Storm sinks hopes of record-breaking 2019 Ekushey Boi Mela in Bangladesh. Fire ravages Casablanca International Book Fair

Posted onLeave a comment

Two major global book fairs, both on target to set new records for attendance and sales, had their hopes dashed this weekend as fire broke out at the Casablanca International Book Fair in Morocco and floods devastated the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela, the month long national book fair in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The storm swept across Read More …

‘Jessica Jones,’ ‘Punisher’ Canceled. Netflix led the streaming surge and now pays the price as suppliers copy the Netflix model and content is siloed

Posted onLeave a comment

“Jessica Jones, Punisher Canceled as Netflix Completes Marvel Purge” runs the headline in The Hollywood Reporter, but it’s not so much a purge as the inevitable consequence of the direction video streaming is taking. And publishing is not so far behind. Original content is of course a great draw for consumers, to a degree. But Read More …

Amazon accounts for 50% of online book sales in France

Posted onLeave a comment

There’s not much to go on here, but also no real surprise. Amazon claimed 50% of online book sales in France in 2018, according to a report by Kantor World Panel. According to the report Amazon was by far the largest online retailer in the country, and its biggest showing was in the books sector, Read More …

Ten day countdown until Indonesia’s Islamic Book Fair kicks off

Posted onLeave a comment

The annual Islamic Book Fair is scheduled to run February 27 through March 2 this year, and as usual is billed the largest Islamic literary event in SE Asia. Founded in 2001, the Islamic Book Fair was created to offer a book fair with a dedicated Islamic nuance to balance the two big trade fairs Read More …

$5m book sales and 5m visitors already, and still India’s book fairs line up. The 37th Agartala Book Fair is underway

Posted onLeave a comment

East India’s second biggest book fair after Kolkata is underway in Tripura as the India love affair with books continues. As reported here a few days ago, already over 5 million people have visited Indian book fairs this year, spending the USD equivalent of over $5 million, and there’s no sign the appetite for books Read More …

Storytel wants to reduce visibility on hot romance and erotica because they are too popular

Posted onLeave a comment

Cupido is a Norwegian site dedicated to all things sensual, and now that includes podcasts. This month Cupido is launching what apparently translates as Cupido Handsfree – a great double-entendre if accurate. To mark the event Cupido tells us that 4,500 of Storytel’s 100,000 titles are categorized as “sensual”, referencing a report in the left-wing Norwegian Read More …

Over 5 million visitors spend over $5 million at India’s 2019 book fairs. And we’re only halfway through February

Posted onLeave a comment

India’s Kolkata International Book Fair wound up earlier this week and the numbers are in: 2.3 million visitors spent 230 million rupees (US$ 3.2 million) on books in twelve days. Given the price of books in India the volume must have been huge. This just weeks after 900,000 turned out to the New Delhi World Book Read More …

Tanzania’s 2018 Mabati-Cornell Kiswahili Prize for African Literature sets the scene for the Kenya Swahili Literary Festival

Posted onLeave a comment

Weeks before the first ever Swahili Literary Festival kicks off in Kenya in the first days of March comes news that the 2018 Mabati-Cornell Kiswahili Prize for African Literature will be presented at a special event at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania on Friday. Brittle Paper reports that, The prize winners…Tanzanian Zainab Alwi Baharoon, Read More …

Here’s looking at you, kid. The Casablanca International Book Fair is underway, but my eyes are on the Ibn Batouta Prize

Posted onLeave a comment

Casablanca. There can’t be many western readers who don’t see that name and immediately think of Bogart and Bergman. Even if you don’t know the film you know the quotes – Play it again, Sam. Here’s looking at you, kid. No matter that Bogart never actually said one of those. But this week the Casablanca Read More …

Emirates Publishers Association launches Manassah platform to showcase member publishers at regional and international book fairs

Posted onLeave a comment

When it comes to getting noticed in the international book markets, regional and international book fairs and festivals can play a significant role. At the professional end of the book fair spectrum there is the chance to network with agents, scouts, foreign publishers and see up-and-coming tech initiatives. While consumer-facing events can put a publishers’ Read More …

Can Oman’s Muscat International Book Fair this month beat its 2018 record of 1 million visitors?

