Reforms proposed by the Book Industry Strategy Group are long overdue but don’t go far enough and may be difficult to implement, according to industry players and authors.
Book publishers
Death of the bookshop: what you pay for when you buy local
Many book lovers might choose to shop locally rather than on overseas websites if they had the chance to ponder some of the implications of their decisions, says editor-in-chief of Bookseller+Publisher magazine Matthia Dempsey.
Labor’s wrangling playing out on the nation’s bookshelves
The publishing industry is bracing for a mini political publishing boom as last week’s turmoil in Canberra reverberates around the nation’s bookshops.
Beneath the skivvy: the dark side of Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs emerged, iPad tucked firmly under his arm, as the saviour leading publishers out of the paywalls darkness. But what happens when they realise Steve Jobs is just a ruthless businessman? asks Ryan Tate.
Caucus debate misses the point, chapter and verse, on books
What’s happening with parallel book imports? The publishing industry is on the cusp of major change driven by online delivery. The most appropriate role for the government is to step aside and let consumers take the lead.
Dan Brown saves the literary world, one cliché at a time
Dan Brown may be the writer we love to bash (see his 20 worst sentences here!) but without him many other great writers would never be read. His books are like gateway drugs, says Christopher Scanlon.
10 cursed second novels
Frazier’s Cold Mountain sold in bucketloads and he received an $8million advance for Thirteen Moons. It flopped.
Venezuelan president and salesman extraordinaire
Forget Oprah. If you want to market a book Hugo Chávez is your man.
Angus & Robertson throws the book at publishers
Cough up or you’re dumped. Book publishers and distributors choked on their cafe lattes when they were issued the ultimatum recently by Australia’s largest book chain, Angus & Robertson, which is owned by private equity group Pacific Equity Partners. Jane Nethercote reports.
