Frankfurt Fair
DEALER
Wednesday 12 October 2011
1
12 OCTOBER2011
For round-the-clock Frankfurt Book Fair coverage go to www.publishersweekly.com and www.bookbrunch.co.uk
B
arbara Schwepcke of Haus Publishing islaunching a not-for-profit enterprise to bring thevoices of the Arab revolutions to western readers.Swallow Editions is a new fiction list founded and editedby Rafik Schami, a contenderfor this year’s
Independent
Foreign Fiction Prize with
Te Dark Side of Love
, who wasforced to flee Syria in the 1970safter criticising Hafez Assad.Schami will acquire novels fromsubmissions sent to him. Tey will be “free of oil, tedium anddictatorship”. Works already published,even in Arabic, are not eligiblefor consideration. Manuscriptsselected will be edited by Schami, translated into Englishand published by Swallow
M
oving text from thepage to the screen would be rememberedas “a minor moment” in thehistory of books, said ebook pioneer Bob Stein, kicking off the2011 Frankfurt O’Reilly ools of Change conference,
writes Andrew Albanese
. And the marriageof publishing and computing was only now about to yieldits offspring - the “networked”book. Stein was followed in themorning session by marketerMitch Joel, who also stressedthe value of social networks andurged publishers to re-think how they reached consumers.Te Conference once again seta bold tone for the publishingindustry’s largest annualgathering, with the morningkeynote speakers challengingpublishers to re-think the very nature of books in the digitalage. Stein compared currentebooks to water coming to a boil- digital books were “about tostart to steam”.In the future, ebooks wouldbe in browsers, Stein noted,adding that apps “reproduce thesad things of the print world”.Online, he maintained, booksshould be open, and become“social spaces where readers cancongregate”. A publisher’s corecompetency should be buildingcommunities.“As the value of contentapproaches zero,” Stein said,“people will pay for context andcommunity.” He urged publishersto imagine a world where authorreadings could take place withinbooks, and textbooks that came with hours of free tutoring. Joel argued that the issuefacing publishing was not “paperor plastic”, but where books fellamong the choices consumersmade. “What are we going todo to connect readers with ourauthors?” he asked.Like Stein, Joel said harnessingthe power of social networks was key. He urged publishers to“break the mass media mindset”.Cultivating “direct relationships” was critical for publishers,
ToC sets bold tone for the Fair
“because if you don’t, yourauthors will, and retailers will.”“Te worst thing you can do,” Joel concluded, “is fold your armsand say people will still buy booksthe way we tell them to.”
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Swallow tobring missivesfrom the Arabspring
Continued on page 3
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BML Bowker is toundertake a major study ofinternational ebook use.See p3 for full story
Rafik Schami
Global digital servicesfor independent publishersby independent publishers
Faber Factory powered by Constellation is a comprehensive digital servicethat supports independent publishers who want to develop their owndigital publishing programme. The key areas we cover are: text digitisation,distribution and account management, all of which have been carefullydesigned to be as painless and cost-effective as possible. We also offerour partner publishers an on-going education programme designed tohelp them get the most out of their digital publishing.
If you would like to find out more come and say ‘hello’ to us at Frankfurt Bookfair, we are on stand H933 in Hall 8.We are also hosting a demonstration, over breakfast, on 13th October 9.00-11am in the Logo Genius room in Hall 9.1Please email factory@faber.co.uk if you would like to reserve a place as numbers are restricted.
Frankfurt Fair
DEALER
Wednesday 12 October 2011
3
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY & BOOKBRUNCHFRANKFURT FAIR DEALER
FAIR DEALINGS
great story are the determiningcriteria for publication. Neithernationality nor religion is takeninto consideration. Te firsttitle,
Sarmada
by Syrian-bornFadi Azzam, will be publishednext week, and the plan is topublish two books a year, “thevoices of the revolution thateveryone wants to hear”.
