Dissidents Have Their Day

15 October 2009 Frankfurt Book Fair Edition

International Publishing News publishingperspectives and Opinion

Dissidents Have Their Day

By Wen Huang and Edward Nawotka Criticism accusing the Frankfurt Book Fair of censoring dissident voices at this year’s Fair now seems prema- ture. Wednesday provided no less than four sessions offering dissident Chinese writers the opportunity to voice their opposition to Chinese government poli- cies controlling the press and freedom of expression. (continues on page 3)

“I’m not here to disrupt the book fair or make trouble. I’m hoping that the organizer can provide a forum where Chinese government representatives and dissident writers can sit down in one room to promote multiple voices in China” -Bei Ling

Bei Ling at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2009 (Photo Frankfurt Book Fair) Could This Be the End of Territorial Copyright? By Andrew Wilkins Frankfurt’s enduring relevance as an international rights fair is built to a great extent on on the principle of territorial copyright—that invisible patch- work of rights territories that covers the globe. But what if there was no territorial copyright to enable publishers to safely invest in intellectual property in their own country, safe in the knowledge that another publisher can’t produce a competing edition of the same book in their market? Some suggest that digitisation— In this Issue: and the inevitable consumer demand to have all books available everywhere— may be the biggest threat to territorial Print-Your-Own Books: Page 4 copyright. There is one country where the prospect of losing territorial copyright is a very real and present danger. New Policy Legalizes Private As such, it is worth examining a possible Publishing in China: Page 7 test case for the effect of such a loss. That country is Australia. Economic argument against copyright Books to Look For in the LitAg: Yesterday, visitors to the all-new Cli- Page 12 ents Lounge in Hall 8.0 heard Australian publishers and one notable Australian illustrator discuss a proposal currently Independent vs. Corporate before the Australian Government to effectively abolish territorial copyright in Publisher?: Page 15 Australian Publishers Association Stand in Hall 8.0 (Photo Andrew Wilkins) (continues on page 2)

PUBLISHINGPERSPECTIVES Subscribe for free at publishingperspectives.com Frankfurt Book Fair Edition • 15 October 2009 1 (continued from page 1) Australia by turning the country “It’s a market largely in balance … and it’s a areas for an illustrator than books.” into an open market. At the time of writ- Unbalancingor film: “There a balanced are a lotmarket more lucrative ing, there is a real prospect that this balance we have to hold onto at all costs.” Matt Handbury, owner of Austra- measure may become law and it’s all the lian independent publisher Murdoch more worrying because the economic - Juliet Rogers, CEO Murdoch Books Books, thought the removal of restric- reasons given for the move could equal- tions would also have a negative impact ly well be applied to any other country. on what many see as the main reason The Australian Government “think- why the Australian book industry expe- tank,” the Productivity Commission, was rienced over 4% growth (excluding Ste- asked last year to consider whether Aus- phenie Meyer) over the past year while tralia should become an open market for the US and UK declined, was its strong books. Currently, Australian publishers independent booksellers (which make are protected under the Copyright Act up about 22% of the Australian book from competing against foreign editions market). of their book provided they follow some “The truth is that if cheaper books simple measures aimed at ensuring that are allowed to come into Australia they publish them promptly—within 30 through the relaxing of laws, the publishers who have the rights will lose Cheap books more important than copyright sales and the people who sell them will daysWhat of the the first Productivity overseas edition. Commission be selling at a lower margin. We’ll see found (albeit counter to the overwhelm- an erosion of the number of booksell- ing evidence submitted to it from hun- ers and the number of titles available,” dreds of publishers, booksellers and he argued. authors) was that territorial copyright “We haven’t forsaken the indepen- protection was making books more ex- dents the way the UK and US have done,” pensive in Australia. Assuming that a agreed Murdoch’s CEO, Juliet Rogers. consumer’s right to cheap books was “It’s a market largely in balance … and paramount, the Commission decided Panel convener Tim Coronel of Australian it’s a balance we have to hold onto at all therefore that territorial copyright had trade magazine Bookseller+Publisher costs.” to go. (Photos Andrew Wilkins) At this stage, there is no timetable The decision has been met by al- to adopt the Commission’s recommen- most unanimous protests from across our local authors and damage the books dations, although a decision from Aus- all sectors of the Australian book indus- we bring in from overseas as well.” tralia’s Government could come at any try—with the notable exception of big Award-winning Australian book il- time. Publishing Perspectives will con- Award-winning Australian works such as lustrator Shaun Tan, best known for his booksellers, which clearly sees abolition Shaun Tan’s The Arrival may not have even- tinue to report on developments online. as a chance to bring in cheap editions of tuated in an open market hit picture book, The Arrival, spoke of Stephenie Meyer and Dan Brown. the importance of having a local pub- The Australian party will be held at Now the Australian Government is can’t necessarily get it done in time,” lisher willing and able to invest time 5pm tonight at the Australia Publishers considering the Commission’s recom- noted Anne Beilby, Rights Manager for and money on an unknown new author. Association Stand (Hall 8.0 B954). You mendation and has even put forward leading Australian independent pub- He thought publishers would be unable can pick up a copy of Think Australian its own suggestion—that Australian lisher, Text Publishing, at yesterday’s to make such an investment without ter- magazine (the annual guide to the Aus- publishers publish simultaneously with panel discussion “The Publishing Scene ritorial protection. If there had been no tralian book trade) at the stand, or view in Australia.” restrictions on importing overseas edi- it online at: http://www.booksellerand- territorial rights. “Modifying the restrictions isn’t publisher.com.au/thinkaustralian. firstCollateral publication damage elsewhereexpected or lose their enough,” she said. “Removing them isn’t author, Tan said he would have moved “Even if we’re printing locally, we adequate either: we are going to damage totions another of books industry when such he was as advertisinga fledgling •

2 15 October 2009 • Frankfurt Book Fair Edition PUBLISHINGPERSPECTIVES Freedom of Speech

