Wilma Garcete took over as the Director of the National Library of Paraguay this week. There’s not much information about the appointment other than it was made by the country’s Culture Minister, Rubén Capdevila, and other than as a new appointment the event itself is not especially newsworthy outside Paraguay. I mention it here because Read More …
Here’s a summary of TNPS posts from the past seven days. Sao Paulo’s Avenida Paulista bookstore closes – Fnac Brazil now has just one bookstore standing Setswana? Indonesian? Can you tell the difference? Nor can Microsoft A mermaid wearing a bra among the books banned in Kuwait, but protests are gathering momentum Big Bad Wolf 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 …
When it comes to the global book markets, book fairs are often a better barometer of interest in books than book sales as reported by retailers. Vast numbers of books are sold at book fairs and festivals that are untracked by the retail stats counters and go largely unremarked on the Anglophone publishing circuit, where 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 …
The 200th anniversary of Frankenstein and the 75th anniversary of The Little Prince are being celebrated at the 4th Guayaquil International Book Fair in Ecuador, which ends its five day run on Sunday (Sept 5-9). It’s just one of countless book fairs and festivals across Latin America that pass unnoticed by the outside world but Read More …
With the current tax-exemption on books set to expire on October 11, Peru’s Congress this week provided publishers with a twelve month reprieve, extending the VAT exemption of domestic and imported books for one more year. The exemption is a short-term measure meant to hold the status quo while the government completes its planned review Read More …
Here’s a summary of TNPS posts from the past seven days. Book reading down slightly in New Zealand. More than half read NZ authors Storytel Brazil 2019 launch whispers grows louder Spanish book market valued at minimum $2.7 billion. Paperback and ebook sales both rising Côte d’Ivoire: francophone Africa publishing insights Is Amazon preparing a Read More …
The Oceanos 2018 Portuguese Language Literature Awards semi-finalists were announced this past week, but it’s not a full representation of the Portuguese-speaking world, with semi-finalist only from from Brazil, Portugal, Mozambique and Cape Verde. The Oceanos finalists will be announced late October, but the semi-finalist line up. for the first time since the award launched in Read More …
A fall in the sale of textbooks in Spain led to a slowdown in growth of the mainstream Spanish book market in 2017, coming in with an estimated price tag of 2.318 billion euros. By mainstream I mean that parts of the Spanish book market – for example, sales from self-publishers and small presses – Read More …
