James Russell published his own children's book, The Dragon Hunters. Photo / Doug Sherring Electronic versions will co-habit nicely with hardback and paperback reads

James Russell (right) published his own children's book, The Dragon Hunters. Photo / Doug Sherring

Sales of ebooks in New Zealand have exploded in the past six months, industry experts say, but the future of Kiwi books may lie with small, independent publishers.

 Several international publishers have pulled out of New Zealand or scaled down operations in recent months. Hachette said in July it would close its New Zealand publishing unit, following the lead of Pearson Education.

 Sam Elworthy, of the Publishers Association of NZ, said book sales had dropped by about 15 per cent over the past 6-9 months but ebook sales had taken off.
"We can't document ebook sales easily. The New Zealand market has grown from nothing 12 months ago to now the same proportion as the US."

 It's not all grim, says former Hachette boss Kevin Chapman whose new company, Upstart Press, is rising from Hachette's ashes.
He says what was happening here was the same as had happened in the US and Britain five years ago. An initial drop in physical sales levelled out. "I think we'll see a bounce in print sales."
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