Publishing Perspectives deliv- ers international publishing news and opinon each day online, via email, RSS and Twitter. Editorial coverage ranges across The Freedom To Know countries and sectors of the publish- Author Zhou Qing (Photo Frankfurt) Frankfurt Book Fair, Zhou said he association of China is state owned and ing industry to bring our readers the doesn’t think the fair will be able to pro- no private company can be a member.” latest innovations and activities from vide a forum of dialogues between the In perhaps the most dramatic mo- around the world. Chinese government and people with ment of the event, journalist Zhou Qing, What are your fellow publishers dissenting views. “The Chinese govern- acknowledging the ethnic tension in doing in Australia, Brazil, or Egypt? ment uses the opportunity to show off China that sparked violence in Xinjiang Where are the opportunities in vari- its new wealth and has sent a group of earlier this year, stood up and threw his ous markets and who are the major writers that have been specially select- arms around Uyghur journalist Kaiser players? Our contributors hail from ed by the Party. These writers are here Abdulrusul ÖzHun, hugging him, an- numerous countries and report sto- on a free trip paid by taxpayer’s money. nouncing. “Why should I hate him be- ries that answer these questions. They don’t want to communicate and cause he is different than me, as I will they can’t,” he added. show you here, we are friends.” ÖzHun, Subscribe at publishingperspectives.com The Chinese stand in Hall 6 is larger who is now living in exile in Sweden, for free to receive daily news and opinion than ever before at the fair and features went on to say that “freedom of expres- you can’t afford to miss! (continued from page 1) thousands of titles from more than a sion is a human right” and expressed Throughout the day, large crowds hundred publishers, representing just a frustration at the Chinese government’s Visit us in Frankfurt in Hall 8.0, Room 48 gathered to hear dissident voices rang- smattering of the overall Chinese annual ing from Ma Jian, author of Beijing book production that exceeds 250,000 until only recently. “I could not commu- Coma; Bei Ling, the poet and journal titles per year and placing it among the nicateblocking with of internetmy family, traffic my friends,” to Xinjiang he editor who was struck from the pro- top producers in the world. said. “I’m only asking that all the people PublishingPerspectives gram of the symposium “China and the Journalist Dai Qing was not im- World—Perceptions and Realities” last pressed, stating the books displayed at One organizer from the Frankfurt Frankfurt Book Fair Edition month; to Uyghur activist and journalist the fair are mostly government sanc- Bookhere fight Fair for lamented freedom that of expression.” the audience Kaiser Abdulrusul ÖzHun, among oth- tioned and contain information that has at these events appeared to be largely ers. been censored or distorted. “If you look comprised of members of PEN or the Editor-in-Chief The writers did not hold back, German public and not members of the Edward Nawotka with many of them describing what they [email protected] perceive to be an “Orwellian” situation Of course, some were in attendance, USA: +1 (713) 893-8688 in China’s publishing industry. “Writers thoughofficial Chineseperhaps delegation. preferred to remain in- Germany: +49 (0) 162 710 1650 are not allowed to think and speak free- cognito. One Chinese editor who is part ly in China and the Chinese government of the Chinese government’s delega- Director Operations & Sales strictly controls the publishing indus- tion, but declined to disclose his name, Hannah Johnson try,” said Ma Jian during an event spon- remarked, “These people are using the [email protected] sored by PEN Germany, adding “there book fair as an effective platform to pro- USA: +1 (347) 410-9791 are no true private publishing houses in mote their political views,” a situation Germany: +49 (0) 176 811 97641 China. You see many Chinese publishing he described as “unfortunate.” houses on display here at the fair with A Chinese scholar, who again pre- different names. In reality, they actually ferred to remain anonymous, said that Sales Representative come under one name: the Communist the dissident’s offered an over-simpli- Erin L. Cox Party’s ‘mouthpiece.’” at the Chinese history book, you can’t [email protected] Ma‘s award-winning novel, and did little more than brandish po- +1 (347) 581-0211 Beijing Coma, deals with the student brutalities of the Communist regime. liticalfied view slogans. of China’s “China publishing has made industrytremen- pro-democracy movement of 1989, and Therefind a single is no one way that you deal can with get anything the past dous progress in the publishing indus- he accuses the Chinese government of published without the approval of the try,” he said. “One can’t ignore the fact Copyeditor building a huge “wall” on the internet Party,” she said. that writers and publishers are gaining Dennis Abrams to censor politically sensitive topics. “If Using one of her books as an ex- you type in words such as democracy and human rights into Chinese search publisher in Hong Kong or simply pay their freedom inch by inch.” • Contributors ample, she said she either has to find a Andrew Wilkins, Amanda DeMarco, - a printer some money and get them Chad W. Post, Siobhan O’Leary, Wen tries because the government blocks it printed without a listed publisher, with Huang, Emily Williams, Chip Rossetti, all,”engines, he said. you won’t find too many en the words “I’m personally responsible Chris Artis, Richard Lampert, Olivia “When you commemorate for the contents.” Snaije, Liz Bury, John Mutter the fall the Berlin Wall, have you ever During a session entitled “Freedom thought of China and the student proof Speech-Freedom of Word—Freedom test movement that happened 20 years to Publish held in the International Cen- Printer ago?” he challenged the audience. ter, Norwegian publisher Bjorn Smith- Frankfurter Societäts-Druckerei Zhou Qing, who is currently a visit- Simonsen, head of the Freedom to GmbH ing writer in Germany and is best known Publish committee of the International Frankenallee 71-81 for publishing a report documenting the Publishers Association (IPA), said that 60327 Frankfurt am Main hazards of Chinese food to children, says Germany he was beaten up in Beijing after he had resolving the issue of censorship in Chi- written a series of articles which were naone was of the to encouragefirst potential General steps Adminis towards- critical of the Party. “The government tration of Press and Publication (GAPP) Publisher divides writers into two groups “us” and Riky Stock “them.” Those who toe the Party line are group—to join the IPA. Of course, he ac- treated with special favors whereas in- knowledged,– China’s official that was publishing not yet possible trade 1014 Fifth Avenue, 4th Floor dependent thinkers are persecuted,” he as the bylaws of the IPA prohibit any German Book Office New York, Inc. New York, NY 10028 said. organization from joining that demands When asked to comment on China compulsory membership. “This makes Publishing Perspectives is a project of being the Guest of Honor at this year’s the German Book Office New York, a subsidiary office of the Frankfurt Book things difficult because the publishers Fair. Official Frankfurt Book Fair Visitor Count for Wednesday: 45,753 For photo credits, contact Publishing Perspectives. Last year: 46,106 visitors (The opening day of the 2009 Frankfurt Book Fair saw 353 or 0.8% fewer visitors than in 2008.)

PUBLISHINGPERSPECTIVES Frankfurt Book Fair Edition • 15 October 2009 3 TOC Frankfurt Print-Your-Own Book May Be the Answer for Emerging Markets

By Kassia Krozser, Booksquare.com. reading in the communities he works As publishing great and small strug- with in South Africa. gles to see into the future--will it be eb- Lack of Infrastructure ooks? Will mobile phones or the mythi- Atwell also pointed out that it’s very cal Apple Table save publishing? How easy to sell South African books in the are we going to put all these pieces to- international marketplace, but local gether? Discussions of the implications distribution remains problematic. The of the Google Book Settlement make for infrastructure simply isn’t there. intellectual fodder, but out there in the So, instead, Atwell’s project lever- real world, people are solving practical ages existing infrastructure, i.e. the lo- publishing problems. cal copy shop, to create a book delivery The Paperight Project ecosystem. Books are transmitted digi- At Tuesday’s O’Reilly Media “Tools tally to local copy shops where readers of Change for Publishing” conference can purchase printed copies on the spot. one application in stood out: Arthur Whole books, partial books, pieces that Atwell, of Cape Town-based Electric Book Works (http://electricbookworks. the commerce takes place are already com/), introduced a project called Pa- inmeet the specific communities needs. The they stores serve, where they peright (http://paperight.com/). already have the machines in place to The goal of Paperight, said Atwell, is print books. Cost savings are realized Crowd at TOC Frankfurt session (photo Amelie Losier) to “turn anyone with a computer, print- throughout the supply chain. And peo- er and internet connection into a book ple who want and need access to books shop.” are able to legally purchase what they The digital publishing infrastruc- require. He noted at the beginning of his starts. While some of us agonize over talk, “Applying Publishing Technology Amazonture is beingand worry established about the in future fits and of in Low-Income Economies”, that his ob- ereaders, we lose sight of the fact that servations are based exclusively on his Cory Doctorow (photo Amelie Losier) Dominique Raccah (photo Amelie Losier) many around the world are dealing with experiences in South Africa. One item entirely issues of distribution: how to of note is that most publishers do not bring books to locations where book- live in developing countries, and that stores do not exist. How to meet the devices like e-Ink readers cannot be needs of local consumers when the ex- expected to catch on outside of wealthy isting infrastructure is lacking. How to - bring the right books to the right read- ture of publishing includes digital, but ers -- Atwell noted that leisure reading first world readers. Accordingly, the fu is trumped by educational and business Andrew Savikas (photo Amelie Losier) Sara Lloyd (photo Amelie Losier) that doesn’t necessarily mean ebooks. • Gourmet Gallery Opens in Frankfurt Seen and Heard: Baco Club, Argentine Private Wine Club What’s Cooking, The Gourmet Gallery made its debut at the Book Fair on Wednesday. Both an exhibition and a show kitchen, the Gallery is located in Hall 5.0. Among the exhibitors at the Gour- Chef Geir Skeie? met Gallery in Hall 5.0 is the Baco Club, a company which runs a private wine club in Argentina. “We have 7,000 members have been going for twenty years,” says editorial director Mariana Gil Jun- cal, who is responsible for publishing the Club’s catalog, elixir magazine, and more recently, wine guides. Their new book, El vino una pasion para todos! is decidedly not for snobs. Baco Club is looking to export their casual and fun approach to wine overseas and are here in Frankfurt actively looking to sell rights. “We have a distinc- By Erin L. Cox tive approach to wine in Argentina, said In January of this year, Norwegian Juncal. “It’s something we think people Chef Geir Skeie became an international cooking sensation when he lead the Norwegian team to the gold medal at the in other countries would really enjoy.” • Bocuse d’Or—an event known around the world as the Olympics of Food. Not only has he won one of the food world’s most prestigious prizes, he has also won the Chef of the Year 2007, the World Cup in Luxembourg with Chef League, and the Norway Champion- ship in the art of cooking 2003. Oh, and he’s only 28. Today, you can add to his

