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A
NEW APPROACH TO THE INTERNET
(from January 04 issue)
Our website saw an incredible growth in visitor
numbers throughout 2003 and 2004 I have to admit that we did not
put as much effort into the content that the site obviously deserves.
Until now, we have updated the website with a version of the monthly
printed copy after it was printed, with the exception of posting
website vacancies.
From this month we are changing our approach with a weekly online
version of Book People, covering both news and the publishing
vacancies. Why take on so much more work? It is purely down to
the visitor numbers; last year saw the monthly number of individually
identified visitors move from a healthy 2,000 to nearly 5,000!
This work will co-incide with the continued development of our
publishing services directory pages.
Your monthly hard copy of Book People will continue as before,
but you will also be able to catch up with so much more by visiting
www.book-people.net every week. PLEASE E-MAIL ANY PRESS RELEASES
TO news@book-people.net
Paul
Thorne
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Book
People is published by Rigden Thorne
Queen Anne House, Lucton, Herefordshire HR6 9PN
Telephone: 08456 580068• Fax: 08456 580068
Email: paul@book-people.net
Editor:
Paul Thorne
Special features: Susan Dixon
Sub Editor: Paula Arkell
Production: Liz Bingold
Advertising Sales: David Bonner
© 2005 by Chappell Thorne. All rights reserved. No part of
this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher.
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FRANKFURT
BOOK FAIR EXPECTS RECORD ATTENDANCE
For
the first time more than 7,000 individual exhibitors – Guest
of Honour Korea with more than 500 events
The
Frankfurt Book Fair is expecting record participation this year,
as announced by Juergen Boos, president of the world’s biggest
book show, speaking at a press conference on Tuesday. “For
the first time ever, there will be more than 7,000 individual
exhibitors in Frankfurt”. This was convincing proof of the
outstanding importance of the Frankfurt Book Fair for publishing
companies and the media industry around the world. “With
a good 6 per cent increase, the Frankfurt Book Fair is one of
the few benchmark fairs in the world to show steady growth”,
said Boos. Exhibitors from a total of more than 100 countries
will come to the Frankfurt Book Fair which will be held from 19
to 23 October at Frankfurt’s exhibition site.
Once again, the focus of public interest will be on the Guest
of Honour at the Book Fair. This year, it is Korea that introduces
itself all over Germany, with more than 500 events ranging from
literature and music to drama, arts and crafts. “Our Korean
partners have done outstanding work,” said Juergen Boos.
Korean authors have already been on tour since March giving book
readings in every region throughout Germany and about 40 authors
are also expected at the Book Fair. “As things stand now,
this will also include authors and intellectuals from North Korea,”
according to Boos. The Frankfurt Book Fair had invited North Korea
to take part in the Guest of Honour presentation, but this offer
had been rejected.
All in all, there will be close on 3,000 events across Germany
relating to the Frankfurt Book Fair, about 1,000 author appearances
are expected. Organised by the Frankfurt Book Fair in cooperation
with the Hesse Ministry of Science and Art, the “Leseland
Hessen” literary festival makes its contribution here, with
around 120 readings scheduled in 14 towns and communities.
Apart from the many events for the general public at the exhibition
site, there will also be a large number of specialist events.
“We have placed particular emphasis this year on expanding
the range of information provided to the industry,” said
Juergen Boos. The Frankfurt Book Fair will include several new
exhibit sections, such as the Antiquarian Fair, the “PresseMesse”,
the Games & Playing collective stand and the Forum Academic
& Scientific Books. The successful “Film & TV”
focus is also back, offering numerous special features for film
producers and publishers.
“In recognition of its status as the industry’s keynote
fair, the Frankfurt Book Fair has a duty to keep an eye out for
the industry’s trends and to develop these in the shape
of opportunities and services for its customers”, in the
words of Juergen Boos.The Frankfurt Book Fair is the biggest book
fair in the world – with 7,000 exhibitors from 100 countries.
It also organises the participation of German publishers at more
than 20 international book fairs and maintains the most visited
website worldwide for the publishing industry at www.book-fair.com.