Posted onLeave a comment

Now be honest. If we think of the Arab book markets at all, the Gulf state of Oman is probably not on the list. But Oman is full of surprises. The Muscat International Book Fair has been running most years since 1992, and at its debut fielded 200 publishing houses from 19 countries, attracting a Read More …

As the London Book Fair looms, invisible millions attend book fairs and festivals around the globe

Posted onLeave a comment

If it’s February it must be the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela in Bangladesh, an annual festival of books that runs the entire month of February. Last year the boi mela sold books to the USD equivalent of just shy of $10 million. But hands up anyone who has Bangladesh on their book market bucket list? Read More …

India’s Kolkata International Book Fair sees 700,000 spend $1.1 million in first five days, despite free ebooks available

Posted onLeave a comment

“Book fair rakes in Rs 8 crore with 7 lakh footfall ” is the headline in the Times of India this week, reporting on the first five days of the Kolkata International Book Fair. The Indian notation equates to 700,000 visitors at the event up until Monday, spending over 80 million rupees ($1.1 million) on Read More …

StreetLib completes January tranche of global expansion. 21 countries on 6 continents

Posted onLeave a comment

When StreetLib launched The New Publishing Standard in September 2017 we made clear the function of the journal was to stimulate debate about the much-neglected global book markets. It was not a StreetLib promotional tool, and not a vehicle to advocate digital at the expense of traditional formats. But occasionally StreetLib becomes part of the Read More …

Bookwire sees 65% ebook sales growth in Ibero-America in 2018. Moves into audiobooks

Posted onLeave a comment

Germany-based Bookwire has reported 65% sales growth and a 25% increase in titles registered for its Spain and Latin America market venture. The increase in Spanish-language titles was to the tune of 33,000, while for Portuguese-speaking Brazil the number of titles rose 40% to 32,000. Bookwire also announced its venture into the audiobook arena. Elena Read More …

Last week to register for Madrid Book Fair. Santo Domingo registrations are open

Posted onLeave a comment

Europe’s biggest consumer-facing book fair will be taking place in the El Retiro park in Madrid from May 31 through June 16. Anyone wanting to participate as an exhibitor will need to complete registration by noon on 11 February. The Dominican Republic will be guest of honour at the 78th Madrid Book Fair. In 2018 the Read More …

Venezuela’s National Book Centre understands the role of digital in building a nation of readers. Other countries should take notice

Posted onLeave a comment

Venezuela’s National Book Center (Cenal), backed by the Ministry of Culture, gave a three day workshop on the value of digital publishing at the end of January. Cenal president Raul Cazal stressed the need for quality content, but the workshop was focused on the mechanics of ebook production and distribution with the aim of boosting the Read More …

“A sweeping fantasy epic steeped in Pan-African history and folklore—one of the most anticipated books of the year.” Widely unavailable in Africa

Posted onLeave a comment

That was the Wall Street Journal this week. Well, maybe not that last bit. What the Wall Street Journal actually said was, Four years after winning the Man Booker Prize, novelist Marlon James returns with a sweeping fantasy epic steeped in Pan-African history and folklore—and one of the most anticipated books of the year Sadly Read More …

Storytel partners with airline and ups its reading game with Ztory buy out. Spotify gets into podcasts. Others discuss digital fatigue

Posted onLeave a comment

It sometimes seems like the US book market and the rest of the world are on different planets. “Capitalizing on Book Publishing Trends in 2019” is the title of a free webinair from Book Business later this month. I did think about signing up, but when they wanted my address and telephone number as compulsory Read More …

Scribd defies its critics. Hits 1 million subscribers

Posted on1 Comment

It all seemed so improbable just a few years ago, when many believed Scribd would follow Oyster into oblivion as Amazon moved into the ebook subscription game. And then of course there’s all that nonsense about how people are reading less nowadays and how the digital reading fad has faded and how… By the logic Read More …