Highlights from Frankfurt Book Fair
- Publishers Weekly offers top-level insights from the fair. You’ll find the latest information on book sales, Waterstones and Barnes & Noble, and publishers’ market performance. Read Ed Nawotka here and also here.
- How does one create buzz around big books at a virtual Frankfurt? While deal volume is remaining steady, agents worry about the effect on foreign rights. Read Rachel Deahl at Publishers Weekly.
Bookselling
- Barnes & Noble and its former CEO settle out of court. After Demos Parneros was fired two years ago by Barnes & Noble, he filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit. The settlement terms were not disclosed, but Parneros’s original claim for severance was $4 million plus equity. Read Andrew Albanese in Publishers Weekly.
- Wales and Ireland close non-essential retail, including bookstores. Due to the surge in virus cases, the two countries have announced new lockdowns. Meanwhile, in the UK, some booksellers are reporting Christmas-level sales. Read Mark Chandler in The Bookseller.
- About 100 UK stores join Bookshop. Next up: Spain and Portugal. Founder Andy Hunter plans to open up Bookshop anywhere the model will work and has interest from India, Italy, and France. Read Mark Chandler in The Bookseller (subscription required).
Traditional Publishing
- James Patterson’s children’s imprint is reorganizing. Jimmy Patterson Books was launched five years ago and has published a mix of titles by Patterson and other authors, but now it will no longer acquire outside authors. Instead, all books will be authored by Patterson or co-authored with Patterson. Read Jim Milliot at Publishers Weekly.
- John Joseph Adams Books is closing. The eponymous imprint at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has published science fiction and fantasy since 2016. Read more at Locus.
- Simon Pulse has also closed. The Simon & Schuster imprint for teen readers has been around for decades. It’s not clear why it was dissolved. No official announcement has been made, but here’s a Twitter thread on the matter.
- Last but not least, Macmillan’s Imprint has closed. The children’s line was founded in 2014. Learn more from Jim Milliot in Publishers Weekly.
Trends
- Have we reached the end of “general trade publishing”? Industry vet Mike Shatzkin says it no longer makes sense for big publishers to acquire books based on whether they can sell in bookstores. Read at his blog.
- Graphic novels get overlooked by book prizes, but that’s starting to change. Some prizes have barred them from entry or do not recognize them as “literary” fiction. But one day, a graphic novel is destined to win a major award. Read Dessa Bayrock at The Conversation.
- Print textbooks are giving way to courseware. Industry analyst Michael Cairns says that college professors, administrators, and students will appreciate an education that’s delivered in new ways. Listen to a podcast discussion.
- Can publishers and libraries finally sort out their differences? The easing of ebook and audiobook pricing and restrictions during the pandemic has helped libraries—and perhaps this new normal can help the industry reach a more long-term and sustainable solution for digital lending. Read Andrew Albanese in Publishers Weekly.
Culture & Politics
- Should literary magazines reconsider blind submissions? The practice seems reasonable, but one writer argues that it feeds into existing hierarchies of power. Read Joyce Chen at Poets & Writers.
- Canadian bookstore chain Indigo signs diversity pledge. The 15 Percent Pledge commits to having at least 15 percent of store products supplied from BIPOC authors, brands, or businesses. Read Josh Rubin at The Star.
- The National Book Critics Circle has asked members to sign an equity pledge. Those who agree to the pledge promise to dedicate 30 percent of their assignments to coverage of books by BIPOC authors. Very few members have signed it so far. Read Ed Nawotka in Publishers Weekly.
- Book clubs with an anti-racist focus may not turn out to be a good thing. Such groups risk becoming “performative echo chambers of white guilt,” and they might not help change things in the real world. Read Jenzia Burgos at Stylecaster.
Self-publishing
- Google Play books now pays authors a 70 percent royalty. The retailer used to pay a little over 50 percent, but the new rate puts it in line with competitors such as Amazon and Apple. Read Nate Hoffelder at The Digital Reader.
- Don’t miss the new Amazon KDP formatting guidelines. Books that are already published are not affected, but any new titles you upload could get rejected if they don’t follow the new guidelines. Read a summary at Roger Packer’s site.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.