of the essential wires by which we are connected to one another.

Wed, 18/01/2012 - 09:32

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