Barndom til Bocuse d’Or [From Child- hoodachievements to the Bocuse his first d’Or], cookbook: which is just Fra

out now. • 4 15 October 2009 • Frankfurt Book Fair Edition PUBLISHINGPERSPECTIVES Gourmand FrankFurt (1995,1996), Paris (1997), Perigueux (1998, 2000), Versailles (1999), sorges-DorDogne (2001), Brissac-angers (2003), Barcelona (2004), grythyttan-oreBro (2005), kuala lumPur (2006), Beijing-Dragon sPrings (2007), lonDon-olymPia (2008), FrankFurt–oPera (2008), Paris-la coméDie Française (2009)

Frankfurt Book Fair aWarDs 2009 - scheDule in the Gourmet Gallery Please send your new food and wine books as soon as they Winning Books Exhibition are published, as early as possible. The competition is free.

November 15, 2009 Entries deadline.

December 15, 2009 Country winners are announced. They qualify for “The Best in the World” competition.

February 12-15, 2010 The shortlist for “Best in the World” is announced at PARIS COOKBOOKFAIR

June, 2010 The “Best in the World” event.

eVents October 14-18, 2009 Frankfurt Book Fair. Stand 5.0 B979 STAND 5.0 B579 Winners 2008 Exhibition February 12, 2010 Paris Cookbookfair Organized by Gourmand International International Winners 2000-2009 Gourmand Awards Pintor Rosales, 50 Publishers stands, authors center, conferences, tastings. 28008 Madrid-Spain Tel: + 34 91 541 67 68 March 2-7, 2010 Abu Dhabi Book Fair Fax: +34 91 541 68 21 Winners 2009 Exhibition [email protected] April 19-21, 2010 London Book Fair www.cookbookfair.com LBF/Gourmand Cookbook Corner. Winners 2009 Exhibition Young Publishers

Young Publishers Plan International Cooperation, New Group Proposed Seen and Heard: Kamal Miglani, director of The Wise Owl By Hannah Johnson, with reporting tablish a larger international network. Publishing Company, New Delhi by Erin L. Cox With the approximately 30 attend- Jon Slack is on a mission to create an ees at the event, Slack divided them international community of young pub- into three groups to discuss topics on a lishers. After three years of volunteer smaller scale and then open up the dis- work with the Society of Young Publish- cussion to the larger group. Discussion ers (SYP) in the UK, Slack believes such topics ranged from economic challenges a community has great potential to edu- facing in publishing to career progres- cate and support publishing profession- sion and ethnic/class diversity in in the industry around the world. while providing a forum for educating Whether or not publishers in the thoseals in the who first would 10 years like toof betheir mentors, career attendees’ countries would respond to and offering students insight into the a network such as SYP and if meeting industry. It follows that such an enthu- peers in the industry would help pro- siastic group can also generate momen- mote careers in publishing was still up tum and innovation for the industry as very much up for debate at the end of “We publish children’s books for the a whole. the event. Indian market and since India has not “The impact of the SYP on the UK To close, Croatian literary agent, been so affected by the global economic book industry is obvious,” says Slack. Ivan Sršen, encouraged networking hurdles involved, and he is looking for recession. Markets, such as Brazil and through the SYP events and told a story Argentina, seem to be quite strong and publishing have at one stage or another of a connection he made at such an event from publishing businesses. “I feel that they are very strong markets for our ti- been“Some involved, of the most and continueinfluential to names lead and in at The London Book Fair. Including his asorganizational long as I keep and pushing financial this thing backing for- tles—they are buying a lot of rights from shape prominent companies today.” email on Jon’s sign-in sheet, Sršen was ward, sooner or later, someone is going us. Latin America in general is growing. On Wednesday, the SYP held a joint contacted shortly after the fair by an to snap it up.” It’s interesting to watch what is hap- event with the Junge Verlagsmenschen, illustrator in New Zealand about do- The SYP has a long history of edu- pening in America with digital prod- a similar young publishers’ group spon- ing work together. The two now have a cation and network building, and it wel- ucts. We’re waiting to see how it plays sored by the German Publishers and book deal. comes students and mentors among its out with new projects, such as Disney’s Booksellers Association (Boersenverein In order to help foster international members. Of the 650 members of the recent decision to offer an online sub- des Deutschen Buchhandels). The goal networking, Slack thinks the next steps SYP, 220 of them are students interest- scription to much of their catalog. Our of the event was to start an internation- are to build an online community and - al conversation about current develop- inspire the creation of local groups in sonally rewarding to help people who works, then we’ll make a decision as to ments and challenges in publishing, and more countries. Slack acknowledges wereing in inpublishing my position careers. a few “I yearsfind it ago,”per attitude is: Let them do it first, to see if it how these two groups can together es- whether or not we’ll follow their lead.” • that there are logistical and financial says Slack. •

whY DIGItal BOOk wORlD?

Digital Book World goes beyond the talk and gives the co-sponsored by actionable answers you need to make an immediate revenue impact.

Other conferences focus on new technologies, but only Digital JaNuaRY 26-27, 2010 Book World 2010 puts them in perspective—speaking directly ShERatON NEw YORk hOtEl & tOwERS to book publishers and their trading partners to address both NEw YORk, NY immediate needs and future goals to not only survive, but Register by thrive in the rapidly changing world of book publishing. November 15

and enter DBWFair You’ll gain practical advice to address the unique issues to receive the you face: thE FutuRE OF PuBlIShING tODaY best rate! • Fewer viable channels for the sales of books • Increased distribution costs and returns • Acquisitions, agents and authors—the new rights structure

SPONSORED BY • Knowing how to—and who to—market books to, today • Handling increased competition (and free content) • Overhauling antiquated workflows to digitize content Media Sponsors: Are you ready for the future of publishing?

