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Wednesday, February 29, 2012
How to Counter Amazon: Create a One World E-Book Alliance
Jan Berenstain obituary
Children's author and illustrator who created the famous bear family with her husband, Stan
The children's author and illustrator Jan Berenstain, who created the Berenstain Bears books with her husband, Stan, has died aged 88. The pair worked on more than 200 of the books about a family of pleasingly homely and disarmingly simple bears, which have been breakthrough titles for generations of emerging readers. The style was set in their first title, The Big Honey Hunt (1962): simple storytelling with a strong narrative core and a certain amount of familiarity and predictability, written in easy verse making good use of repetition, rhyme and rhythm. The stories were matched with vigorous cartoonish illustrations. With a nod of knowing sophistication between the storyteller and the reader, the books were witty and stylish rather than babyish.
The Berenstains had already created many cartoon stories for adult readers, including It's All in the Family, which ran in McCall's and Good Housekeeping magazines. Watching their son's enjoyment of the Dr Seuss books, they decided to try their hand at a children's title. They chose a family of bears partly because they found them easy to draw and partly, Stan said, because female bears are "terrifyingly good mothers" while the males are "lousy fathers".
Seuss, whose real name was Theodor Geisel, was the editor of the highly successful Beginner Books series published by Random House in the US. The Berenstains took their book to him, and he encouraged them to modernise their folksy art style, make it look more commercial and rework the text extensively.
He published The Big Honey Hunt, but when the Berenstains proposed a whole series about a bear family, Geisel said: "That's the worst thing you could do! It would be like having a millstone around your neck. Do something as different as you can!" They took the advice and worked on a book about penguins. But before they had submitted it, The Big Honey Hunt had sold well and Geisel was now enthusiastic about a series.
Read the full obituary at The Guardian.
Photo above right - Jan Berenstain in 2011. After Stan's death, she worked on the books with her son Michael. Photograph: AP
The Berenstain Bears' Trouble With Money, 1983. The books became increasingly message-driven. Photograph: AP/Random House Children's Books
The children's author and illustrator Jan Berenstain, who created the Berenstain Bears books with her husband, Stan, has died aged 88. The pair worked on more than 200 of the books about a family of pleasingly homely and disarmingly simple bears, which have been breakthrough titles for generations of emerging readers. The style was set in their first title, The Big Honey Hunt (1962): simple storytelling with a strong narrative core and a certain amount of familiarity and predictability, written in easy verse making good use of repetition, rhyme and rhythm. The stories were matched with vigorous cartoonish illustrations. With a nod of knowing sophistication between the storyteller and the reader, the books were witty and stylish rather than babyish.The Berenstains had already created many cartoon stories for adult readers, including It's All in the Family, which ran in McCall's and Good Housekeeping magazines. Watching their son's enjoyment of the Dr Seuss books, they decided to try their hand at a children's title. They chose a family of bears partly because they found them easy to draw and partly, Stan said, because female bears are "terrifyingly good mothers" while the males are "lousy fathers".
Seuss, whose real name was Theodor Geisel, was the editor of the highly successful Beginner Books series published by Random House in the US. The Berenstains took their book to him, and he encouraged them to modernise their folksy art style, make it look more commercial and rework the text extensively.
He published The Big Honey Hunt, but when the Berenstains proposed a whole series about a bear family, Geisel said: "That's the worst thing you could do! It would be like having a millstone around your neck. Do something as different as you can!" They took the advice and worked on a book about penguins. But before they had submitted it, The Big Honey Hunt had sold well and Geisel was now enthusiastic about a series.
Read the full obituary at The Guardian.
Photo above right - Jan Berenstain in 2011. After Stan's death, she worked on the books with her son Michael. Photograph: AP
Batman named greatest comic hero
Caped Crusader bests Spider-Man and Superman in Comic Heroes magazine's ranking
Batman ... knocking out the competition Photograph: Jerry Robinson/AP
Batman's utility belt doesn't really compare to the superpowers of Spider-Man and Superman, but Gotham City's caped crusader has nonetheless been named the greatest comic hero of all time.
The readers of Comic Heroes magazine voted for Batman, the alias of billionaire Bruce Wayne, as their top comic hero, ahead of the second-placed Spider-Man and the third-placed Superman. The magazine is not the first to rank heroes from the world of comics: in 2008 Empire magazine put Superman top, followed by Batman and John Constantine, the exorcist created by Alan Moore, while the Man of Steel also topped a list from IGN.
But Comic Heroes editor Jes Bickham said it was "no surprise" that Batman came in at No 1 as the character, created in 1939 by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, was, "quite simply, the coolest and most interesting superhero ever created". He even, pointed out Bickham, has a butler.
Batman "doesn't have superpowers; he gets by with his mind, his wit and his physical abilities. He's dark, conflicted and tragic, yet never less than the best of us. He's got the best costume and the finest gadgets," said the editor. "His rogues' gallery is the most frightening and freakish collection of villains ever assembled; a cavalcade of criminality unmatched in modern comics. He's also strong enough to fit almost any story, being constantly remoulded by writers and artists since his creation in 1939."
Wolverine, the adamantium-clawed mutant from X-Men, comes in fourth in Comic Heroes' top 10, followed by Judge Dredd. Tintin makes a surprise appearance in sixth place, with the list rounded out by Captain America, a token woman in the shape of Wonder Woman, The Spirit and The Thing.
Comic Heroes' top 10 comic heroes of all time are:
1. Batman
2. Spider-Man
3. Superman
4. Wolverine
5. Judge Dredd
6. Tintin
7. Captain America
8. Wonder Woman
9. The Spirit
10. The Thing
The readers of Comic Heroes magazine voted for Batman, the alias of billionaire Bruce Wayne, as their top comic hero, ahead of the second-placed Spider-Man and the third-placed Superman. The magazine is not the first to rank heroes from the world of comics: in 2008 Empire magazine put Superman top, followed by Batman and John Constantine, the exorcist created by Alan Moore, while the Man of Steel also topped a list from IGN.
