The Publisher’s Post: Vol.I Ed.VIII
Dated: 27th Oct. 2007
The Publisher’s Post is an weekly newsletter that contains information relating to the book publishing and book selling industry in India.
News This Week
Penguin India eyes growth from retail, online expansion
Source: Hindustan Times
Book publishing firm Penguin India is planning to ride the huge retail and online expansion currently on in the subcontinent to drive future growth, and is finding a surprising new market for Indian writers in Scandinavia.
After 20 years in the country, the publishing giant is on the verge of becoming the first Rs 100-crore trade publisher, growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 25 per cent over the last 5 years, said Mike Bryan, CEO and President, Penguin India. Bryan, who took charge of the Pearson company in September, said he expects higher exports, largely driven by greater interest in fiction written by Indian writers in Europe, particularly from Scandinavian publishers. He said there was also a keen interest from the Indian Diaspora for Indian writing, something that Penguin is looking at to drive exports from India.
Penguin, which has traditionally been strong in fiction and narrative non-fiction, is now focusing on Indian languages and the business segment.
Reviving golden era of Arabic translation
Source: gulfnews.com
A cultural initiative launched by Abu Dhabi Government for translation from major world living languages into the Arabic language can bring back the Arabs’ golden era of translation, according to intellectuals.
The project called kilma (Word in Arabic) is meant to revive translation of various sciences and knowledge into Arabic to fill the gap in the Arabic library and catch up with the publishing movement in the West.
Man Booker shortlist will not be free
Source: Beattie’s Book Blog
The British Council has moved to clarify its position on electronic editions of Man Booker Prize shortlisted novels following a report in the Times this morning. The newspaper reported that the Man Booker Prize hopes to place all six of its shortlisted novels online for free. But the British Council said that while it is in negotiations with publishers to create an online collection of literature, this would be for sale rather than free.
“They acknowledged that central to this “innovative approach” would be making sure that authors are remunerated for their work. A pilot scheme is planned for 2008 aimed at audiences in India, China and Africa.The Times reported that organizers of the prize were currently “deep in negotiations” with publishers over digitizing the books.
The London Book Fair announces Market Focus for 2008
Source: Press Release
The London Book Fair is delighted to announce that the Arab World (defined as the 20 countries and 2 states which have Arabic as their registered official language) will be its 2008 Market Focus.
The main objectives of this London Book Fair Market Focus will be to strengthen cultural relations with the Arab World, to educate the global publishing industry about Arab literature, and allow the Arab publishers to promote their books and literature to all parts of the world via the Fair.
DC Books’ Book Fair
Source: The Hindu
DC Books is holding its 3rd International Book Fair. Held at Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram, this festival which starts October 28 is on till November 8. The fair promises to bring the best of international books, ranging from literature to reference.
Workshops and competitions will be held as part of the festival. Workshops will be held on newsletter production, radio content production and competitions will be held on wall magazine, mobile photography, reading, recitation, story writing, poem and quiz.
Quill Awards announced
Source: School Library Journal
Brian Selznick, David Wiesner, and Patricia McCormick are among the winners of this year’s third annual Quill Book Awards, which were announced last night at Lincoln Center in New York City.
Sold (Hyperion), McCormick’s searing novel of India’s child sex slavery trade, won for best young adult/teen novel. Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Scholastic) - a 550-page novel told in words and pictures - which explores the art of bookmaking in 1930s Paris, is winner of the children’s chapter book/middle grade award. And Wiesner’s Flotsam (Clarion), a story that follows a boy who discovers an antique camera at the beach, takes home the best children’s picture book award.
Book Launches and Other Events
Think Big Books launched
Source: Press Release
S. Viswanathan printers and publishers ( www.svprinters.com), one of the prominent educational book publishers in south India have launched their general books imprint Think Big Books ( www.thinkbigbooks.in).
Think Big is committed to producing quality fiction, non-fiction and children’s fiction books. Their first series will be a board books for children aged 3 to 5, after which they plan to bring out another picture book series for children aged 5 to 7. Think Big is also looking for reputed distributors to dispense these books all over India. Trade enquiries can be sent enquiry@thinkbigbooks.in
The publishing house is also looking out for writers and illustrators (both published and unpublished) with unique and thought provoking ideas. Manuscripts and art work can be mailed to editor@thinkbigbooks.in.