Produced by F+w Media—Frankfurt Book Fair hall 8 J911 Publishing in China New Policy Legalizes Private Publishing Selected Thursday Events on China: in China, With Strings Attached The Impact of Digital Publishing on By Wen Huang China’s Development Private publishers in China, which Time: 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. have long operated in the shadows Location: 6.0 E951 while at the same seeking government Language: Chinese, English, German

In April, China’s regulatory agency, This summit will discuss the applica- theapproval, General have Administration finally gotten of their Press wish. and tion of digital publishing to the scien- Publication (GAPP), issued a circular which voiced the government’s support, and communication in China. Organizedtific and technological by Guest of development Honour China, of private publishing houses, saying Chinese Science Publishing Group, theyfor the are first “an time, important of the part development of China’s and Springer Science+Business Media book industry which should be taken account by industry planning and put Life and Death are Wearing Me Out - under administration and regulation.” Reading with Mo Yan The announcement represents another Time: 11:00 to 11:45 a.m. positive step taken by GAPP since 2004, Location: 4.1 A139 when the government decided to trans- In April, China’s GAPP (General Administra- Language: Chinese, German form more than 20 state-funded pub- - tion of Press and Publication), released a Structured as the Buddhist six direc- dent institutions. tions of reincarnation, the novel Life lishing houses into financially indepen According to News China, a maga- document in support of the development of and Death are Wearing Me Out tells a zine published by the Beijing-based private publishing houses story about how a wrongly killed per- China Newsweek Corporation, the son turns into a donkey, a cow, a pig, a Chinese government requires that all ness Weekly, a Beijing-based private monopoly,” he said emphatically. “At publishing houses owned by local gov- publisher was quoted as saying “The the moment, private owned publishing Organized by Guest of Honour China ernments, public institutions and uni- practice is risky. State publishing houses anddog, Horelmanna monkey and Verlag finally human. versities must restructure themselves may suddenly take back the ISBNs they Government bureaucracies have greatly into market-oriented companies by the have sold to private publishers. On the impededhouses are the not development on the same oflevel the field. Chi- end of 2009. Those reporting to the cen- Buddha Jumped Over the Wall – A South other hand, state publishing houses also nese publishing industry.” - China Culinary Experience face the risk that private publishers may One of China’s major concerns is turing by the end of 2010. Meanwhile, Time: 11:15 to 11:45 a.m. publish banned books or pornographic that of ideology. Huang said that pri- Chinatral government hopes to create should six finishor seven restruc mega Location: 5.0 B979, Gourmet Gallery ones.” vate owned publishing companies are, publishing groups within the next few Language: English, German In the April circular, private publish- in fact, much more cautious than state years, with 10 billion RMB (US$1.47 ers were encouraged to partner with owned ones. “Once a book is censored, billion) in assets, generating 10 billion With “Buddha sprang über die Mauer” state companies which need to own a the whole company faces the risks of RMB in annual sales. (Buddha jumped over the wall), the majority stake in any joint ventures. In being shut down whereas a state com- Many publishers have hailed the author Yu Zhang offers surprising new this way, ISBNs can be provided through pany is always immune to punishment,” April circular as “tremendous progress” insight into the cuisine of South China. their state partners. he said. while at the same time saying the deci- With Yu Zhang and Rainer Witt. In practice, this is already happen- “Private publishing houses have a sion will not bring about any substantial Organized by the Frankfurt Book ing. Shanghai 99 Readers initiated their brighter future and we can do a better changes in the way the government con- Fair, the Deutsches Institut für Koch- - job,” continued Huang. “We follow the trol over the publishing business. und Lebenskunst, and Mandelbaum seller. In July 2008, Lu Jinbo became the directions of the market. We’ve devel- “Private publishing houses can now Verlag partnership five years ago as a book- emerge from under the water,” says lishing venture (WanRong Books Ltd.) Huang Yuhai, chairman and president of New Media vs. Traditional Media, Inter- withfirst individual the Liaoning to register Publishing a joint & Media, pub oped very fast.” • Shanghai 99 Reader’s Culture Co., Ltd., a net Authors vs. Traditional Authors joint venture with state-owned compa- to become listed on the Shanghai Stock Time: 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. nies such as People’s Press and Xinhua Exchange.Ltd., the first state-run media company Location: 4.2 Q533 Bookstores. When the company was “As my business became bigger, I Language: Chinese, German needed to partner with a state company as just an online bookseller, hiding the to seek legal status for my company,” he A dialogue between Shanda, the naturefounded of five its publishing years ago, businessHuang touted by call it- said in a recent interview with Publish- representative of new media, and the ing himself a “publishing consultant.” ing Perspectives. While his state part- traditional media; between internet Huang said that prior to the April ner invested 20 million RMB (about authors and traditional authors. decision, many state-run enterprises US$3 million), holding 51 percent of Organized by Guest of Honour China shunned partnership with private pub- the shares, Lu invested 10 million RMB, and Shanda Literature Limited lishers. “Now, everyone jumps at the controlling 49 percent of the shares. opportunity,” he added. “Private pub- Lu said the partnership has re- China’s Publishing Industry Report lishers will have more wiggle room to solved the ISBN issue, making a previ- Time: 2:45 to 3:45 p.m. bargain and lower the asking price for ously volatile situation more predict- Location: Forum Level 1, Presenta- ISBNs and the like. Competition is al- able and stable. tion Guest of Honour 2009 China ways a good thing.” - Language: Chinese, English, German However, the new policy does not vate publishers is that editorial staff can change the practice that has been in ex- applyAnother for professional benefit of licenses legalizing so they pri istence since the 1990s of private com- could be recognized and titled. In China, China’s publishing industry. This is a panies buying ISBNs from state-owned most technical professions are required must-readThe first official to understand report to andanalyze enter the publishing houses, for prices ranging to be licensed. the Chinese book publishing market. between 10,000 RMB (US$1,400) and However, Huang of Shanghai 99 Organized by the Guest of Honour 50,000 RMB (US$7,350). In the past, the Readers says that China’s publishing re- China, China Renmin University Press, practice often resulted in complications form still has a long way to go. “We need and Cengage Learning for both sides. to further open up and end the state In an interview with China’s Busi-

PUBLISHINGPERSPECTIVES Frankfurt Book Fair Edition • 15 October 2009 7 CBFR1005_PPFrankfurt_AD_REL(235x325mm).pdf 10/6/09 12:55:53 PM

Dubai International Children’s Book Fair 3 to 10 February 2010

Announcing the ﬁrst joint U.S., U.K. and Dubai Collective Exhibit

Show your books in one of four display options from single title to a full booth that will meet any budget. Attend for one day or the entire show. If you can’t attend let our knowledgeable staﬀ take inquiries for you. Company and title information included on a searchable database linked to the DICBF, Combined Book Exhibit, American Collective Stand, and the UK Publishing websites for a period of one year. www.pubmatch.org/DICBF

At the Frankfurt Book Fair American Collective Stand & Combined Book Exhibit / Stand No. 8.0 S951 UK Publishing / Stand No. 8.0 H903/907 Or visit www.pubmatch.org/DICBF

Contact Ruediger Wischenbart at [email protected] or visit Stand No 8.0 S951 (American Collective Stand) or 5.0 E965 (Dubai International Children’s Book Fair) for more information.

