Only in Finland could the country’s President turn up to a book fair discussion on equality, find there were no seats, so sit himself down on the steps to enjoy the show. It happened this weekend at the Turku Book Fair in southwest Finland when first President Sauli Niinistö was spotted buying books. No, no Read More …
While US and UK publishers watch the Scandinavian experiment from a safe distance, a mixture of envy and fear in their eyes, Sweden’s BookBeat goes from strength to strength, leaving no doubt that, whatever publishers may feel about the subscription model, consumers love it. Bookbeat’s June, July and August revenue grew 97% compared to 2017, 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 …
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. Read More …
Amazon has been in talks with a number of Swedish logistics companies, including PostNord, as it continues to explore its Scandinavian options. While Amazon has of course not confirmed a date, the expectation seems to be later this year, which is in keeping with speculation I explored here at TNPS back in March: Sweden’s Nextory Read More …
At the International Children’s Book Fair in Bologna this week the 12 nominations for the Nordic Council’s Children’s & Young People’s Literature Prize were announced. The winner will pocket DKK 350,000 ($58,000) on October 30th at a special ceremony at the Oslo Opera House. The Nordic Council awards a total of five prizes each year Read More …
There are three big digital book players in Sweden – Storytel, Bonnier’s Bookbeat, and Nextory. And this week comes news that Nextory has raised SEK 51 million ($6.2 million) as part of plans to become the biggest ebook operator in Sweden, and beyond. The fresh money (on top of SEK 50 million previously raised) comes Read More …
While not yet in profit, Storytel has made impressive gains over Q4 2017, with overall revenue up 27% on the period, while streaming revenue rose 47%. CEO Jonas Tellander confirmed total subscribers now at 533,400, in keeping with a TNPS estimate last month. Storytel has 300,000 Swedish subscribers, a further 250,000 beyond and is aiming Read More …
Akademibokhandel’s subsidiary Bokus will start audiobook streaming in Sweden this spring, going head to head with Storytel, Bookbeat and Nextory. Boktugg reports this week that Bonnier-owned Bookbeat saw revenue rise 283% last year and that it is is hoping to hit SEK 100 million ($12 million) soon, as it adds Spain and Italy to its Read More …
One of the great things about the Global New Renaissance is that it is just that: global. Digital social media is driving awareness, access and supply of culture across all art forms and all formats, in all countries, across all languages and cultures, in a way quite unprecedented in human history, and quite unthinkable even Read More …
