Frankfurt Fair
DEALER
Thursday 13 October 2011
1
13 OCTOBER2011
For round-the-clock Frankfurt Book Fair coverage go to www.publishersweekly.com and www.bookbrunch.co.uk
E
xplicitly aiming a barb at theMan Booker Prize, a groupof publishers and agents with Andrew Kidd of Aitken Alexanderas its spokesman has announced theLiterature Prize, “to establish a clearand uncompromising standardof excellence”.Te organisers said that there wasa vacancy for such a prize, because“as numerous statements by (theMan Booker’s) administrator andthis year’s judges illustrate, it now prioritises a notion of ‘readability’over artistic achievement”. Tey havethe support of authors includingformer Booker winners Pat Barkerand John Banville, as well as Mark Haddon, Jackie Kay, Nicole Krauss,Claire Messud, Pankaj Mishra andDavid Mitchell. Other “high-profile writers” are “offering strong supportbehind the scenes”.Tere will be an announcementabout funding for the new prize,and about the composition of theLiterature Prize advisory board, “soon”.Te organisers added: “Webelieve though that great writinghas the power to change us, to makeus see the world a little differently from how we saw it before, and thatthe public deserves a prize whosesole aim is to bring to our attentionand celebrate the very best novelspublished in our time.” A number of literary publishersand journalists have been strongly critical of the apparent agenda of the2011 Man Booker judging panel.Dame Stella Rimington, Chair of the judges, said that they were lookingfor “enjoyable books. I think they arevery readable books.” Chris Mullinsaid that a “big factor” for him wasthat a novel had to “zip along”. SusanHill tweeted: “
Hurrah! Man Booker judges accused of ‘dumbing down’.Tey mean our shortlist is readableand enjoyable.”In the New Statesman, LeoRobson commented: “I think we canall agree that if a book is to be given aprize, it ought not to be unreadable,but some of us recoil from the use of ‘readable’ to mean (essentially) ‘canbe read without struggle/thinking/turning off the telly’.”
Some critics believe that it goesagainst the original spirit of the Man
New prize takes aim at Booker
Booker to include genre novels amongthe contenders. AD Miller’s
Snowdrops
was also on the shortlist for the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger Award, and Patrick deWitt’s
Te Sisters Brothers
was described by Man BookerLiterary Director as the first westernto appear on the shortlist for the Prize.But there was widespread surprise thatthere was no place on the list for AlanHollinghurst’s widely acclaimed novel
Te Stranger’s Child
.
■
Perseus expandsHBRP deal
T
he Perseus Books Group isexpanding its distributionagreement with HarvardBusiness Review Press to includeinternational distribution of bothits print and ebooks. Perseus, which distributes HBRP in North America, began selling the Press’stitles into Latin America and theCaribbean on 1 September.Beginning 1 January, thecompany will take over sales intoEurope through Perseus UK and will also begin distribution into Asia – including China, Japan andKorea – as well as Australia andNew Zealand.“We see only upside in partnering with Perseus to extend our reachinternationally,” said Joshua Macht,Group Publisher for HBRP. “Tisexpanded partnership will giveour books the widest possibledistribution wherever – and in whatever format – readers want topurchase and read the content. Weare excited about this important stepforward in the global growth of ourpublishing program.”Te Press will continue to marketand promote its titles from offi cesin the UK and India as well as inthe Middle East, including Dubai,Qatar, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.
■
Liz Foley at Harvill Secker hassigned up UK & Commonwealthrights to the second volume ofNgugi wa Thiong’o’s memoir,
Inthe House of the Interpreter
, ina deal with Caspian Dennis atAbner Stein on behalf of GloriaLoomis. The memoir will appearin September 2012, and willcover the author’s schooldays in1950s Kenya.
Frankfurt Fair
DEALER
Thursday 13 October 2011
3
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY & BOOKBRUNCHFRANKFURT FAIR DEALER
FAIR DEALINGS
daughter, Sheikha Bodour, founderof the award-winning children’spublisher Kalimat and of theEmirates Publishers Association,is the driving force behindKnowledge Without Borders, aprogramme which aims to engrainthe habit of reading among
Sharjah
families by donating libraries, eachof 50 books, cleverly shelved withina coffee table, to 42,000 families inthe Emirate.