Please visit us at the Frankfurt Book Fair at stand No. 5.0 E965 or email [email protected] Israeli Book Market Though New to Frankfurt, Iris Mor is No Newbie

By Chip Rossetti year, publishing 10% fewer books than A newcomer to Frankfurt this year, it has in recent years. Iris Mor, editor-in-chief of Israel’s Keter One thing that has yet to have an Books, is looking forward to meeting effect on Israeli publishing, however, some of her growing list of contacts is digital publishing: as a right-to-left in person. Mor came to Keter last year language, Hebrew (like Arabic) poses from Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, where unique problems for e-book software. And with only 4-5 million readers of and culture editor, although she had al- Hebrew, developing e-book technology forways fifteen hoped years to move she had to books: been the “It wasarts remains a low priority for software de- a dream that somehow came true. For velopers, say Mor: “We have tech com- years I thought that one day if I ever did panies in Israel trying to do something something else, it would be with books.” Agent Iris Mor about it, trying to show us their version Founded in 1958, Keter Publish- for digital books. But they’re not there ing House has a wide range of general yet—they still have a lot of work to do - to make it viable.” Letter from the Editor: cluding children’s books. Israeli authors “big commercial “The Israeli market is a strange makeinterest up fiction only around and nonfiction 25% of theirtitles, list, in one,” More points out, “because at least Chinese Fireworks while the remaining 75% consists of titles that have half of our bestseller list is composed of works in translation, including authors been huge best- highbrow literature. At the same time, By Edward Nawotka, Editor-in- such as Haruki Murakami, Per Petter- big commercial titles that have been Chief, Publishing Perspectives son, W.G. Sebald, and Muriel Barbery, sellers don’t often huge bestsellers in other countries of- - author of the international bestseller ten don’t work here.” One of Keter’s top- works to start, but so far no one has lit The Elegance of the Hedgehog. work [in Israel]” selling titles this fall, for example, is a a fuse.We’ve As alla journalistbeen waiting looking for the for fire the Keter also publishes distinguished Hebrew translation of Truman Capote’s big story, the question casting a long Israeli novelist Amos Oz—a perennial classic In Cold Blood. Mor is heartened shadow over the Fair is what effect the contender for the Nobel Prize—who the books that we buy. We are buying by the fact that “there is a thirst for good Chinese delegations would have on the is attending the Fair. Keter is hosting a books we are sure about—although literature” among Israeli readers, and Fair.co-mingling of official and “unofficial” 70th birthday celebration for him and of course nothing is ‘sure’ in this busi- with that in mind, she is looking forward Would dissidents shout down or his foreign publishers. ness.” Competition and a tighter econo- The global economic downturn is my have also driven down cover prices to finding some great new additions to the most dramatic thing that’s hap- having its effect in Israel, however: “I in Israel in the last few years. Like other Keter’s list at her first Frankfurt. • penedotherwise so far disrupt was a man official waving events? around No, think everyone is feeling the pinch. We houses, Keter has cut back on its list this are much more choosy these days about a printout with Chinese characters on it during the opening ceremony speech by China’s vice president Xi Jinping (speculation is that it was a list of Chi- nese dissidents missing from the Fair). Profile: Transatlantic Literary Agency Would someone shout out in the middle of a quiet passage in the middle of pianist Lang Lang’s perfor- By Emily Williams Samantha Haywood em- observed the “far fewer” from North mance last night? No, but then again Samantha Haywood, agent and America. “I’ve got a packed schedule Lang Lang’s playing is a kind of human rights director for Transatlantic Liter- bodies her company’s and I look forward to doing business ary Agency (TLA), lives out the ocean- name, traveling between with my European editorial contacts. So far things have been peaceful at straddling name of her agency, splitting I’ve been to New York recently so I feel thefireworks Fair. display. her time between Toronto, home to the Toronto and Amsterdam Frankfurt is useful for me this year to The Fair is, above all, about trans- agency’s headquarters, and Amsterdam, stay in touch with the translation mar- acting business and the tens of thou- where she now lives with her family. kets I sell to regularly.” sands of (cash strapped) trade visitors Being part of an eclectic team of The translation deals have been a who don’t want to be distracted from agents with footholds in Canada, the US bright spot in a year that has seen a se- their work by protests, disruptions and Europe keeps Haywood sensitized rious slowdown in rights sales to the UK or other mayhem – especially since to the varying pace of change in differ- and US, though Haywood sees signs that many of them are keeping their visits ent markets around the world, not to things may be thawing slightly, at least even shorter this year and are heading mention the borderless appeal of digi- in the US. home by Saturday. tal. At TLA, she tells us, “digital publish- This slowdown has had ripple ef- While it may seem like the show ing is changing the way we see our busi- fects throughout the rest of the world, ness and what we feel as an agency we since “without US & UK deals in place past years, the truth is, it’s not really. can and should do for our authors.” Visitorsfloor has are been down a little just 0.8%.quieter Neverthe than in- Mostly this is all to the good. “I feel it to break through on a big scale for for- less, the Fair has still made an effort to is a great opportunity and a new reader- eignfirst, rights.”it’s tough A USfor thawa new could Canadian also bookhave pump up the volume, so to speak. The ship, and in this sense TLA is exploring positive repercussions for the Canadian opening ceremony featured a sizeable the backlist digital rights possibilities market, though for the most part Cana- jazz band (Fair Director Juergen Boos for older, reverted titles. For new titles da has held up better than its neighbor was brought to stage to the dubious - to the south. “I’d say that most of the accompaniment of the theme song cant part of the deal negotiation.” conglomerate publishers in Canada are from the TV show Magnum P.I.) and ebookThe rights exception and royalties to this are rule a signifi is the restrained from offering larger advanc- there’s the unexpected sight of a xylo- graphic novels Haywood represents es because their parent companies in phone player stationed outside Hall 8, on behalf of the Canadian independent New York are struggling. However, from playing as people wait in line to have press Drawn & Quarterly. Translation what I gather, most of the Canadian divi- their bag checked at security. partners for those books have so far sions are still performing fairly well in shown little interest in ebook rights— new graphic novel by master of alien- the recessed marketplace. So no ques- to the dulcet tones of a xylophone any but, as Haywood notes, “it’s only a mat- ation Dan Clowes, and rising star Jillian tion that the advances are coming down I won’t lie: I do prefer fireworks- ter of time.” Tamaki’s Inner Voice. Add to these the on the whole as a result. But I still feel works show this year is Lang Lang’s Drawn & Quarterly nonetheless agency’s full non-graphic list of thrill- optimistic that good books with sales emotiveday, but ifinterpretation the closest I of get the to Yellow a fire provides two of the titles Haywood is River Piano Concerto in the Alte Oper most excited to sell this year: Wilson, the Haywood is fully occupied, even as she’s last night, I’ll go home happy. ers, literary fiction and memoirs, and potential are finding homes, just with more sober advances.” • PUBLISHINGPERSPECTIVES Frankfurt Book Fair Edition • 15 October 2009 9 Comics Dark Horse Comics Hits the Ground Running (and Jamming)

