Speakers at the 2016 FutureBook Conference in London emphasized putting disruptive technology to work for book publishers and readers, not fearing it. Porter Anderson Read More
International Publishing and the UK’s Vote for ‘Brexit’
Amid ‘a strong populist allergy to elitism’ in Brexit, we also learn of the directors of a dozen nations’ trade fairs working together. Publishing, like the best of humanity, remains internationally engaged. Read More
'Tales of Two Markets': Publishing Industry Issues and Observations
The architecture of the publishing industry today is changing amid “abundant” content and digital developments. Philip Jones and Andrew Albanese discussed the trends in a session led by Porter Anderson, Publishing Perspectives. Read More
Lee & Low: Diversity Is Not Created Equal
By Porter Anderson | @Porter_Anderson Editor-in-Chief Lee and Low is a children’s book publisher that specializes in cultural diversity. And in its survey of diversity issues in U.S. publishing, the company has handed us a much-needed chance to discuss something healthily difficult: the issue of gender in the publishing workforce. Lee and Low created and executed a large… Read More
Climbing Down: Mall Operator Says Comment ‘Not Intended To Represent Amazon’s Plans’
By Porter Anderson | @Porter_Anderson Editor-in-Chief CHICAGO—(BUSINESS WIRE)—General Growth Properties, Inc. (NYSE: GGP) Chief Executive Officer Sandeep Mathrani has indicated that a statement he made concerning Amazon during GGP’s earnings conference call held on February 2, 2016, was not intended to represent Amazon’s plans. Not a complete reverse-ferret, is it? More qualification than clarification, that’s… Read More
Here’s to Publishing: Perspectives With Context
‘Consumers Do Not Need Help’ It will surprise few who know me that I mention wine in my opening commentary as Editor-in-Chief here at Publishing Perspectives. Ever fond of the grape, I was drawn to Catavino founder Ryan Opaz’s recent piece at Medium, On Wine. A Tragedy. The key message for wine makers, Opaz opines,… Read More
In 2016, Adult Coloring Books: Only Half-Good For Publishing
Color Us Skeptical One of the things the book publishing industry produces best is confusion. Its gray areas (not unlike its Grey areas) are fogs of speculation, partial truths, gossip, and misty-eyed hindsight. Among the most beloved notions this year has been the idea that print books entered a renaissance in 2015. In bookseller’s dreams, consumers… Read More
Truth Be Told? Truth Is on Thin Ice
‘Your Capacity for Change’ Go slowly. Makes it easier if you take this one line at a time: Authenticity is equal to your unique voice, multiplied by truthfulness, plus your capacity for change, multiplied by range of emotional impact, raised to the power of imagination. This is the “Authenticity Formula.” It opens designer and author Marc… Read More
SELF-e And The World’s Authors: Is English Our Lingua Franca?
‘Keep Calm And Study English’ “Since the smashing success of the first Harry Potter novel—which was a No. 1 bestseller in Germany in its English version at one point—we have evidence of English, as a reading language, to be a global phenomenon.” Rüdiger Wischenbart is the Vienna-based publishing consultant who produces the Global eBook Report and directs… Read More
Author Earnings: Springtime for UK indie ebooks
Welcome to the UK, Author Earnings Unlike the US, where collective indie ebook earnings long ago surpassed that of all Big Five authors combined, in the UK indie-published authors and Big Five published authors are still earning neck [and] neck. As we gather this morning (4th December) to open the fifth annual FutureBook Conference here in London, a new Author Earnings report… Read More