The Frankfurt Book Fair is a subsidiary of the German Publishers
& Booksellers Association.
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HMV
BID FOR OTTAKAR'S
The Booksellers Association were asked to canvass members for
their views.
The OFT will consider, inter alia, whether the proposed acquisition
by Waterstone's/HMV of Ottakar's will result in a "substantial
lessening of competition", and whether the competition and
rivalry between booksellers will be weakened to such an extent
in the future that the interests of consumers will be harmed.
If you have any views which you would like the OFT to consider,
please send them to Elisabetta Rotondo, the Case Officer who is
looking into this anticipated acquisition. Her e-mail address
is: Elisabetta.Rotondo@oft.gsi.gov.uk.
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INTERNATIONAL
RIGHTS CENTRE GROWING
The London Book Fair's International Rights Centre (IRC)
is widely recognised as the leading international Spring rights
fair for global literary, television and film rights business.
Conveniently located within easy reach of the exhibition halls,
the London Book Fair's International Rights Centre is the number
one place to meet the highest quality people in the industry.
The Rights Centre is increasing in size and popularity every year
- 2005 was the biggest year ever, with 2006 promising to be even
better.
An exclusive centre, the IRC allows members to conduct rights
negotiations in a private and comfortable environment. Membership
benefits include:
— A dedicated table with four chairs.
— An entry badge to both the IRC and London Book Fair per
member.
— A locker for each table and free cloakroom/luggage storage
facilities.
— A complimentary copy of the Official Fair Directory per
table and a 50-word entry inside.
— Dedicated restaurant and catering outlets.
— Dedicated helpdesk.
— Use of Internet point and colour print point.
Help desks
A dedicated help desk in each zone assists members with their
rigorous schedules - including services from appointment-setting
and message taking to restaurant booking and information on seminars
and events during
the Fair.
All visitors without an orange table-holder's badge or a green
frequent entry badge will be required to present proof of a valid
appointment with a registered IRC table-holder at the IRC registration
desk. Visitors with one appoinmtent will be given a pass for the
duration of their appointment. Visitors with regular appointments
will be provided with a green frequent entry badge prior to the
show.
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ePubLondon
4 – A VIEW FROM THE CHAIR
The fourth annual international conference examing the
change and development in electronic publishing across all markets
and platforms takes place on the 11th and 12th March 2004 in The
Pillar Hall, Olympia Exhibition Centre, London.
Chairman, Tony Feldman, takes us through the four areas covered
by ePubLondon in 2004.
ePubLondon 2004 is founded on one important premise: the principal
voice we should be hearing throughout the two days of the event
is the voice of a global industry at work. We don’t want
to dwell on theory or distant visions of faraway technologies,
fascinating as these might be. We are rooting the programme in
the realities of today’s markets and will track, demystify
and anticipate digitally driven change through the views and experience
of publishers themselves.
To emphasise this point, the conference starts with a morning
packed with publishing case studies, each examining response and
innovation in a key market sector. We’ll hear about the
most important drivers of success and about shrewd commercial
adaptation to changing markets from those already in the front
lines. Following this, we turn to the traditionally tough territory
of technical standards and structures in publishing content. But
to ensure we don’t merely have an afternoon of dry abstractions,
we are gearing each session to highlighting the relevance of these
challenging issues to the business of profitable publishing. EPS
sets the scene with a lucid, helicopter view of the standards
arena, clarifying how individual initiatives cohere to provide
a single, solid foundation for effective long-term publishing
strategies. This is followed by publishers who will speak from
a practical viewpoint describing the paybacks for those prepared
to take these issues seriously and integrate them into their businesses.
The second day opens with a look at some important current issues
in epublishing. First – and for the first time at ePubLondon
-- we focus on the commercial significance of managed online communities
and how the creation of such powerful affinity groups can drive
and sustain high quality traffic to web sites. We also look at
the way weblogs have mushroomed and how these bastions of self-publishing
are now being harnessed by commercial sites to bring a new freshness
and vitality to online offerings. We will also look at the latest
developments in adding geographical context to content and consider
why most of the players in this new market are not traditional
publishers. Finally, we hear the findings of a major research
study that has examined the technical, commercial and legal implications
of trying to create long-term archives of digital content.