By Emily Williams holding steady for Dark Horse, even as In the US the comic book industry is the ground shifts and business falters in known for its own giant fair, San Diego’s one country only to take off in another. ComicCon, which this year attracted “Spain vs. the Netherlands is just one ex- over 100,000 attendees (most of them ample. We’ve seen radical growth in li- readers and fans) who revel in the glit- censing in the Netherlands, where Spain ter of outlandish costumes and exclusive is at about 20% unemployment these Hollywood screenings. So what happens days, which doesn’t allow for much ex- to comic book types, steeped in movies tra spending money for its citizens.” and gaming and increasingly grappling The Frankfurt Book Fair is essen- with the demand for digital, who come tial for Kreiter. “I love Frankfurt. I know to bookish Frankfurt? there are many who do not share my Well, it turns out they bring their sentiment, but to be honest...my year games and movies with them. Lance Dark Horse events at the lives and dies at this show,” he says. “We Kreiter, Director of Global Licensing at Frankfurt Book Fair: “We take 100+ take 100+ meetings in 4 days, and this leading independent publisher Dark does not include all the walk-up busi- Horse Comics, credits movie adapta- meetings in 4 tions for bringing comics into the main- Dark Horse author Eric days, and this does schedule to pitch, but also titles that stream consciousness, not only in the mightness that need will to find be reintroduced. us. We have a Frank huge- Powell discusses his work US but around the world, a fact that has not include all the furt is a great place to do this and the helped the sector stay strong in shaky with Stefan Pannor face-to-face format can never be beat. economic times and had a direct effect Time: Friday, 3:00 p.m. walk-up business Would I appreciate it if Frankfurt busi- on his own business of international li- Location: Hall 3.0, J807 nesses didn’t raise their rates during censing. that will find us.” the fair, making the show all but impos- This year he is excited to talk to sible for smaller publishers? Yes. Would publishers from around the world Lance Kreiter (Dark Horse), I hope each year that the US dollar is Eric Powell and other panel- about Mass Effect: Redemption, a new or the other. At this point we are mainly stronger against the euro? Yes. Yet in the series launching in January based on focusing on the iPhone platform, but the end it’s vital.” comics future is endless.” It’s also a lot of fun. For the past Kreiter hopes will open some new Time:ists on Saturday, film adaptations 3:45pm of He says that Korean publishers three years Kreiter put together a rock doorsthe blockbuster for Dark Horse. sci-fi videogame, Also in the workswhich band made up of colleagues who are Location: Hall 3.0, J807 have been asking for digital rights for is an animated movie adaptation of years, but Dark Horse is still a bit hesi- fellow frustrated musicians. They open Eric Powell’s quirky horror series The tant to make the leap. “I think this will for the local German band, Madhouse Goon, now in development with direc- Flowers, in an annual show that attracts tling with. As Kreiter puts it, “There change as we as a company becomes tor/producer David Fincher. Powell is a packed audience of publishers and are so many formats and platforms out more comfortable with our process and at Frankfurt this year as the guest of his friends looking for a night out during there, we simply want to do what’s best the technologies available domestically, German publisher Cross Cult—and is, the fair. This year, the bands play Thurs- for our licensors, creators and fans, but says Kreiter. “This will then lead to more in Kreiter’s opinion “primed for world day Oct. 16 and Friday the 17th at the at the same time keep pace with market freedom in the international markets domination”. Spritzehaus (Große Rittergasse 41-43). demands. We also hope to create an en- that are typically ahead of us by leaps Digital is another on-going issue, vironment where print and digital can and bounds technology-wise.” and one that Dark Horse is still wres- International licensing in general is co-exist and it’s not a battle about one Check em’ out. • Tough Times, But Europe Is Coping Best: The Global Publishers Ranking Report By Andrew Wilkins Year-on-year data meant discern- Pearson is the largest conglomerate ible patterns were now emerging, noted in publishing, with a turnover of over Fabrice Piault of Livres Hebdo. Euro- pean publishing businesses were show- top 10 publishing businesses are Euro- ing the most resistance to the global pean,five billion according euros, to and the all recently but three released of the 2009 Global Ranking of World Publish- increase in turnover was coming from ing, which lists and assesses the world’s financial downturn, while most of the top 52 publishing conglomerates. sales’—a category that included online The report’s researcher, Rüdiger The Livres Hebdo Top Ten Publishers Now in its third year, the ranking booksellingwhat he broadly as well defined as sales as ‘electronic of digital Wischenbart of Rüdiger Wischenbart 1. Pearson was started by French book journal content. Content and Consulting, noted that, 2. Reed Elsevier Livres Hebdo to create a platform for Brian Kenney of Publishers Weekly while the ranking is still currently domi- 3. Thomson Reuters assessing the state of the international also noted “explosive growth” in digital nated by European and North American 4. Wolters Kluwer industry each year, and is now jointly sales, particularly in the trade publish- companies, ‘there are quite a few Asian 5. Bertlesmann published with The Bookseller in the ing sector, where it now represented companies growing just under the 6. Hachette Livre UK, Publishers Weekly in the USA and 3–4% of the US trade market, compared threshold.” These include China’s High- 7. McGraw-Hill Germany’s Buchreport. to just 1% last year. He nominated the er Education Press, which would be 8. Grupo Planeta Yesterday, representatives from Kinlde as the big driver and anticipat- ranked higher except for the relatively 9. De Agostini the above journals (pictured right) as- ed further growth driven by the Apple low turnover it makes from running its 10. Scholastic sembled in Hall 8.0 Clients Lounge to iPhone, and the forthcoming releases business in a low cost economy. Wisch- discuss the implications of this latest of the third generation Sony eReader enbart said he expected future rankings Source: Livres Hebdo’s 2009 Ranking publication, which shows trade publish- and Barnes & Noble’s new proprietary to feature both Chinese and Russian of World Publishing ing in particular is having a tough time. reader.

conglomerates. • 10 15 October 2009 • Frankfurt Book Fair Edition PUBLISHINGPERSPECTIVES Books in Europe

Seen and Heard: Frederike Dop- penberg, Editor, Athenaeum - Russia Predicting 20% Drop in Book Sales in 2009 Polak & Van Gennep, Amsterdam By Chad Post When asked to name con- “Market Trends in Russia and temporary Russian authors Digital Publishing” was the topic worth reading, Grigoriev of Wednesday’s Business Break- hedged, claiming that he could fast, kicking off a hectic few days name a dozen or two, but that of Professional Programs at the they weren’t on the level of Fair with an introduction to the Chekhov, Tolstoy, or other Rus- contemporary publishing scene sian masters. He also pointed in Russia. to the nonexistence of a “pro- “I’m here trying to discover new, Vladimir Grigoriev, the Depu- motional infrastructure” (like contemporary classics from countries ty Head for the Federal Agency of - whose literature is not so well known, Press and Mass Communication, er similar, government funded such as India, China and Turkey. But presented a lot of summary data, agenciesthe German around Book the Office world) or oth as a personal interest of mine is Italy. I using 2003—the year Russia was one of the main reasons for the speak Italian and think there are some the Guest of Honor at the Book lack of translations of Russian wonderful books from there that still Fair—as the starting point to works into other languages. need to be discovered and translated. demonstrate the steady growth economic collapse of 2008 hit Russia Addressing the topic of One example which we’re publishing of the Russian book market over the hard, including the book market. Al- Ebooks, Alexander Roife, the CEO of is Andrea Bajani’s Se consideri le colpe past six years. In 2003, the total number though things could change over the LitRes.ru, highlighted the rapid sales (originally published by Einaudi, 2007), of titles published in Russia was approx- next couple months, experts are pro- growth Russian e-books are experienc- which is an incredible story about a boy jecting a 20% decrease in sales (to $2.4 ing. As he admitted, Russia is probably who travels to Romania to reunite with than doubled by 2008 when more than billion USD) for 2009. According to best known for its e-piracy and distribu- his mother. Herta Mueller’s having won 123,000imately 47,700, titles were a figure produced. that had Sales more fol- Grigoriev, a recent study pointed to a tion of free ebooks, music, and videos, the Nobel Prize won’t necessarily make lowed a similar trajectory, shooting up decrease in reading among young peo- but nevertheless, bestsellers on LitRes. people more interested in Romania as a from $1.6 billion USD in 2003 to over $3 ple, and a startling statistic that “almost ru—a legal ebook retailer founded in topic, but this book does offer a portrait billion in 2008. 40% of the population is not buying any 2007—are selling between 3,000 and It’s not all good news though. The books.” of an incredible family relationship.” • 6,000 copies a piece. •