But Comic Heroes editor Jes Bickham said it was "no surprise" that Batman came in at No 1 as the character, created in 1939 by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, was, "quite simply, the coolest and most interesting superhero ever created". He even, pointed out Bickham, has a butler.
Batman "doesn't have superpowers; he gets by with his mind, his wit and his physical abilities. He's dark, conflicted and tragic, yet never less than the best of us. He's got the best costume and the finest gadgets," said the editor. "His rogues' gallery is the most frightening and freakish collection of villains ever assembled; a cavalcade of criminality unmatched in modern comics. He's also strong enough to fit almost any story, being constantly remoulded by writers and artists since his creation in 1939."
Wolverine, the adamantium-clawed mutant from X-Men, comes in fourth in Comic Heroes' top 10, followed by Judge Dredd. Tintin makes a surprise appearance in sixth place, with the list rounded out by Captain America, a token woman in the shape of Wonder Woman, The Spirit and The Thing.
Comic Heroes' top 10 comic heroes of all time are:
1. Batman
2. Spider-Man
3. Superman
4. Wolverine
5. Judge Dredd
6. Tintin
7. Captain America
8. Wonder Woman
9. The Spirit
10. The Thing
THE GOOD WORD - all new series starts this Friday 2 March
Presenter Emily Perkins and
panellists Jennifer Ward-Lealand, Steve Braunias and Carol Hirschfeld review
book of the week Bligh: William Bligh in the South Seas, by Anne Salmond;
ex-publisher and book blogger Graham Beattie reveals his favourite book and Finlay
Macdonald investigates the story behind Pounamu Pounamu by Witi Ihimaera.
This Friday 2 March, 2012 at 9.05pm on TVNZ7 and Sky 77.
BLOG DESIGN AND LAYOUT
I am currently playing about with the design and layout of my blog presently, actually I have little idea what I am doing (!), so apologies for any convenience or confusion that may arise in the interim! Bear with me.
And of course feel free to comment if you wish.
Right now it all seems too hard so I am going to go out for a coffee and to buy some spring onions and pumpkin seeds needed for tonight's dinner.
PS For the life of me I can't see how to change the font size. Anyone using Blogger out there able to help me?
And of course feel free to comment if you wish.
Right now it all seems too hard so I am going to go out for a coffee and to buy some spring onions and pumpkin seeds needed for tonight's dinner.
PS For the life of me I can't see how to change the font size. Anyone using Blogger out there able to help me?
Central North Island crime: BUCKINBAH WEIR by Wayne Brooking
Crime Fiction specialist critic Craig Sisterson introduces us to a new NZ crime fiction writer who has set his novel in the central regions of NZ's North Island.Read Craig's interesting comments about the book on his blog Crime Watch.
Blogging and Tweeting without Getting Sued
This is a book I must read! Coming from Allen & Unwin NZ in April. Can't wait!
Blog visitors
2464 visitors yesterday which I think is the biggest daily number so far in 2012.
Might have been something to do with this headline I suspect?!
Authors second book recalled on suspicions of plagiarism.
Might have been something to do with this headline I suspect?!
Authors second book recalled on suspicions of plagiarism.
FREE eReader Class at Auckland's Birkenhead Library
Did you receive an eReader device for Christmas? Need a little assistance with your new digital friend? Help is at hand!
Wednesday 14 March 2012 10.30am - 12.00pm
On Wednesday 14 March, Birkenhead Library will be running a FREE class demonstrating how to download eBooks from Auckland Libraries’ digital library to an eReader device.
Simply bring your laptop, your eReader device and your USB cable to class, and we'll talk you through the process of downloading eBooks clearly and concisely.
Registration is required for these classes. Please call 486 8460 (ext 8095) or email Shirley Reyno.
Registration is required for these classes. Please call 486 8460 (ext 8095) or email Shirley Reyno.
This is How You Lose Her - Junot Diaz - NZ pub date announced
I reported on the forthcoming publication of this new title yesterday.
Clearly the title is causing huge advance interest. Allen & Unwin has advised me this morning that they will release the title in New Zealand in September. Yay, bring it on!
Here are some of the mentions for This Is How You Lose Her.
Here are some of the mentions for This Is How You Lose Her.
Circus Ronalds's Circenses opening night postponed
The 2012 New Zealand International
Arts Festival announces that, due to circumstances beyond its control, today’s
opening night performance of Circus Ronaldo’s Circenses at Waitangi Park
has been delayed by a day.
“A Wellington City Council
irrigation contractor failed to turn off the Waitangi Park automated sprinkler
system overnight as they were instructed, making the performance area
unworkable until tomorrow,’’ says Festival Executive Director, Sue Paterson.
“There has been no serious damage but the area needs time to dry out.’’
“The New Zealand International
Arts Festival will put on an entirely new show on Monday 5 March at 7.30pm for
those who were due to attend tonight’s performance,” Ms Paterson says. “We are
taking every step we can to ensure that no-one misses out on this fantastic
show.”
Poet Laureate Rides Again
Ian
Wedde,(photo right by Oliver Read), in Poet Laureate guise, is back on the road again, this time to Matahiwi
marae in the Hawkes Bay, where on 10 March he will receive his Laureate
tokotoko.
On the same day at the Hastings City Gallery Ian will be joined by
Cilla McQueen, John Newton, Robert Sullivan, Hinemoana Baker, Marty Smith and
Amy Barnard in an event organised by Creative Hastings. An extravaganza of
poetry and with musical interlude is anticipated, and not to be missed if
within coo-ee.
A 7.30 for 8pm start, tickets are available through Ticketek.
New Zealand Poets on the Poetry Archive (U.K.)
In a new
initiative from renowned New
Zealand New Zealand
Commissioned
to record a selection of her own work in 2007, Kemp joined the Poetry Archive
Poet’s Pages and fellow New Zealanders Fleur Adcock, Allen Curnow, Bill Manhire
and Vincent O'Sullivan (right). In November 2010 the Archive's Joint Directors,
Sir Andrew Motion and Richard Carrington invited Kemp to showcase the work of
another 25 New Zealand Poets on the Poetry Archive. From then on, Kemp selected
the poets, set up and coordinated with them and a team of expert New Zealand
literary editors, including David Eggleton, Siobhan Harvey, Professor Mac
Jackson, Drs. Gerri Kimber, Dr. Simone Oettli,
Professor Vincent O'Sullivan, Associate Professor Hugh Roberts and Professor
Dr. Dieter Riemenschneider, and with them compiled a list of featured
poets' recorded poems, analyses of their oeuvres, bios and web links.
