Technophobic rants about how digital is destroying the publishing industry have no place in the brave new world of the 2020s

Posted onApril 24, 2019Leave a comment

An Op-Ed in an Argentine journal this past week raised some issues and challenges about the future of the Argentine book market that were simultaneously well-considered yet full of misunderstandings about the publishing world. The 45th Buenos Aries International Book Fair provided the backdrop to this piece – an event that, as the Op-Ed notes, Read More …

Swedish book exports valued at $36 million in 2018, led by fiction, but we don’t know if this is up or down on 2017

Posted onApril 23, 2019Leave a comment

A press release from the Swedish Publishers Association this week reports that for the first time an analysis has been made of Swedish literature exports, and the value of SEK 340 million ($36 million) has been attributed to the sector. Fiction led the charge both in overall value and in the number of contracts. Swedish Read More …

Harry Potter now available in Arabic audiobook format via Storytel, but press release gets ahead of itself and states Storytel is in 18 countries

Posted onApril 22, 2019Leave a comment

Back at the Cairo International Book Fair earlier this year Storytel announced its plans to launch the Harry Potter books in Arabic as audiobooks, and the first audiobook is now available to download. It’s a huge boost for Storytel Arabia and likely to bring to the platform a lot of new subscribers. A press release Read More …

“Reaching the World Book Market through Effective Book Distribution Networks” is the Ghana International Book Fair’s 2019 theme as Google opens an AI facility in Accra

Posted onApril 22, 2019Leave a comment

Global publishing is a holistic affair and increasingly tech-driven at every level. The news that Google is opening an AI research facility in the Ghanaian capital Accra, reported to be the first of its kind in Africa, is at first glance not much to do with publishing, but that’s to miss the bigger picture here Read More …

Start The Day Global 22 April 2019: Libya, China, Pakistan, Big Bad Wolf Pakistan and South Africa

Posted onApril 22, 2019Leave a comment

Start The Day Global – a round-up of some of the myriad international publishing stories that there isn’t time to develop in full, or that have been well-covered by other industry journals and warrant a referral here. We start the day global today in Libya, perhaps one of the less frequent countries to pop up Read More …

Abu Dhabi International Book Fair oversubscribed by 100 publishers as the Arab Renaissance blossoms

Posted onApril 21, 2019Leave a comment

The 29th Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, which runs April 24-30 this year, has had to turn away over 100 publishers this year as demand massively exceeded available space at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. This despite fierce competition from the annual Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival and the once in a lifetime celebrations as Sharjah becomes Read More …

Spotlight on Africa: Nigeria’s Clever Clogs Books and the Akada Children’s Book Festival

Posted onApril 20, 2019April 21, 2019Leave a comment

With the International Publishers Association’s second African Seminar just two months away, TNPS is taking a close look at the many opportunities unfolding across this vast continent with a series of short posts and studies. Today it’s the turn of a small Nigerian publishing house start-up in Lagos, Clever Clogs Books, that despite only having Read More …

Sharjah’s Children’s Reading Festival counts us down to the Sharjah World Book Capital celebrations

Posted onApril 19, 2019Leave a comment

They say a picture is worth a thousand worlds, and what says it better than this image from the Sharjah World Book Capital twitter account today. ( @SharjahWBC ). The Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival typically draws a crowd of around 300,000. NB By the time you see this it will be 5 days, or 4 Read More …

Kindle CN store among the few survivors as Amazon crashes out in China

Posted onApril 19, 2019Leave a comment

Jeff Bezos has on many occasions said he welcomes failure, because failure helps the company rethink and revitalise. That’s not a luxury every company has, but then most companies aren’t Amazon. From the Firephone to holidays to diapers, not everything Jeff Bezos touches turns to gold. This week comes news that the latest admission of Read More …

Optimising New Technology in Book Development and Distribution – Nigeria’s International Book Fair embraces the future

Posted onApril 18, 2019Leave a comment

Organised by the Nigeria Book Fair Trust, the 18th Nigerian International Book Fair in Lagos will run for six days from 6 May. The dates have been up on the book fair’s Facebook and twitter accounts for a while now but this week the event was formally announced by Gbadega Adedapo, Chairman of the Nigerian Read More …

As the Tehran International Book Fair goes head to head with at least 8 other major global book events later this month, let’s not forget the writers and readers of Iran