During our final afternoon, we look at the leading edge of emerging
issues in epublishing. We start with a case study showing how
to transform free content into a premium offering. FT.com has
been in the forefront of this challenge and has totally reshaped
its business economics by forging premium services while balancing
the shift to subscriptions with enough free content to retain
high volumes of traffic. This has allowed it to generate new revenues
from subscriptions while retaining its roots in advertising support.
Google will also be joining us to describe the revolution in online
advertising being forged by contextual advertising and paid placement
models. This is potential crucial territory for both publishers
and advertisers. Next we turn to the vexed question of whether
or not to outsource epublishing development and production. We
hear from a major international publisher who has learned the
hard lessons of this route and knows from first-hand experience
the up and downsides of it.
Epub concludes first with a glimpse of a not-so-distant future
in which the so-called “semantic web” emerges. Here
new technology allows connected machines to both recognise and
“understand” web content so that powerful new functionalities
can be built, radically transforming opportunities for both publishing
and e-commerce. Finally, we conclude with a wake-up call, warning
against new regulatory and legal bear traps that are waiting to
snare the unwary epublisher.
ePubLondon 2004 covers much ground in a short time. But its energy
and ambition is rooted in well-planned sessions that will be clear,
informative, practical and anchored in commercial realities. It
is a conference for those who want to explore the latest, most
important business insights in electronic publishing. Balance
this with plenty of time for questions, discussion and networking
among delegates and you have an event not to be missed.
Tony Feldman
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A&C
BLACK ACQUIRES THE REED'S NAUTICAL ALMANAC SERIES
A&C Black, part of Bloomsbury Publishing has acquired
Nautical Data Ltd, the publishers of the Reed’s Nautical
Almanac series from Piers Mason and Michael Benson-Colpi.
First published in 1932, The Reed’s Nautical Almanac is
a unique compendium of annually updated navigational and port
information, relied upon by tens of thousands of leisure and professional
boaters. The Almanac and its regional editions will become part
of A&C Black’s Adlard Coles Nautical imprint.
Jill Coleman, managing director of A&C Black says: “The
Reed’s Nautical Almanac is the one book every boater needs,
and it will be the jewel in the crown of our Adlard Coles Nautical
imprint. Its acquisition, along with Thomas Reed Publications
in 2002, confirms our position as the world’s leading nautical
publisher.”
Piers Mason and Michael Benson-Colpi: “Adlard Coles Nautical
and the wider A&C Black family are a splendid home for the
Reed’s Almanacs. As well as a strong nautical publishing
heritage, A&C Black has a long tradition of successful reference
yearbooks. Reed’s Almanac joins Who’s Who, Whitaker’s
Almanack and many other cornerstone reference works.”
Nigel Newton, chief executive of Bloomsbury Publishing commented:
‘We have been interested in acquiring The Reed’s Nautical
Almanac for several years now, and are delighted to have done
so as it strengthens not only our market leading position in nautical
publishing, but also our annual reference publishing. This Almanac
will generate revenues for the group for many years to come.’.
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CAMBRIDGE
UNIVERSITY PRESS ADDS GREENWICH MEDICAL MEDIA TO ITS PORTFOLIO
The
Syndics of Cambridge University Press have acquired Greenwich
Medical Media Limited (GMM) in a transaction brokered by Bertoli
Mitchell.
GMM was launched in 1995, and has built its reputation on a portfolio
of products that includes books, journals and websites. In book
publishing, GMM has grown to achieve UK market-leading status
in the field of anaesthesia, supplemented by significant output
in surgery, oncology, psychiatry and imaging.
The GMM journals list consists of four titles: the flagship European
Journal of Anaesthesiology (EJA), the established bi-monthly Cardiology
in the Young, and two more recently launched titles, Journal of
Diagnostic Radiography and Imaging, and Journal of Radiotherapy
in Practice. In 2004, there are plans to launch the Journal of
Psychiatric Intensive Care together with the National Association
of Psychiatric Intensive Care Units, and to take over the production
of the British Journal of Anaesthetic and Recovery Nursing, the
official publication of the British Anaesthetic and Recovery Nurses
Association.