In this, Kemp and her editors were able to draw upon the invaluable New Zealand Alistair Paterson : http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoet.do?poetId=15471
New Zealand 
Commissioned
to record a selection of her own work in 2007, Kemp joined the Poetry Archive
Poet’s Pages and fellow New Zealanders Fleur Adcock, Allen Curnow, Bill Manhire
and Vincent O'Sullivan (right). In November 2010 the Archive's Joint Directors,
Sir Andrew Motion and Richard Carrington invited Kemp to showcase the work of
another 25 New Zealand Poets on the Poetry Archive. From then on, Kemp selected
the poets, set up and coordinated with them and a team of expert New Zealand
literary editors, including David Eggleton, Siobhan Harvey, Professor Mac
Jackson, Drs. Gerri Kimber, Dr. Simone Oettli,
Professor Vincent O'Sullivan, Associate Professor Hugh Roberts and Professor
Dr. Dieter Riemenschneider, and with them compiled a list of featured
poets' recorded poems, analyses of their oeuvres, bios and web links.
In this, Kemp and her editors were able to draw upon the invaluable
The
Poetry Archive (U.K.) showcases the spoken and printed works of poets from
around the world, including U.K. ,
U.S. , Australia and Europe .
Each poet featured on the Archive has a Poet's Page which offers a number of
recorded tracks visitors to the site are able to access, as well as printed
copies of each poem, and for poets online up till 2010 purchasable CDs of
the recordings as teaching resources for poetry. New poet additions
to the PA will have the chance to be selected for MP3 downloads purchasable
online.
Bringing
such international attention to the depth and range of New Zealand poetry and poets is a wonderful and well-timed
initiative given New Zealand New Zealand Alistair Paterson and Siobhan Harvey's Poet Pages
are online. Their links are:
More information will be released as further New Zealand Poet Pages come online at the Poetry Archive.
Anzac Day
With the greatly increased interest by young people in Anzac Day in recent years there has been a noticeable upturn in book publishing for this market.
This year for example Scholastic are releasing four books with war themes:
The Red Poppy by David Hill, illustrations by Fifi Colson, song by Rob Kennedy
Men, young and old, are eager to join up and head overseas
to fight the ‘evil scoundrel folk in Africa who opposed the British Empire and
had to be taught a lesson’.
This year for example Scholastic are releasing four books with war themes:
Five minutes …
Two minutes …
One minute …
Young
soldier Jim McLeod waits in the trenches of World War I for the order to attack
the enemy. With him are his friends, and Nipper, the messenger dog. When they
charge across no-man’s-land, Jim is shot … and finds himself face to face with
an enemy soldier.
Invitation to attend book launch.
Invitation to attend book launch.
When Empire Calls by Ken Catran
It’s early days in the Boer War and the small farming
community of Huia is gripped by patriotic fervour.
Men, young and old, are eager to join up and head overseas
to fight the ‘evil scoundrel folk in Africa who opposed the British Empire and
had to be taught a lesson’.
When his two elder brothers join up, James is left to
help his father run the family farm. He also helps old Croaky Fred in the local
village store, a bad-tempered old codger who has nothing good to say about war.
Through his brother Edward’s letters, James learns
about some of the horrors of war … but will both his brothers come home?
It is 1943 and
Lillian is brassed off. Until now she was like any normal city girl – at least,
as normal as you can be when there’s a terrible war on and your father is away
fighting. Then a spot is found on Lillian’s lung – tuberculosis.
Before she knows it, Lillian is packed off to recover on her
grandparents’ farm in Whangateau, near Warkworth. With no friends, and only her
preening older sister Joyce and their grandparents for company (and Grandad’s a
miserable blighter at the best of times), Lillian feels like a duck out of
water. That is, until the day a US Marine Division moves in down the road. That
afternoon, four Marines turn up on their doorstep wanting to buy milk.
Life in Whangateau is about to get a LOT more interesting
...
Lest We Forget by Feana Tu'akoi, illustrations by Elspeth Alix Batt
Tyson doesn't understand why Mum and Poppa would want to go to the Anzac Day Dawn Parade.
But then he hears stories about soldiers in his family and decides perhaps he should go to the Dawn Parade after all.
Turnbull's chief librarian an awards finalist
- JODY O'CALLAGHAN - DomPost - 28/02/2012 -
CHRIS SZEKELY: New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards
finalist.
If anyone knows which kinds of books fly off the shelves, it is librarian Chris Szekely – one of the New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards finalists announced yesterday.
Both the Maori and English versions of Mr Szekely's picture book, Rahui, will go up against four other authors in the picture book category.
Mr Szekely said Rahui was "warm and joyful, but at the same time a wistful
reflection" drawn from pieces of his childhood and set in a rural Maori
community. The book is about cousins' holidays at a beachside community and the rahui – temporary ban – placed on the beach after a death.It was published in October, 20 years after he and illustrator Malcolm Ross produced the content but "put it to one side".Mr Ross died years ago and never lived to see the final product.
"I'm very much aware that there still is a relative lack of Maori language material, for both kids and adults," Mr Szekely said.
Full report at The DomPost
CWA Daggers Awards Deadline
 |
Dear Publishers: CWA Daggers Awards Deadline
|
Just in case you're all a bit busy making/receiving proposals of
marriage tomorrow, here's a reminder that 29 Feb is also the deadline for
submitting for the CWA's 2012 Daggers. From rule 1: The final deadline
for submitting a novel is February 29, 2012. All online forms must be
completed, and processing fees paid, by ......
Free eBooks on Pinterest & Male Writers Continue to Outnumber Female Writers at Literary Journals
On Galley Cat, 28 February, 2012
How
To Find Free eBooks on Pinterest
The Pinterest social network may still be closed to the general
public, but that's not stopping readers and writers from using the site as a
resource. Currently, anyone can use these Pinterest boards for eBook fans to
find free digital books. The site lets users create virtual
"pinboards" by pinning images of their favorite things. It includes a
host of pages dedicated to books, including a number of pages dedicated to
free...
