Ghana’s audiobook start-up AkooBooks wins the African Entrepreneurship Award as western audiobook and ebook firms look the other way

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As with ebooks, so with audiobooks. While the big western digital book companies steer clear of the African continent bar a toe in the waters of South Africa, local talent is rising to fill the vacuum.  Kenya’s eKitabu, Nigeria’s Publiseer and OkadaBooks… And in Ghana, AkooBooks Audio, which this week won a High Potential Innovation Read More …

“The most successful year in Simon & Schuster’s history.”

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What a turnaround from those heady days of 2010-12 when many believed publishing was doomed, amid very real crises in the book retail and publishing sectors. A time when many predicted (some joyfully) the death of print and that the then Big 6 would follow Borders into oblivion as ebooks became the only format consumers Read More …

Saudi Arabia’s 4th Jeddah International Book Fair set for 13 days over western Christmas and New Year

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Yet another reminder that the global book markets care nothing for the idiosyncrasies of the western publishing calendar. While western publishing all but shuts down, bar the retailers, for the Christmas and New Year festivities, Saudi Arabia will be holding its second-largest book fair, starting December 26 and winding up January 5. The Jeddah International Read More …

Self-published comic book to become Netflix series – Again

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What are the chances? You self-publish a comic book. Someone finds an old copy in a trash can. He happens to be a TV director. Next thing you know, your self-published comic book is a TV series. Now try count the odds for it happening twice! Okay, so there was no trash can involved the Read More …

Dubai Audio Library “the largest Arabic audio library in the world”

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Launched by Dubai’s Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Dubai Audio Library seeks to help the 7 million visually impaired people in the Arab world. It’s an initiative, reports Nasher News, undertaken by the RTA in collaboration with the website Bookshare.org. The Library is a volunteering platform for supporting seven Read More …

Wattpad authors and readers blaze the diversity trail together with #MuslimRomance, #MuslimLoveStory, #IslamicLoveStory, #DiverseLit, #FreeTheLGBT and #Girlpower

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While other publishers talk a lot about diversity and equality, and have taken steps to make it happen, Wattpad is way ahead in the diversity game. Wattpad’s 2018 Year in Review is a stunning array of statistics showing that, if diverse writing is readily available to read, the readers will jump on it. But will Read More …

Vietnam’s Unexploded Bombs have killed 40,000. Now 3,000 comic books will help educate kids about the dangers. But could Vietnam do more by digitising?

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A common theme in modern-day western children’s publishing is reflecting social issues and challenges. Climate change is hot right now, for example. Elsewhere in the world climate change is certainly an important issue for children’s publishing, but there are often more pressing dangers to confront. UXO, for instance. That’s Unexploded Ordnance, or what we in Read More …

Brazil generates $450,000 business at Mexico’s Guadalajara International Book Fair as it positions itself for the burgeoning global book markets

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Called Destinação Brasil, the project of the trade-promotion group Brazilian Publishers more than earned out its costs at the Guadalajara International Book Fair, setting in place business deals for 2019 worth almost a half million dollars. Mexico’s Guadalajara fair, which this year clocked 819,000 visitors, is regarded as the most important trade fair in the Read More …

India’s Chennai Book Fair sets the pace for 2019, extends duration and aims for 2 million visitors in January

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The rise and rise of book fairs and festivals around the world has been a central theme of TNPS this past year, in blatant defiance of the doom and gloom mongers who insist interest in books is on the wane. The reality of course is that books and reading have never been more popular, but Read More …

Storytel Turkey partners with Vodafone in latest telco deal to boost audiobook reach

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Storytel is no stranger to partnering with telcos to deliver audiobooks to wider audiences. Way back in 2016 Storytel partnered with Denmark’s Telia, for example. And almost a year ago to the day Storytel partnered with T-Mobile Poland. Sweden’s Storytel partners with Poland’s T-Mobile to deliver audiobooks Now comes news Storytel Turkey has partnered with Read More …