A Contemporary European Fiction Primer the short story ... is the By Chad W. Post The collection also includes a pref- O’Brien, as a “hopelessly quixotic ven- “pinnacle of literary art” Referred to as “the start of the most ture” dedicated to publishing and pro- ambitious editorial project in Dalkey some sort of commonality between the moting experimental literature. The Archive’s history,” the Best European storiesace by Zadie that makes Smith, them who tries “European”: to find Press has a strong background in pub- Fiction 2010 anthology is an attempt to “It’s more than the obvious matter of 2011 volume. Riker also said that while bring a wide range of project European foreign names and places. It’s hard not nine of their authors are included in this decisions on which authors will be in- authors to the attention of English read- to notice, for example, a strong tendency anthology,lishing European helping the fiction, book and to serve in fact, not cluded is still ongoing, the anthology ers. Or, in the words of series editor Bos- just as an introduction to contemporary will be approximately the same size, nian-born American émigré Aleksandar seem aware of their status as characters, European writing, but to Dalkey’s pub- although they hope to include writers Hemon, “at the heart of this project . . . storiestowards complain the metafictional. about the Characters direction lishing program. from some countries that didn’t make it is a profound, non-negotiable need for they’re heading in, and writers make lit- According to associate director Mar- communication with the world, wher- erary characters of themselves—and of More information about this book ever it may be. The same need is at the other writers and artists.” in an ongoing annual series (hence the andinto the 2010 upcoming version. promotional • events heart of the project of literature.” All of which makes this an interest- blaringtin Riker, quote this on will the be galley the first about volume this that will be taking place throughout Eu- Included in the 2010 volume are ing project, and one that’s very typically being “the start” of Dalkey’s most ambi- rope can be found at: works from 35 different authors, hail- Dalkey. Started in 1984, Dalkey Archive tious editorial project), and Aleksandar >> W.W. Norton stand (8.0 N960) ing from 30 different countries from Press is referred to by its founder, John Hemon will again serve as editor for the throughout Europe. There are pieces by well-known authors such as Russian author Victor Pelevin and Scottish author Alasdair Gray, as well as pieces by authors who are pretty much unknown in Be Part of the or Mathias Ospelt from Liechtenstein. English,Beyond such the as Inga desire Ābele to from help Latvia, break- down the isolationist attitude of Ameri- Publishing Evolution can readers and publishers (fewer than 3% of all books published in America are works in translation), there are a February 22–24, 2010 > New York City > www.toccon.com couple aesthetic underpinnings to this collection. “[ TOC is] the place to be if you have any interest at all in the future of publishing. In Hemon’s introduction, he makes It’s also one of those rare events that will likely have a substantial impact on an a grand case for the short story, argu- entire industry for years to come.” —Medialoper ing that it isn’t dying because of “the general vanishing of the printed word, the mass transference of readership to the Web, or the volcanic rise of mindless enterainment as the main form of brain Frankfurt Book Fair Special stimulation.” No—the short story as practiced by Joyce, Chekhov, O’Connor, > Save 20% Munro , etc., is the “pinnacle of literary is evidence that the form isn’t merely a Registration opens in early November. Use discount code toc10ppfa when you register to save 20%. art,” and this collection of short fiction “warm-up exercise for writing a novel.” ©2009 O’Reilly Media, Inc. O’Reilly logo is a registered trademark of O’Reilly Media, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 90481

PUBLISHINGPERSPECTIVES Frankfurt Book Fair Edition • 15 October 2009 11 rob weisbach creative management

A N E W G E N E R AT I O N L I T E R A RY M A N AG E M E N T C O M PA N Y www.robweisbach.com

Books to Look For in the LitAg Pikcha.tv Wins Books & Bytes Award By Edward Nawotka All week, LitAg—the center for liter- SPAIN: RBA LIBROS – ary agents and scouts—has been buzz- ARGENTINA: EDICIONES COR- GREDOS By Siobhan O’Leary ing with activity, while others have been REGIDOR SAICIYE busy at their stands taking meetings Books & Bytes Award announced yes- Una novela de barrio (A Novel of the terdayThe at winner the Books of the & first Bytes NEWBOOK Stand in with editors and publishers. Here’s a Neighborhood) by Francisco Gonzalez sample of some books being showcased Selected stories (Cuentos Selectos) by Hall 3 is pikcha.tv. Pikcha.tv’s goal is for rights and translation sales through- Enrique Anderson Imbert Ledesma to provide younger children with their out the fair—a list that includes a sur- This collection of poetic stories by One of the most important and famous prising range of topics, from a French Anderson Imbert features a surprising Spanish crime writers returns with his adapting picture books into digital mov- first contact to TV and the Internet by cultural history of the bedroom to Ger- variety of viewpoints—from fantastic latest, a story of revenge set in contem- ing images. Children encounter familiar man treatise on the business of new literature to humor to inter-textual porary Barcelona topics, illustrations and characters in an media on entrepreneurship to an Israeli games to parody. online context. Adapted to the sensitivi- novel about a dangerous career woman. NORWAY: GYLDENDAL ties of preschoolers, pikcha.tv’s more UNITED STATES: RANDOM AGENCY individually composed scores for each GERMANY: EICHBORN AG ofthan its 200stories picture and mostbook offilms them also are feature avail- HOUSE able in both German and English. A Hundred Years by Herbjørg Wassmo No Economy: How the Freebie Culture Jury member Andreas Freitag, Man- Rework by Jason Fried and David Hans- Wassmo examines her childhood on the aging Director of the advertising agency Destroys the Internet by Gisela Schmalz son coastline of Northern Norway through Media economist Gisela Schmalz Jung von Matt/Spree and the publisher Internet entrepreneurs and the found- the lives of her three forebears. criticizes the fact that advertising has of Schwarzerfreitag, said that pikcha.tv ers of 37Signals, Jason Fried and David become the only functioning online stood out for him because, “while many Hansson explain the counterintuitive business model. Here, she calls for fair projects are ultimately new variations of philosophy behind their success with NORWAY: HAGEN AGENCY micro-markets in which providers and familiar business models, pikcha.tv has hundreds of approaches to productivi- users trade quality content and pay for added something genuinely new to the ty, creativity, customers, marketing and Eyes in Gaza by Mads Gilbert and Erik it. medium of the book.” Of course many of more. No business school jargon—just Fosse the other nominees are certainly worth bite sized takeaways and the wisdom to A memoir by a pair of Norwegian doc- watching at the Fair and beyond, includ- FRANCE: SEUIL put them into practice. tors who were the only Western eye- ing txtr, which will be showing off its witnesses to the recent war between new e-reader at this year’s Frankfurt Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza. Histoire de chambers (History of the SPAIN: ANTONIA KERRIGAN Bedroom) by Michelle Perrot Book Fair (Hall 3.0 B 100). • A cultural history of the bedroom in the AGENCY ISRAEL: THE INSTITUTE FOR Western world, from antiquity onward, the book touches on travel, love, read- Salón de Belleza (Beauty Salon) by Mario THE TRANSLATION OF ing, writing, games, cures, penitence, Bellatín HEBREW LITERATURE prayer, disease, rest, sleep, and death. A dream-like parable from one of Mexico’s cutting-edge literary stars, in Sigal by Asaf Schurr which a mysterious and deadly plague The anti-hero of Asaf Schurr’s third FRANCE: L’OLIVIER suddenly appears among the inhabit- novel, Sigal, is a cold, ruthless and ants of an unnamed city. Shunned by tyrannical career woman. The struggle Démon (Demon) by Thierry Hesse family and friends, some of the af- In order to understand his grandpar- for survival in the workplace drains ents’ desperation during WWII, Pierre her weaker colleagues, depletes their days until a lone hair stylist decides to compassion and drives them—like travels to Grozny in Chechnya. The flicted have nowhere to finish out their convert his “Salon to the Stars” into a her—to get rid of anyone who stands in refuge for the dying. meditate on the massacre of the Jews, theauthor attack interweaves of the Twin fiction Towers, with and fact to their way. • other forms of terrorism.