Male
Writers Continue to Outnumber Female Writers at Literary Journals
VIDA: Women in Literary Arts have releaseda report entitled
"The Count 2011," revealing that male writers outnumbered female
writers in many publications last year. Picking up on wherelast year's report
left off, this report tracks the statistics of gender balance among writers published
at literary magazines, includingThe New Yorker (overall: 165 women, 459 men),
Poetry (overall: 134 women, 179 men) and The Threepenny Review (overall: 19
women, 37 men). They also looked at...
THE RED POPPY - a very special NZ World War 1 story
Scholastic & The Children’s Bookshop
invite you to the
launch of
The Red Poppy
...
a NZ soldier in World War 1
Written by David Hill
& illustrated by Fifi Colston, with song by Rob Kennedy
The powerful story of
one young man’s fight in the trenches ...
and the little
messenger dog who saved him.
Wednesday 14th
March at 6pm
The Children’s
Bookshop
Shop 26, Kilbirnie
Plaza
Kilbirnie, Wellington
Come and meet the
author, the illustrator and Nipper, the brave little messenger dog!
Original artwork for
The Red Poppy will be displayed, and wine, juice and rations served.
Nipper (Molly) will
be available for patting and photo opportunities!
Children welcome.
RSVP: The Children’s
Bookshop Ph: 04 387 3905 or email childbkwgtn@xtra.co.nz
.bmp)
When the Publishing department at Scholastic received a copy of a CD of the haunting, lyrical song The Red Poppy from Canadian musician/teacher Rob Kennedy, they just knew they had to do something with it and approached David Hill to see if he’d be interested in writing a war story for a picture book – his first.
An utterly gorgeously illustrated, superbly designed book, that tells a moving story, and includes the haunting song on the CD that started it all. This book should be in every New Zealand home and in multiple copies in public and school libraries. Watch for it next year when book prize time comes around. It is a winner in every way.
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore: Film for Book Lovers Wins Oscar
February 26th, 2012 - Open Culture
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore won an Oscar tonight for best animated short film, and we’re bringing it back for one more showing, plus adding it to our list of Oscar films available online.
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore offers a modern tribute to an old world. Made with an animation style that blends stop motion with computer animation and traditional hand-drawing, the silent film pays homage to a bygone era when elegantly printed books inhabited our world. The 15-minute short is the first made by Moonbot Studios, a fledgling animation shop in Shreveport, Louisiana. For their efforts, Moonbot’s founders (William Joyce, Brandon Oldenburg and Lampton Enochs) received an Oscar-nomination this week (Best Animated Short), putting them in competition with two other films featured on Open Culture: Sunday and Wild Life.
We recommend watching The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore on YouTube, or downloading it for free in HD from iTunes. iPad owners will also want to consider buying the related app ($4.99) that turns the film into an interactive narrative experience.
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore won an Oscar tonight for best animated short film, and we’re bringing it back for one more showing, plus adding it to our list of Oscar films available online.
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore offers a modern tribute to an old world. Made with an animation style that blends stop motion with computer animation and traditional hand-drawing, the silent film pays homage to a bygone era when elegantly printed books inhabited our world. The 15-minute short is the first made by Moonbot Studios, a fledgling animation shop in Shreveport, Louisiana. For their efforts, Moonbot’s founders (William Joyce, Brandon Oldenburg and Lampton Enochs) received an Oscar-nomination this week (Best Animated Short), putting them in competition with two other films featured on Open Culture: Sunday and Wild Life.
We recommend watching The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore on YouTube, or downloading it for free in HD from iTunes. iPad owners will also want to consider buying the related app ($4.99) that turns the film into an interactive narrative experience.
An invitation from the Oamaru Public Library
Waitaki District Libraries celebrate NZ Book Month!
Laurence Fearnley:'The Hut Builder' and other writing.
Date: Thursday, March 15th at 6pm
Location: Oamaru Public Library
62 Thames St, Oamaru
EDC pulls Usborne titles from Amazon
28.02.12 | Bookseller staff
In an action designed to directly support bricks and mortar booksellers, EDC’s president Randall White said withdrawing the sale of Usborne titles was "critical" to the long-term prosperity of EDC. In 2009 the publisher removed Kane Miller titles from the site.According to Publishers Weekly, White said the decision to pull 1,500 titles between the Usborne and Kane Miller lines was a stance against Amazon’s attempts to "gain control of publishing and other industries by making it impossible for other retailers to compete effectively".
He added: "I see this as critical to the long-term growth of EDC, and a way to demonstrate our support of the local booksellers, museum shops, gift stores, and others who sell our books to consumers. We also have an incredibly devoted direct sales force of independent sales consultants who make their living selling our books at home parties, to schools and libraries and via the internet. We want to support them in every way we can, and we’ve seen how, working together, not only can we survive without Amazon, but we can thrive."
EDC said sales of Kane Miller titles had increased more than 33% since they were removed from Amazon in 2009, with the company’s total online sales accounting for 13% of its business.
The move by EDC comes following a row between Amazon and the Independent Publishers Group in the US after the former removed all the distributor’s e-books from its site when the IPG would not agree to giving the retailer a higher discount rate when its contract came up for renewal.
The IPG represents over 400 publishers, including in the UK, 4,443 digital titles and the move sparked fears among UK publishers the embargo would spread to print titles.
As the row reaches its eighth day, Independent Book Publishers Association issued a statement from president Florrie Binford Kichler saying: "We commend IPG for its support of the independent publishing community and for shining the spotlight on this critical issue."
E-book production overtakes hardbacks in UK in 2011
28.02.12 | Philip Jones - The BooksellerPublishers produced 149,800 new books and new editions in 2011, down from the 2009 high point of 157,039 and down from last year's 151,959; this was despite the growing number of e-books published with separate ISBNs from their print equivalents. Nielsen said the decrease showed a "natural reduction in difficult market conditions and a stabilisation across production methods and a shift from print to digital".