Posted onApril 17, 2019Leave a comment

Starting April 24 and running through until May 4, the 32nd Tehran International Book Fair has China as guest of honour this year, and as usual the event promises to be spectacular, with around 2 million visitors piling in. Last year’s incarnation brought in sales worth the USD equivalent of $38 million, but despite this Read More …

Iceland’s Bókmenntahátíð í Reykjavík kicks off next week with the inaugural Halldór Laxness Award among many attractions

Posted onApril 17, 2019Leave a comment

If it’s 2019, it must be time for the bi-annual Bókmenntahátíð í Reykjavík which this year has a spring date for the first time. That will be April 24-27 for those who fancy a spring break in Iceland. Don’t worry if you flunked Icelandic at school. Bókmenntahátíð í Reykjavík is of course the Reykjavík International Read More …

New Zealand authors struggle to survive on earnings from their writing, mirroring UK authors’ plight. But is there such a thing as a fair wage for writers?

Posted onApril 15, 2019April 17, 2019Leave a comment

At end March a body called Copyright Licensing New Zealand published a study on author earnings in New Zealand which embarrassingly only reached my desk this week (hat-tip to Book Squad). Commissioned by Copyright Licensing New Zealand in conjunction with the NZ Society of Authors, NZ Writers’ Guild and Playmarket, the report by Horizon Research, Read More …

Sharjah to be Special Guest of Honour at Moscow International Book Fair in September

Posted onApril 14, 2019Leave a comment

Not much to report here but it’s such a fine example of the Global New Renaissance unfolding, that I’m allotting it an item of its own. Earlier today the news broke on twitter – and we have since had a few more details via the UAE’s The National, which reports Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, chairman Read More …

Iraqi Kurdistan’s 14th Erbil International Book Fair closes with 400,000 visitors as another MENA book fair record tumbles

Posted onApril 14, 2019Leave a comment

With one million titles on offer it was always going to be a big attraction, but even so the numbers soared over previous years, setting a new record of 400,000 visitors. In 2017 100,000 was the record, so a clear sign that the Arab Renaissance is gaining momentum. The Erbil event in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Read More …

Sweden’s subscription model faces its biggest challenge yet as Bonnier and Storytel go to war

Posted onApril 11, 2019April 12, 2019Leave a comment

It was a confrontation waiting to happen, and perhaps the real surprise here is that it hasn’t happened sooner. Storytel has long since established itself as the market leader in audiobook subscription, and an essential component of any publisher’s marketing strategy. Not least of the Swedish publishing giant Bonnier. But from the day Bonier launched Read More …

Tunisia’s International Book Fair sets new attendance record at halfway point. But is digital the next big step for Tunisian publishing?

Posted onApril 11, 2019April 11, 2019Leave a comment

With all the attention focused on London, Bologna and preparations for New York, you could be forgiven for thinking that the rest of the global publishing industry had been put on hold for Q2. The reality is rather different. Around the world vibrant book fairs and festivals are attracting huge crowds, largely unnoticed by the Read More …

StreetLib partners with Storyweaver to globally distribute 5,000 free multilingual stories in UNESCO’s Year of Indigenous Languages

Posted onApril 11, 2019Leave a comment

Italy-based digital books distributor and publishing facilitator StreetLib has partnered with India’s Storyweaver to deliver 5,000 free multilingual stories to the world’s children, as part of its commitment to UNESCO’s International Year of Indigenous Languages. Full disclosure: The New Publishing Standard (TNPS) is published by StreetLib to further the debate about the global book markets. Read More …

Peru’s Lima International Book Fair targets 590,000 visitors and $6 million in sales this year

Posted onApril 9, 2019April 9, 2019Leave a comment

Registration is underway for FIL Lima, the international book fair that will run in the Peruvian capital July 19 through August 4. And, and to make sure everybody can get in the floor space has been increased by 1,500 square metres (1,800 sq yards). Event organiser José Carlos Alvariño, who is also president of the Peruvian Read More …

14th Erbil Book Fair underway in Iraq’s Kurdistan. 100,000 visitors expected

Posted onApril 7, 2019Leave a comment

Iraq is probably on few authors or publishers lists as a place to sell books, and no question the bookselling infrastructure leaves much to be desired. But you would be wrong to dismiss Iraq, or any part of the Middle East, as a no-go area for booklovers. This past week the Erbil International Book Fair Read More …

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