GMM has also created two major websites, Breast Cancer Online
(www.bco.org) with 17,000 registered users and, more recently,
Nurse Prescriber (www.nurse-prescriber.co.uk), which addresses
the major new market opened up by government initiatives to encourage
enhanced nurse participation in the treatment of patients.
The Cambridge medical books list has been established for 15 years
and is focused on publishing for a set of core clinical markets
including psychiatry, neurology, reproductive medicine, paediatrics,
haematology, oncology, medical ethics, emergency medicine and
medical imaging. The acquisition provides the Cambridge list with
an immediate critical mass of anaesthesia titles, which is a new
clinical area for the programme, and will supplement the list
in other areas. In addition, the acquisition will expand Cambridge
publishing for an audience of medical trainees and those seeking
CPD/CME resources.
For the GMM list, Cambridge will provide enhanced international
outreach, both in terms of commissioning and sales, and the association
with Cambridge’s practitioner-focused list will encourage
the development of reference titles, to complement their strength
and reputation among the ranks of trainees.
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ROBERT
HARDING TO DISTRIBUTE BANANA STOCK
Chief executive Robert Harding, of Robert
Harding Creative Resource says,
“We are delighted to be adding BananaStock, another great
UK source of Royalty Free Imagery, to our extensive image collection.
Their new line “Relax” with another 44 CDs is superb.
This excellent imagery will be available on our newly improved
website www.robertharding.com ”
Cathy Yeulet, BananaStock’s founder and MD adds: “We
wanted to gain full advantage of Harding’s extensive markets,
and to be with an agency that has both Royalty Free and Rights
Managed imagery.
BananaStock has always been about offering commercial imagery
with a fresh and positive slant. Our business and lifestyle content
has been successful because of its reputation for being creative
without being over-stylised.”.
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A
GOOD BUY FOR HEINEMANN
Joy
de Menil has acquired The Good Body, the new book by Eve Ensler,
best-selling and award-winning author of The Vagina Monologues,
in her first buy as editorial director of William Heinemann. De
Menil was offered the book exclusively by Random House US.
The Vagina Monologues began as a one-woman show off Broadway and
became an international phenomenon that has been translated into
27 languages, and has sold over half a million copies worldwide.
In The Good Body, Eve Ensler turns her unique eye to the rest
of the female form. Whether undergoing Botox or living under burkhas,
women of all cultures and backgrounds feel compelled to change
the way they look in order to fit in, in order to be accepted,
in order to be good. In her new book, Ensler explores their experiences
with monologues representing women from around the world.
Their stories are framed with Ensler’s own personal journey
from a self-loathing teenager to a (sometimes) self-accepting
adult and interspersed with riotous excerpts from Ensler’s
lifelong dialogue with her stomach – a sassy and conniving
antagonist in its own right.
Joy de Menil said: “Eve Ensler is a force of nature and
an inspiration to women from Kabul to Swaziland. She also happens
to be very funny and takes us places we might not otherwise venture
after dark. Working with Eve on The Vagina Monologues was exhilarating.
She was like the pied piper, literally lighting up the world.
We're all thrilled to have her at William Heinemann."
Eve Ensler is the co-founder and guiding spirit of V-day, an international
movement to fight violence against women. She is the recipient
of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Obie award, the Elliot Norton
Award, and the 2002 Amnesty International Media Spotlight Award
for leadership. Time magazine has said of Ensler: “She can
soar to Rabelaisian heights or move us with quiet compassion…
she may not save the world, but what other playwrights even think
of trying?”
The Good Body will be published in hardback by William Heinemann
in September 2004 with an Arrow Books edition the following year.
CAREER
DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING
Throughout
the summer of 2003 we ran a series of articles in the hard copy
of Book People. These include contributions from major training/course
providers and recruitment professionals, plus a regular column
from Suzanne Collier of bookcareers.com on career development.
Press button to see the features included in the June, July, August
and September issues.
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©
Book People 2003
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