The Nielsen numbers do not include the large number of self-published titles published direct to Amazon's Kindle platform, which require only an ASIN. Nevertheless, the figures show an upswing in e-book output since 2010. In 2011, 35,000 e-books were registered for the first time with an ISBN, compared with 28,963, an increase of 20%. By contrast both hardback and paperback production fell: hardbacks fell from 30,175 in 2010 to 28,000 in 2011; paperback output decreased from 79,087 to 71,000.
Despite the output numbers, the number of new publishers receiving an ISBN prefix over the year continued to rise, to 3,412 in 2011 compared to 3,151 in 2010. Nielsen said the continuing trend upwards was being "led by self-published authors, print-on-demand and digital product".
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AAP Estimates: E-book Sales Rose 117% in US in 2011 as Print Fell
PW - Feb 27, 2012
Despite slowing growth rates in the final quarter of 2011, e-book sales rose 117% for the year, generating revenue of $969.9 million at the companies that report sales to the Association of American Publishers. Sales in all trade print segments fell in the year, however, with the mass market paperback segment showing the largest decline with sales from reporting houses down almost 36%, to $431.5 million. Adult hardcover and trade paperback sales were off 17.5% and 15.6%, respectively. In children’s, the YA/hardcover segment sales fell 4.7% and paperback sales fell 12.7%.
The religion segment had a solid year, with sales up 8.4% in all formats. And in audio, physical audio sales fell 8.1% at reporting companies, while downloadable audio rose 25.5% for the year.
In December, e-book sales rose 72% and the AAP noted that based a seasonal buying patterns it expects e-book sales to show strong gains in January and possible February as well as new digital device owners buy more titles. In the month, sales of children’s hardcover books rose, but sales fell in the other trade categories.
Poetry Review editor Fiona Sampson resigns
After damaging ructions at the Poetry Society last year, the editor of its journal says parting is 'on very good and cheerful terms'
Poetry Review editor Fiona Sampson. Photograph: Graeme Robertson
The concluding lines of the epic row which engulfed the Poetry Society last summer have been written, with the resignation of the editor of Poetry Review, Fiona Sampson.
A spate of resignations in 2011 left the society reeling, with Arts Council England (ACE) delaying payment of the society's grant over "concerns around governance, management and leadership" after members offered the society's board a motion of no confidence at an extraordinary general meeting in July. The following month the society's director, Judith Palmer, was reinstated to the post she left in May, in an attempt to bring stability back to an organisation which had previously been going from strength to strength.
Many reports suggested that a clash of personalities between Sampson and Palmer was at the root of the problem, despite vigorous denials from both sides. A statement from the society issued on 23 December 2011 attempted to draw a line under the issue, suggesting that "problems of governance were reported wrongly as purely a personal dispute", and looking forward to a future including "both Judith Palmer as director and Fiona Sampson as the editor of Poetry Review".
"Obviously terrible things happened to me last year," Sampson said. "It's no secret, because some of them happened in the Guardian. But I was absolutely delighted that the society – with whom I'm parting on very good and cheerful terms – made it absolutely clear that the allegations about me were completely untrue. They also apologised for the damage done to me, and stated that it was an issue of governance."
She was "absolutely thrilled" to be appointed as editor in 2005, particularly because "there was a proper equal-opportunities process, rather than a selection by nod and a wink which sometimes happens for that sort of thing". But she felt unable to continue after the furore unleashed on the internet last summer, which she felt amounted to cyberbullying.
"The police were involved," she continued. "There were death threats. Would you stay after that had happened to you? It's not that the society has done anything wrong, but no more … I'm not interested in that kind of mess and struggle."
It brings to an end a seven-year stewardship of the UK's premier poetry journal, which has seen the journal expand its horizons, combining an emphasis on championing new voices with the highest standards of literary excellence.
The poet Sean O'Brien saluted her achievement.
"Fiona Sampson restored and improved the fortunes of Poetry Review, re-establishing it as the leading UK poetry magazine and increasing its international status," he said. "While broad in her tastes and encouraging towards emergent writers, she showed exacting standards in poetry and criticism and had no time for parochialism. Her successors will have a difficult task in matching her achievements or the international scope of her interests, while many poets, critics and readers will lament her departure."
It's not yet clear what Sampson, who is one of the judges for the 2012 Griffin prize, will do next. "I'm keeping that slightly under wraps," she said, "because I don't want everything else I do contaminated by what's happened."
Meanwhile the process of rebuilding continues at the Poetry Society. ACE put the society's funding back on a normal footing last month, after the board had met a series of conditions for restoring good governance. With a guest editor to be announced for the summer issue later this week and the search for a permanent replacement due to start later this year, the society's director is looking to the future.
"Fiona's done a very good job on the Review for seven years," Palmer said. "We wish her well and look forward to seeing what a new editor will bring to the Review."
A spate of resignations in 2011 left the society reeling, with Arts Council England (ACE) delaying payment of the society's grant over "concerns around governance, management and leadership" after members offered the society's board a motion of no confidence at an extraordinary general meeting in July. The following month the society's director, Judith Palmer, was reinstated to the post she left in May, in an attempt to bring stability back to an organisation which had previously been going from strength to strength.
Many reports suggested that a clash of personalities between Sampson and Palmer was at the root of the problem, despite vigorous denials from both sides. A statement from the society issued on 23 December 2011 attempted to draw a line under the issue, suggesting that "problems of governance were reported wrongly as purely a personal dispute", and looking forward to a future including "both Judith Palmer as director and Fiona Sampson as the editor of Poetry Review".
"Obviously terrible things happened to me last year," Sampson said. "It's no secret, because some of them happened in the Guardian. But I was absolutely delighted that the society – with whom I'm parting on very good and cheerful terms – made it absolutely clear that the allegations about me were completely untrue. They also apologised for the damage done to me, and stated that it was an issue of governance."
She was "absolutely thrilled" to be appointed as editor in 2005, particularly because "there was a proper equal-opportunities process, rather than a selection by nod and a wink which sometimes happens for that sort of thing". But she felt unable to continue after the furore unleashed on the internet last summer, which she felt amounted to cyberbullying.
