You couldn’t make it up. The world’s biggest book fair is in a part of the world where, so conventional wisdom has it, nobody reads. Egypt’s Cairo International Book Fair will celebrate its 50th edition in January, with the Arab League as guest of honour for this special event, and literally millions of visitors will Read More …
Most non-South Africans, asked what are the main languages of that country, would likely respond English and Afrikaans. Amazon seems to think so too, as only these two, of South Africa’s eleven official languages, are supported by KDP. In fact, while English is widely spoken there are eleven official languages – Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Read More …
So many stories slide across my desk that I’ve commented on briefly elsewhere, usually with the self-publishing audience in mind, but that haven’t warranted full TNPS posts. Here’s a selection. + + + If its September it must be time for the Pakistan book fair season. It kicks off with Paramount’s 30th annual ten-day book Read More …
Like in many Arab countries, literacy rates in Morocco are not among the highest in the world, but for Moroccans who do read the challenge is finding books they want at prices they can afford. When bookstores are few and far between and offer a limited choice of books at expensive prices it’s not surprising Read More …
Oops! Twitter uses Microsoft for its translations. But Microsoft can’t tell the difference between Indonesian, widely spoken in Indonesia, SE Asia, and Sesotho, widely spoken in southern Africa, 6,000 miles away. Thankfully the Gaborone Book Festival in Botswana is also in English. That’s September 21-22. Follow the Gaborone Book Festival on twitter: @Gabsbookfest #GBF18 Follow Read More …
The global publishing market has never been more exciting, and every day myriad publishing stories cross my screen that I’d love to develop here at TNPS, but there simply isn’t time. They do make the TNPS twitter feed. Follow TNPS on twitter here: @thenewpubstd. But twitter is an ephemeral beast. Blink and you miss it. Still, Read More …
Here’s a summary of TNPS posts from the past seven days. UK’s Bradford Lit Fest and USA’s Washington National Book Fest see record attendance Sharjah Publishing City sponsors Nigerian literature award Ireland: “A buoyant time for publishing. One of today’s most vibrant book markets.” Sweden-based Arabic-language audiobook firm Kitab Sawti attracts new investment Peru exempts Read More …
As the build up to this year’s Ghana International Book Fair got underway last month is seemed optimism was the prevailing mood, with talk of how Accra might become a regional hub for Africa’s nascent publishing industry. The 2018 theme was “Revitalising the Book Chain for National and International Cooperation.” But reality took hold as Read More …
We’re just a few weeks shy of the first anniversary of The New Publishing Standard, and if I had to identify one regret at how things have progressed this past eleven months it would be that I’ve not had the time to pursue and develop the many smaller and quirkier international publishing stories that have Read More …
The third edition of Nigeria’s Channel Book Club Literature Prize is being sponsored by the UAE’s Sharjah Publishing City. The Sharjah Publishing City, part of the Sharjah Book Authority’s mandate to promote a global reading culture, aims to raise awareness of the SPC in Africa and to introduce African authors and publishers to the UAE, Read More …
