With a population close to 20 million Romania is by no means one of Europe’s smallest book markets, but often is overlooked by publishers outside the country looking to maximise reach and revenues. Yet Romania has a vibrant online book sector, with Libris leading the online print stores and Elefant the dominant ebook player in Read More …
A writers workshop in Abu Dhabi that went from 12 to 2,500 members. A pay-to-get-in bookstore in Japan. A book exchange at a train station in Pakistan. How children’s books went from japan to Mosul in Iraq. And how the lyrics of the Moroccan national anthem came to be written. We start today with a Read More …
If you’re a booklover and you’ve ever been to India’s Chennai then chances are you’ve seen, and perhaps chatted to, RK Alwar, the white-bearded old man to be seen sat in front of the street bookstore known affectionately as Alwar Kadai (Alwar’s shop). Sadly the old man himself passed away this week, aged 95, after Read More …
The International Children’s Content Rights Fair (ICCRF) in Chiang Mai winds up its four-day run today (Sunday December 2). Focussed on children’s content from ASEAN publishers and rights deals between ASEAN countries and the wider world, the ICCRF seeks to open up new opportunities in South East Asia. Regulars here at TNPS will know my views Read More …
The Northeast Book Fair, held under the aegis of the All Assam Publishers and Book Sellers Association, wound up its twelve day run yesterday. No final figures yet (I’ll update with any further news) but at the half-way point AAPBSA general secretary Dhiraj Goswami had said visitor numbers had exceeded 80,000 and sales worth Rs. Read More …
Nepal’s population of close to 30 million spread out across the Himalayan republic presents its own unique logistical problems for bookstores and publishers. The capital, Kathmandu, is the largest city with just 1.5 million residents (3 million for the wider urban area) and the next biggest city, Pokhara, comes in with a population of just Read More …
Today’s headlines about the Abe Books boycott are perhaps the least of Amazon’s worries, as it reels from a quarter trillion dollar stock market devaluation, a billion dollar loss on its India Marketplace, and a new fraud inquiry that saw Amazon’s country head Amit Agrawal, logistics firm Darshita Pvt Ltd directors Pradeep Kumar and Ravish Read More …
Those who have been following the inexorable elimination of the Fnac Brasil bookstores by new parent Livraria Cultura – Sao Paulo’s Avenida Paulista bookstore closes – Fnac Brazil now has just one bookstore standing – will be disturbed, but not surprised, to learn the final Fnac bookstore in Brazil closed its doors this week. The Read More …
The latest monthly book sales report from Nielsen and SNEL (National Syndicat of Book Publishers) shows 5.37% growth in retail sales between August 13, with annual growth of 9.33%. The assessment, comprising reported figures from bookstores, supermarkets and self-service stores gives revenues of R $ 137.5 million ($35 million). This 5.37% revenue increase is matched Read More …
In case you missed any, the past week’s posts from TNPS: As the National Library of Paraguay gets a new Director, Paraguay’s publishing future is digital 2020 World Book Capital’s censorship double standards: It’s one rule for Malay titles and another if the book is in English Mark Williams At Large Amsterdam’s Festival voor het Afrikaans Read More …
Even in the middle of the Gobi Desert in Outer Mongolia, people love their books. But if you can’t go to the library, then the library must come to you. But of course, most Mongolians live in Ulaanbaatar (Ulan Bator if you’re old school) and there there’s a great range of books and bookstores to 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 …
From the moment Livraria Cultura acquired Fnac Brazil’s 12 bookstores last July (along with its e-commerce site) there was a question mark hanging over the stores – Livraria Cultura had long intimated intent to be a tech company rather than a bricks & mortar retailer, and was struggling for cash. Despite this, a joint statement Read More …
With one million books up for grabs at big discounts this year’s Indonesia International Book Fair should pull in big crowds in what I regard as one of the planet’s most exciting publishing prospects. One million books at a book fair may sound like a lot, but it’s small beer compared to the 5.5 million Read More …
Tucked away in the heart of Italy, the Mediterranean to the west, the Adriatic to the east, Venice to the north, Rome to the south, lies Florence, a city that has had key roles in the arts since before the Renaissance and right up to the modern day, with its central role in Dan Brown’s Read More …
As reported here yesterday, a CreateSpace self-published title made it through to the shortlist for the prestigious French literary award the Prix Renaudot. Amazon’s CreateSpace goes out with a bang – cracks shortlist for prestigious French literary award Today comes news some French bookstore owners are now boycotting not just the CreateSpace title but the 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 …
Here’s a summary of TNPS posts from the past seven days. UK small publishers find new ways to survive as chain bookstores turn them away HarperCollins’ Harlequin launches romance book website in Australia The Mogadishu Book Fair: an oasis of tranquility in a troubled land Small presses and self-publishers left stranded by collapse of Read More …
Despite fixed price laws and the notable absence of Amazon from the Portuguese book scene, indie bookstores are struggling to compete with the bigger chains, and are uniting to seek assistance from the state. Independent Portuguese booksellers from Lisbon, Aveiro and Sines joined forces to call for state intervention to protect them from the country’s Read More …