HE Sheikha Bodour AlQasimi, President of theEmirates Publishers Association,
A
hmed Al Amri,Director of the SharjahInternational Book Fair, has announced a $300,000translation fund to mark theevent’s thirtieth anniversary.Te SIBF ranslation RightsCentre, which is sponsoredby Etisalat, the largesttelecommunications company in the UAE, and supported by American University of Sharjah(AUS), will offers grants for dealsconcluded or initiated at theFair, and it will include booksbeing translated between any twolanguages. In its first year, thefund will have a pot of $300,000.Te initiative reflects “theinternational reach and influenceof SIBF” and is driven by thevision of its Director – but it alsounderscores the commitmentof the Emirate to the culturaleconomy, a commitment whichcomes absolutely from thetop.
HH Sheikh Dr Sultan binMohammed Al Qassimi is the Fair’sPatron (his memoir is publishedby BQPF), and at last year’s event,the talk was of
“a cultural march...a global road map opening upthe world to book-lovers”. His
$300,000 translation fund marks Sharjah’sthirtieth anniversary
said:
“We are proud to launchthe SIBF ranslation RightsCentre to celebrate ourthirthieth anniversary. It willmark a significant gatheringof international publishersand we will facilitate asmany translation deals as wecan, confirming Sharjah’simportant role as an influentialinternational book fair.”Crucially, the launch of theSIBF ranslation Rights Centre issupported by a hugely expandedprofessional programme, which will take place on Monday 14and uesday 15 November, priorto offi cial opening of SIBF on Wednesday 16. It will includeindividual meetings, networkingand talks, and will bring togetherprofessionals from across theinternational rights community to do business at the Fair. Already more than 50international publishers
have confirmed attendancefrom some 16 countries,including Japan, Russia, US,Romania, UK and Mexico. Teprogramme will also be attendedby Arab publishers from acrossthe region keen to build theirnetworks with internationalpublishers. All attendees willreceive a list of books currently available in Arabic that arerecommended for translation,and the opportunity to meettheir Arabic publishers.
Literary agent
oby Eady said:
“Books don’t succeed unlessthey are very well translated.But brilliant and inspiringtranslation is not just the bedrock of international publishing, it isthe key to better understandingbetween cultures. Opportunitiesto meet with publishingprofessionals from across the world, like the one afforded atSharjah ranslation Rights Centre,are invaluable in helping us break down the barriers. Hopefully, this will lead to more authors beingtranslated and appreciated inmore languages across the world.” A partnership with the BritishCouncil will this year see aroster of international authorsheading to Sharjah for the Fair,among them Andrew Rawnsley,Robert Lacey, Amit Chaudhuri,Kate Mosse, Sunetra Guptaand Lauren St John, who wasamong the attendees at uesday night’s Sharjah dinner, held atthe Schloss. Guests hosted by Al-Amri and the Sheikha includedpublishers from Italy, Spain andFrance, as well as Richard Molletand Emma House from the UK PA, Steve Rosato from BEA,Margaret Obank from Banipal, Jane appuni of Publishingechnology, and Orion’s LisaMilton, who, at Sharjah 2010,bought UK right’s in Kalimat’s
My Own Special Way
, which will bepublished in spring 2012.Te Fair itself will also beattended by Arab authors,booksellers and wholesalers,and key English-language book buyers from institutions such asuniversities and libraries.Te translation grant willbe available to any attendingpublisher or agent. Te fullguidelines for 2011 will beannounced shortly via www.sharjahbookfair.com.
■
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
issue printed by Henrich Druck + Medien GmbH,Schwanheimer Straße 110, 60528 Frankfurt am Main
Sheikha Bodour, centre, with left to right, Orion’s Fiona Kennedy, Lauren St John,Lisa Milton and Alex Williams, also both from Orion
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