"The police were involved," she continued. "There were death threats. Would you stay after that had happened to you? It's not that the society has done anything wrong, but no more … I'm not interested in that kind of mess and struggle."
It brings to an end a seven-year stewardship of the UK's premier poetry journal, which has seen the journal expand its horizons, combining an emphasis on championing new voices with the highest standards of literary excellence.
The poet Sean O'Brien saluted her achievement.
"Fiona Sampson restored and improved the fortunes of Poetry Review, re-establishing it as the leading UK poetry magazine and increasing its international status," he said. "While broad in her tastes and encouraging towards emergent writers, she showed exacting standards in poetry and criticism and had no time for parochialism. Her successors will have a difficult task in matching her achievements or the international scope of her interests, while many poets, critics and readers will lament her departure."
It's not yet clear what Sampson, who is one of the judges for the 2012 Griffin prize, will do next. "I'm keeping that slightly under wraps," she said, "because I don't want everything else I do contaminated by what's happened."
Meanwhile the process of rebuilding continues at the Poetry Society. ACE put the society's funding back on a normal footing last month, after the board had met a series of conditions for restoring good governance. With a guest editor to be announced for the summer issue later this week and the search for a permanent replacement due to start later this year, the society's director is looking to the future.
"Fiona's done a very good job on the Review for seven years," Palmer said. "We wish her well and look forward to seeing what a new editor will bring to the Review."
Google to Reinstate Indie Affiliates
Feb 27, 2012
After notifying some independent bookseller Google eBook affiliates late last week that they will be removed from the program as of March 15 and their links deactivated, Google is now working to reinstate all indie affiliates. A Google spokesperson told PW, "we did not intend to deactivate independent booksellers from the Google eBooks affiliate program. We apologize for any inconvenience." The company expects to add back those affected soon.
The American Booksellers Association is working with Google to rectify the problem. Matt Supko, director of the ABA IndieCommerce program, advises ABA stores that received termination notices from Google to contact their ABA member relationship manager, Kaitlin Pitcher or Nathan Halter. “Google has affirmed many times, and continues to affirm, their commitment to independent bookstores,” says Supko.
ABA IndieCommerce bookstores were not affected by the terminations.
Inside the Academy Awards Greenroom Library
By on Fine Books & Collections - February 23, 2012
Architectural Digest's 10th Annual Signature Greenroom at the 84th Academy Awards®. Credit: Roger Davies for Architectural Digest.
Every year Architectural Digest designs an exclusive backstage lounge for Oscar presenters and honorees. This year, that greenroom has a designer library, too.
Thatcher Wine of Juniper Books in Boulder, Colorado, was called on by this year's AD Greenroom designer, Waldo Fernandez, to fill the room's empty bookshelves. Fernandez's overall design evokes the Hollywood of the 1930s and 40s, with references to the glamorous parties of director George Cukor. Wine ran with that idea, imagining shelves of books that look like vintage film reels.
A portion of the library prior to installation. Courtesy of Thatcher Wine.
"The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences gave me access to their archives," he said. "I picked out classic film scenes, then printed them on book jackets." All of the photographs he chose are recognizable, fit to a new medium. As anyone who has seen Wine's custom dust jackets (FB&C profiled his work last fall) can attest, the effect is incredible. "There is no one else in the world who does what I do with the book jackets, so this was the perfect project for me to come up with a never-before-seen idea ... I am so honored to be a part of it," he said.
Wine flew out to Los Angeles earlier this week to personally install the library backstage at the Kodak Theatre in anticipation of Sunday's 84th annual Academy Awards.
While it's not the first library in an AD Greenroom, it is certainly one in which the books don't just blend into the background. "The idea being that books are relaxing and help calm the presenters before going on stage. My library calms and also inspires with a dose of film history and nostalgia," Wine said.
What's underneath the jackets? A selection of entertainment biographies and books about film, he said. When Wine works on a project like this, he leaves it up to the client whether they want a curated collection or just props behind the art
The Frick Collection ~ The Best Private Art Museum In New York
Posted Art Knowledge News: 27 Feb 2012
The Frick Collection is a
not-for-profit educational institution originally founded by Henry Clay Frick
(1849-1919), the Pittsburgh coke and steel industrialist. In 1913, construction
began on Henry Frick’s New York mansion at Seventieth Street and Fifth Avenue,
designed by Carrère and Hastings to accommodate Mr. Frick’s paintings and other
art objects. The house cost $5,000,000, but from its inception, took into
account Mr. Frick’s intention to leave his house and his art collection to the
public. Mr. Frick died in 1919 and in his will, left the house and all of the
works of art in it together with the furnishings (“subject to occupancy by Mrs.
Frick during her lifetime”) to become a gallery called The Frick Collection. He
provided an endowment of $15,000,000 to be used for the maintenance of the
Collection and for improvements and additions. After Mrs. Frick's death in
1931, family and trustees of The Frick Collection began the transformation of
the Fifth Avenue residence into a museum and commissioned John Russell Pope to
make additions to the original house, including two galleries (the Oval Room
and East Gallery), a combination lecture hall and music room, and the enclosed
courtyard. In December 1935 The Frick Collection opened to the public. In 1977,
a garden on Seventieth Street to the east of the Collection was designed by
Russell Page, to be seen from the street and from the pavilion added at the
same time to accommodate increasing attendance at the museum. This new
Reception Hall was designed by Harry van Dyke, John Barrington Bayley, and G.
Frederick Poehler.
Two additional galleries were opened on the lower level of
the pavilion to house temporary exhibitions. The nearby Frick Art Reference
Library was founded in 1920 to serve “adults with a serious interest in art,”
among them scholars, art professionals, collectors, and students. The Library’s
book and photograph research collections relate chiefly to paintings, drawings,
sculpture, and prints from the fourth to the mid-twentieth centuries by
European and American artists. Known internationally for its rich holdings of
auction and exhibition catalogs, the Library is a leading site for collecting
and provenance research. Archival materials and special collections augment the
research collections with documents pertaining to the history of collecting art
in America and of Henry Clay Frick’s collecting in particular.