In Search of Identity: Hmars of the North East India
Source: lawrkhawm.com
The release of Prof. Lal Dena’s book: In Search of Identity: Hmars of the North East India will be held at the School of Social Sciences-I Auditorium, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi on November 3, 2007 from 3:00pm. A feast of Hmar folk and blues and dinner will follow the book release.
IIC Festival of the Arts 2007
Source: Press Release
As part of the ongoing Festival of the Arts at the India International Center, New Delhi, a program titled “Words Alone” will be held on Saturday, 27th October. The programme will feature readings of prose and poetry by writers in Hindi, Urdu and English including Udaya Prakash, Gagan Gill, Gitanjali Shri, Namita Gokhale and Khalid Javed and will be coordinated by Ashok Vajpeyi.
The tell-all travel book
Source: DNA
Mumbai finally has its first luxury travel guide. Launched at the Lakme Fashion Week and set to hit stores soon, ‘Love Mumbai’ , Fiona Caulfield’s luxury travel guide promises to reveal the most exciting facets of Mumbai for the discerning traveller.
The 160-page book, completely handmade in India, comprises eight sections including an overview of the city with ‘must knows and must dos’ and presents the best places to eat, drink, shop, and visit.
Making the Transition from Print Service Provider to Marketing Service Provider
Source: WTT News
WhatTheyThink.com today announced the opportunity for industry professionals to attend a free printing industry educational webinar conducted in partnership with NAPL. From Print Service Provider to Marketing Service Provider: Making the Transition, will be led by industry expert Barbara A. Pellow, Director of the Business Development and Custom Communications Services for research firm InfoTrends. Sponsored by interlinkONE, the program will be held Tuesday, November 6th, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm EST (-5 GMT).
No-charge registration is available at this special Internet page:
Indie Houses Try Social Networking
Source: Publisher’s Weekly
Larger publishers and authors have been doing it for some time, and now independent presses are experimenting with ways to use social networking sites, promoting their books and authors on Facebook and MySpace, as well as on sites more specifically geared toward bibliophiles, like Shelfari and LibraryThing.
Here in India, The Publisher’s Post allows authors and publishers an opportunity to blog about their books and associated events as well as engage readers and others within a discussion forum.
Elsewhere..
Source: Nautilus
In keeping with the increasing global interest in Asia, Nature Publishing Group (NPG) will launch its India-specific website Nature India next month. Nature India aims to be the one-stop site for information on Indian science.
Source: India Media Observer
India’s federal information and broadcasting minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi has promised “spring” time to publishers in India, saying that his ministry would announced policy reforms in January, 2008.
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Paprika Media Pvt Ltd has plans to launch another edition of its fortnightly magazine, TimeOut in Bangalore by February 2008.
Blogs & Articles
Podcasting as a marketing option
Increasingly people are turning to podcasts i.e. broadcasting on the internet, as a way to promote their goods and services. There is no reason why booksellers and publishers should not do so and this article tells you how one should go about doing it. If there are enough people interested in developing podcasts, The Publisher’s Post will be only too willing to host them, for free.
30+ tools for the amateur writer
A nice compendium that should encourage writers to start on that book!
The great book give-away
Why giving a book away for free might be a good idea. And why publishers may not like that idea.
A new low in publishing?
The author laments the recent phenomenon which has seen publishers throw “millions of pounds at unlettered celebrities” while “the eventual Man Booker Prize….cannot be found in many bookshops”.
Content Media Trends And Future Directions For Online Media Publishing
The author looks at the factors and variables influencing the near future of online and traditional media publishing businesses.
Jobs
Ghost-Writers Needed on Freelance Basis
Those interested should email editorialservices[at]dogearsetc
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This newsletter is developed by Queenie Fernandes and Leonard Fernandes, co-founders of CinnamonTeal Print & Publishing Services with inputs from various individuals, publishing houses, websites and blogs.
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