Emphasizing ‘the plight of oppressed publishers and writers,’ the International Publishers Association confers its newly renamed Prix Voltaire on Saudi dissident Raif Badawi. Read More
The IPA London Congress: Confrontation and Debate
Dichotomies of local and global, major and modest, resonated throughout the International Publishers Association’s 31st Congress, convened in the run-up to London Book Fair. Read More
Canada Calling: BitLit and Shelfie at Three Years
By Porter Anderson | @Porter_Anderson Publishing Perspectives Editor-in-Chief “It’s been nearly 3 years since I first picked up a phone and started calling publishers.” And Peter Hudson, founding CEO of BitLit in Vancouver, is in a good position to tell newcomers to the publishing startup scene what to expect: “Looking back, I understand why everybody I… Read More
Confidence Rising (Mostly): Nielsen Looks Over World Markets
By Porter Anderson | @Porter_Anderson The good news is that people think there’s good news. In a webcast this week from in London Book Fair’s #Quantum16 Virtual Conference, Nielsen’s Andre Breedt started his survey of key markets with a check of consumer confidence. He put special emphasis on the #Quantum16 markets: Brazil, China, India, The Philippines,… Read More
New Readers & #KathNiel: Wattpad Presents in The Philippines
#KathNiel is the most-searched term on Wattpad in The Philippines. There, Wattpad is known as much more than a huge online reading and writing community. Its arm called Wattpad Presents generates content for film and television productions. Announced in September 2014, the partnership sees TV5 Manila dramatize popular stories from the Toronto-based Wattpad site. The program is heavily… Read More
China’s Feng Tang: Translating the ‘Beijing, Beijing’ Of His Peers
‘Sexuality Is Almost My Trademark’ “Why didn’t you take your stupid Three Gun briefs home?” she asked. “They were clearly dry already, dry as they would ever get, but you didn’t take them back. Why? After looking at them all day, I would go out and dance all night.” What the author Feng Tang does… Read More
‘Publishing Goes Pop,’ Part 1: Can Reading Find True Fandom At BookCon?
‘There Was No Interest At BEA In…Readers’ BookExpo America (BEA) makes its annual appearance next week (27-29 May). It’s one of the world’s big-three publishing trade shows of the year, preceded in April by London Book Fair and followed in October by the largest of all, Frankfurt Book Fair. And while the show officially ends on Friday the 29th, it… Read More
When envious eyes aren't smiling: #FutureChat recap
‘Beware blanket dismissal.’ All endeavors need innovators in this changing environment. #BabyBathwater Ron Martinez’ cautionary comments arrived on the #FutureChat hashtag after our weekly live session had closed on Friday. But his point is a good one. To put together his tweets in sequence; Empathize a moment. Innovators are Promethean: may bring a benefit, but… Read More
'No bookshop is an island': ALLi launches #Authors4Bookstores
At IndieReCon: Launching #Authors4Books Standing in this beautiful new Foyles store to launch ALLi’s Authors For Bookstores campaign, for a moment we can fool ourselves that reports of the decline of bricks-and-mortar bookshops are greatly exaggerated. The Alliance of Independent Authors’ (ALLi) Debbie Young (pictured)took to the floor of Friday’s IndieReCon event in London shortly before we… Read More
In And Around London Book Fair: Authors, IndieReCon And ALLi’s Third Anniversary
And Spectacular Weather As if heeding a request from London Book Fair (LBF) director Jacks Thomas, the sun flooded Olympia London with bright springtime light all week. We weary stand-and-stairs brats now head back to planes, trains, and waiting families. Smaller by design — Olympia is a markedly more compressed space than Earls Court — the transfer went remarkably… Read More