The Frick
Collection developed the “Art of Observation” training course, initially for
medical students, but now used by police, security and defense personnel
throughout the USA. Using works of art to train students in observation
techniques proved so effective that enquiries were received from as far as way
as London’s Metropolitan Police Force. Visit the museum’s website at … www.frick.org
Footnote:
The above post is obvioulsy not about books but The Frick is one of my favourite places in NYC, don't miss it if you are there, and I couldn't resist adding this piece this am.
When writers censor themselves
More familiar as a habit of despots, authors themselves quite often make strenuous efforts to suppress their own work
Space Invaders expert Martin Amis. Photograph: Sahm Doherty / Time Life / Getty
The suppression of literature is an ancient tradition that probably started with the invention of writing and which thrives today all over the world. In the west we generally venerate those authors who stand up against acts of silencing by the authorities. But what are we to think when an author suppresses himself?
The easiest form of self-suppression is to have an idea and not write it, and we may well wish that more authors would exercise this prerogative. It gets more complicated once the book exists, however – even in unpublished manuscript form. Since we usually don't know about the successful suppressions, the most famous cases of authorial efforts at self-silencing are those of writers who attempted and failed to quash the publication of works they had written but did not wish to see the light of day.
Consider Virgil, who died during the editing of the Aeneid in 19BC and left instructions for the incomplete work to be destroyed. The Emperor Augustus overruled his wishes, a rare historical instance of an authoritarian leader insisting on the publication rather than suppression of a text. Almost two millennia later and Kafka asked his executor Max Brod to destroy his manuscripts. Brod declined to do so, and the history of 20th-century literature took a radically strange turn as a result.
What lay behind these posthumous orders to kill texts? A frustrated hyper-perfectionism? A desire for deep oblivion? We might also ask how sincere such requests actually were: Kafka had plenty of time to throw his work in the fireplace himself- but he didn't.
Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889), however, did. His poetic talent flourished early, but after joining the Jesuits in 1868 he was unable to reconcile his faith with his creativity and so surrendered all of his literary work to the flames. In 1872, he saw a way forward, but even then he wrote little and most of that was published after his death.
Full piece at The Guardian
The easiest form of self-suppression is to have an idea and not write it, and we may well wish that more authors would exercise this prerogative. It gets more complicated once the book exists, however – even in unpublished manuscript form. Since we usually don't know about the successful suppressions, the most famous cases of authorial efforts at self-silencing are those of writers who attempted and failed to quash the publication of works they had written but did not wish to see the light of day.
Consider Virgil, who died during the editing of the Aeneid in 19BC and left instructions for the incomplete work to be destroyed. The Emperor Augustus overruled his wishes, a rare historical instance of an authoritarian leader insisting on the publication rather than suppression of a text. Almost two millennia later and Kafka asked his executor Max Brod to destroy his manuscripts. Brod declined to do so, and the history of 20th-century literature took a radically strange turn as a result.
What lay behind these posthumous orders to kill texts? A frustrated hyper-perfectionism? A desire for deep oblivion? We might also ask how sincere such requests actually were: Kafka had plenty of time to throw his work in the fireplace himself- but he didn't.
Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889), however, did. His poetic talent flourished early, but after joining the Jesuits in 1868 he was unable to reconcile his faith with his creativity and so surrendered all of his literary work to the flames. In 1872, he saw a way forward, but even then he wrote little and most of that was published after his death.
Full piece at The Guardian
What Do NYC Bookstores Have that London's Lack?
PublishingPerspectives
McNally Jackson is "the model of a city center indie"
(Photo@ Yvonne Brooks)
|
UK retail consultant Philip Downer tours New York
City's
bookstores and can't help comparing them--
|
|
It's likely people will want both print and digital
cookbooks:
cheap e-books to use, but also high quality
|
Two Distributors Do Sign with Kindle--And Pay eBook Coop
PublishersLunch
While IPG remains in what could be a
long-standing contractual disagreement with Amazon over wholesale terms for
their clients--and their approximately 4,500 ebooks remain unavailable for sale
on Kindle--two other independent distributors of scale did both come to terms
with Amazon in the past week or so. Both the Perseus Books Group and National
Book Network (NBN) reported to their respective clients on the new terms
arrived for ebooks.
Those new
contracts were some time in the making; one of the two told clients they
"entered into negotiations with Amazon in October of last year and have
only just concluded our agreement." The other underscored that the new
terms were retroactive back to January 1, 2012.As has been reported before, though not with any specificity, Amazon has been adding provisions for coop payments for ebooks this year. (Previously, coop was applied only to Amazon's print sales.) One of these distributors explicitly states a new provision of the revised contract is that clients will now allocate 3 percent coop on sales of ebooks. One of the two also makes explicit an increase in the portion of all coop, for both print and ebook editions, that goes towards "automation and personalization" (Amazon's term for the display of merchandising information on Amazon's site). For that distributor's clients, only half of all charged coop funds (instead of three-quarters, as in the past) can be spent on specific merchandising programs under the new contract.
Both distributors indicate that their discount schedules outside of coop remain unchanged. One writes, "The negotiations were difficult and at times contentious. Considering the point where we started last year, the final agreement we reached with Amazon was both the minimum they would accept to continue selling our Kindle titles, but it also preserved our core principles in these negotiations."
Also indicated in one client notification is that Amazon has also increased the ebook conversion fee they charge publishers who provide only a print book or PDF and want Amazon to produce the book file. That charge is now 8 percent of digital list price, up from 5 percent previously. (A note: we have deliberately obscured references to the which distributor wrote what; it's not our intention to unnecessarily reveal the specific business terms of any one company, but we recognize the abundant community utility in understanding some of the shifts in terms underway.)
Terms can certainly vary from house to house. Some independent publishers we spoke to did recently stretch to 4 percent coop on print books. At least some publishers told us they have not been approached for Kindle coop yet. It is expected that, as Kindle wins coop allocations, Barnes & Noble will impose a similar policy. In the course of conversations with a variety of publishers, we heard multiple reports from professional and/or academic publishers who sell to Amazon on traditional "short discounts" that they have been asked to radically restructure their terms of sale.