Said Schami: “Te swallow hasbeen my favourite bird for many reasons: since childhood herelegant flight pattern fascinatedme as well as the fact that she is athome nowhere and everywhere.Te swallow commutes betweenNorth and South and keepslocked in her heart the beauty of the place she has left behind,creating a longing, whichmakes her return one of thesedays. Tat’s how literature shouldbe, that’s how I imagine the mostbeautiful of Arabic literatureto be.” oo few Arab authors were available in the west, forcommercial as well as politicalreasons, he continued. “Swallow Editions wants to discover theseauthors on behalf of readers fromall over the world and to makethem available without agent orcensorship.”
Haus is on stand C917, Hall 8.
■
Editions across the English-speaking world. Foreign rights will be sold on a title-by-titlebasis; in the Middle East, they will be licensed to the University of Cairo Press. All proceeds fromsales and licences will benefit theauthors and translators.Schami – who will be onthe Haus stand on Tursday at 5pm – will be assisted by aneditorial board of experts on Arabic and English literature, andsupported by a Board of rustees– including Daniel Hahn, KateGriffi n, Caroline McCormick,Peter Clark and Omar al-Qattan,the Lebanese-born British filmdirector who is head of the QattanFoundation. Te editor, advisorsand trustees will volunteer their work so the maximum rewardgoes to the authors and thetranslators, who will receive therecommended rate of £87 perthousand words. Authors will notreceive an advance, but royalties will be “generous”.Swallow’s aim is to build abridge to connect Arab writers with readers in other continents.Te literary quality, the creativepower of the texts and theability of the authors to tell a
Arab spring continued
Bowker, via BML Bowker inthe UK, is to launch a majorstudy that will assess and trackdevice adoption, attitudes,and purchasing habits ofebook consumers around theworld. Beginning in January andrepeating annually, it will enablecomparisons between ebookmarkets, arming the publishingindustry with a comprehensiverange of qualitative andquantitative data.“Being able to track thegrowth rates of ebooks ona global level as countriesmake the shift to digitalbooks is significant,” saidKelly Gallagher, Bower’s VPof Publishing Services. “Thislandmark effort will providethe international publishingindustry with key metricsin understanding digitalopportunities as they emerge.”The project will map thecurrent state of ebook useand acceptance around theworld, creating a benchmarkfrom which to track trends.The research will targetrepresentative samples fromthe UK and US, Germany,France, Spain, India, Australia,Brazil, South Korea andJapan. Consumers from thesecountries will be surveyedon their purchases of digitalcontent versus traditionalformats in multiple settings andcontexts. The study will alsoexplore the use and ownershipof devices.The ebook monitor will besupported by key internationalpublishing industry participants– including A T Kearney, BISG,Pearson, and Tata - who willhave a unique opportunity tocollaborate on the creationof the survey instrumentand provide expertise in theinterpretation of the results.“We are delighted that thekey organizations we identifiedto work with us on this projectare on board, representing asthey do different perspectiveson the industry and offering awealth of experience that willhelp provide valuable context forthis study,” said Jo Henry, MD ofBML Bowker.Bowker and BML will releasean executive summary and whitepaper of findings in March 2012,with detailed analysis revealedannually at key international anddigital book conferences.
■
BML Bowker to monitor current state of the global ebook market
Nan Graham at Scribner has put down a sum rumoured to be in thehigh six-figure range for a debut novel called
The Light BetweenOceans
by ML Stedman. Transworld’s Jane Lawson made headlineslast month, acquiring the book in a nine-way auction orchestrated bySusan Armstrong at Conville & Walsh. There is “a huge buzz” aroundthe book, which has now sold in eight other countries, includingGermany, France, Russia and Brazil. Stedman, a former lawyer, wasborn in Australia and now lives in London and works as an internationalconsultant on business writing.
Oceans causes pre-Frankfurt swell
To contact Frankfurt Fair Dealer at the Fair with your news, visit us on thePublishers Weekly stand Hall 8.0 R925
Frankfurt reporting by Nicholas Clee and Liz Thomson for
BookBrunch
andAndrew Albanese and Rachel Deahl for
Publishers Weekly
Project Management: Cevin BryermanAdvertising: Joseph Murray and Fiona ValpyLayout and Production: Heather McIntyreEditorial Co-ordinator (UK): Marian Sheil
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Frankfurt Fair Dealer
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Kelly Gallagher
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