IPG president Mark Suchomel still declines to discuss their terms with Amazon, but did say of the recent and now very public standoff, "There has to be a point at which we really have to value our content." He said, "I don't necessarily want to be Mr. Crusader here. I want to do what's right and I want to do what's fair." In the end, he noted, "The big question is going to be, 'are we the only, or are we the first?'"
To that point, Educational Development Corporation announced Monday that, effective immediately, it "will no longer sell any of its books on Amazon or to any entities that resell to Amazon." In 2009 they stopped selling their Kane Miller list on Amazon and now they say they are withdrawing the Usborne line, which comprises roughly 1,500 titles. EDC President Randall White says in the announcement, "I see this as critical to the long-term growth of EDC, and a way to demonstrate our support of the local booksellers, museum shops, gift stores, and others who sell our books to consumers." White also reports in the release that "net sales of the Kane Miller books have increased more than thirty-three percent since 2009 when the list was pulled from Amazon." Of course there's a difference between having a direct sales relationship with Amazon and having your books available for sale there. As Laura Owen at paidContent noticed, Amazon still displays hundreds of Kane Miller titles for sale, apparently stocked through wholesalers.
Finally, IPG ceo Curtis Matthews posted on the company's blog on Friday on the topic of "what should an ebook cost?" In the closing he expresses what many people both outside and inside the trade still don't understand: "Only the six biggest publishing companies have had the market power to compel Amazon to accept the Agency Model, which allows the publisher to keep 70 percent of the e-book list price. Independent publishers have had to accept the Wholesale Model, which has let us keep only about 50 percent of the suggested price." That said, the pressure for increased discount, on the heels of other recent moves like the inclusion of books in the Kindle Owner's Lending Library without publishers' consent, once again has some publishers considering a move to the agency model (and/or to an agency model distributor) despite Amazon's resistance.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
An interview with William Deverell
Read this on Craig Sisterson's Crime Watch, and congratulations to Craig, this is his 1000th post to his blog! You can understand now why I call him Mr.NZ Crime Fiction!
UK Royal Mail Issues Six Roald Dahl Stamps
By Maryann Yin on Galley Cat, February 27, 2012
With a few days left in the Month of Letters Challenge, the UK Royal Mail has issued six “gloriumptiously” collectible stamps for Roald Dahl fans.Here’s more from the description page: “Six of Dahl’s most popular children’s stories feature on the Stamps – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr Fox, James & the Giant Peach, Matilda, The Twits and The Witches. As many of Dahl’s best loved stories have been illustrated by Quentin Blake it made perfect sense to use his illustrations for these Stamps.” What is your favorite stamp?
Each stamps contains a pivotal moment in the Dahl stories, from Mr. and Mrs. Twits‘ upside-down escapades to Charlie Bucket‘s golden ticket discovery. Prices for the stamps start at 66 pence (approximately $1.03 USD). A sheet of six sells for £4.66 (approximately $7.30 USD).
Book-trade blues
If you’re an independent bookseller in Australia at the moment, you probably feel better than anyone else in the industry does. Business is up, as a result of less competition following the collapse of Borders and Angus & Robertson. Book prices are down, as a result of the high Australian dollar and publishers capitulating to offshore competition and the weak economy, so your customers are getting much better value for money. There are even some signs that customers are rediscovering the special pleasures and benefits that only a physical bookshop can provide.On the other hand, you’re probably worried that e-book sales are rising rapidly, and that you’re going to miss out on most of this market. You’re still hurting from offshore online booksellers who don’t have to pay GST or customs duties, or whose subsidised postal costs are unavailable to you. You also have to work harder than ever before, because lower average book prices mean you have to sell more books just to stand still. And you might also be worried about the growing rumours that Amazon is planning to set up in this country; if that comes to pass anytime soon, it will represent an existential threat to your business.
If you’re a book-buyer working for one of the big chains or department stores, you’re probably dreaming of a promotion to the meat products section. Or else you’ve got plans to treat books like
salami.
If you’re a literary agent, you’re probably worried about where your next dollar is going to come from. Advances from publishers are coming down across the board (especially from the big houses, which is where most of your income comes from), so there’s less money for your authors and your business to survive on until each book is published. You’re anxious about e-book royalty-rates, because you have to license them without knowing if they’re reasonable or not. And, given the overseas trend for the acquisition of world rights, you’re finding it harder to justify your existence as a local agent. It’s almost back-to-the-future time, when it makes more sense for a commercial Australian author to be published in London or New York than Melbourne or Sydney.
If you’re an author, your prospects depend on the areas you work in. Paradoxically, if your work is marketable, you have a good chance of getting a local publishing deal — because, in publishers’ eyes, there’s now a premium on local books that don’t or won’t suffer from offshore competition. But, for authors of mid-list books (that is, books with fair-to-middling commercial prospects), advances will be lower than they’ve been, and will trend lower. And authors with a poor or faltering track record of sales as reported by Bookscan will find it harder to find publishers prepared to back them.
If you’re a book printer, you’re struggling with unprecedented simultaneous problems. Print runs are down, reprints are down (and smaller), and value-adding cover embellishments are down. You can’t raise your prices, and publishers are demanding impossible levels of service. You’ve cut shifts, and you’ve retrenched staff. The one area that’s booming is digital — print-on-demand titles and short-run digital reprints — but it’s cannibalising your conventional business. In essence, you’re an Australian manufacturer facing global headwinds. How do you make a profit in this environment?
If you’re a book publisher, you’ve got the blues real bad. Turnover is down dramatically; in fact, it’s fallen over a cliff. The value of bookshop sales, as measured by Bookscan, dropped by 17.5% in December last year, compared with the same period in 2010. This already-alarming trend was being maintained earlier this year, but it has just started to accelerate: in the second week of February 2012, the value of book-trade sales was 22 per cent lower than for the same week a year before; in the third week, the value was down 29 per cent. The first three weeks combined were down by 21.5 per cent. Publishers are hoping that this is the tail-end effect of the Borders and Angus & Robertson collapse. But what if it’s not?
Read Henry's full essay at his blog.