12 15 October 2009 • Frankfurt Book Fair Edition PUBLISHINGPERSPECTIVES Fodor’s Presents: China Discover The 2009 GuesT oF honour Photos: (left) Peter Adams/age fotostock, (right top) Doug Scott/age fotostock, (all others) ImagineChina. others) (all fotostock, Scott/age Doug top) (right fotostock, Adams/age Peter (left) Photos:

wEst s o u t h w E s t the Basics. Natives of Sichuan and Hunan take the use of chilies, wild pepper, and garlic to blis- A Culinary tour of China tering new heights. These two areas have been competing for the “spiciest in dynasties gone by, a visitor to china might have to undertake a journey of a province in China” title for centuries. If you’re eating Sichuan or Hunan dishes, thousand li just to feel the burn of an authentic sichuanese hotpot, and another be prepared to sweat. to savor the crispy skin and juicy flesh of a genuine Beijing roast duck. Luckily Southwest China shares some culinary traits with both Southeast Asia and for us, the vast majority of regional chinese cuisines have made successful in- India. Traditional Chinese medicine also ternal migrations. As a result, sichuanese cuisine can be found in Guangzhou, makes itself felt in the regional cuisine. Theory has it that sweating expels tox- cantonese dim sum in urumqi, and the cumin-spiced lamb-on-a-stick, for which ins and equalizes body temperature. the uighr people of Xinjiang are famous, is now grilled all over china. As Chairman Mao’s hometown prov- To guide you on your gastronomic journey, we’ve divided the country’s ince, Hunan has a number of dishes with revolutionary names. The most gourmet map along the points of the compass—north, south, east, popular are red-cooked Hunan fish and West. Four corners (hongshao wuchangyu) and red-cooked pork (hongshao rou), which was said of the Middle to have been a personal favorite of the North south EAst Great Helmsman. the Basics. Cuisine from China’s the Basics. The dish most Kingdom the Basics. The rice, seafood, Not to Be Missed. You won’t want to miss Northeast is called dongbei cai, and it’s associated with Southern and fresh vegetable–based mala zigi, or “peppery and hot chicken.” more wheat- than rice-based. Vegetables Chinese cuisine is dim sum, cooking of the southern coastal It’s one part chicken meat and three like kale, cabbage, and potatoes are which is found in great variety provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu parts fried chilies and a Sichuanese wild combined with robust, thick soy sauces, and abundance in Guangdong prov- are known collectively as huiyang cai. pepper called huajiao that’s so spicy it garlic (often raw), and scallions. ince, as well as Hong Kong and Macau. As the area’s biggest city, Shanghai has effectively numbs the tongue. Bite-size dim sum is usually eaten early become a major center of the culinary Even though many Han Chinese from in the day. Any good dim sum place arts. Some popular dishes in Shanghai FAr wEst the Basics. Religion is the southern climates find mutton too should have dozens of varieties. Some are stir-fried freshwater eels and finely primary shaper of culinary tradition in gamey, up north it’s a regular staple. of the most popular dishes are har gao, ground white pepper, and red-stewed China’s Far West. Chefs in Xinjiang, a In many northern cities, you can’t walk a shrimp dumpling with a rice-flour fish—a boiled carp in sweet-and-sour primarily Muslim province, don’t use more than a block without coming skin, siu maai, a pork dumpling with sauce. Another Shanghai favorite are pork products of any kind. Baked flat across a small sidewalk grill with yang a wrapping made of wheat flour, and xiaolong bao, or little steamer dump- breads coated in sesame seeds are a spe- rou chua’r, or lamb-on-a-stick. chaa-habao, a steamed or baked bun lings. Similar to Cantonese dim sum, cialty. Whole lamb roasted on a spit, Not to Be Missed. The most famous of filled with sweetened pork and onions. xiaolong bao tend to be more moist. fine spicy tomato salads, and lightly all the northern dishes is Peking duck, Adventurous eaters should order the The perfect steamed dumpling is meant spiced mutton and vegetable soups are and if you’ve ever had it well prepared, chicken claws. Trust us, they taste bet- to explode in your mouth in a juicy also favorites. you’ll know why Beijingers are proud ter than they look. burst of meat. Not to Be Missed. In Tibet, climate is the of the dish named for their city. The best southern food comes from Not to Be Missed. Drunken anything! major factor dictating cuisine. Whereas The fowl is cleaned, stuffed with burning Chaozhou (Chiuchow), a coastal city Shanghai chefs are known for their a Han meal might include rice, Tibetan millet stalks and other aromatic com- only a few hours’ drive north of its larger love of cooking with wine. Dishes like cuisine tends to include tsampa, a bustibles, and then slow-cooked in an neighbors. Unlike dim sum, Chaozuo drunken chicken, drunken pigeon, and ground barley usually cooked into a oven heated by a fire made of fragrant cuisine is extremely light and under- drunken crab are all delectable meals porridge. Another staple that’s defi- wood. Properly cooked, Peking duck stated. Deep-fried bean curd is also a cooked with prodigious amounts of nitely an acquired taste is yak-butter should have crispy skin, juicy meat, remarkably fresh Chaozuo dish. Shaoxing wine. People with an aver- tea. Dumplings, known as momo, are and none of the grease. Peking duck sion to alcohol should definitely avoid wholesome and filling. Not to Be Missed. One Chaozuo dish that is served with pancakes, scallions, and these. Another meal not to be missed appeals equally to the eye and the palate a delicious soy-based sauce with just a is hairy freshwater crabs, which come About Fodor’s is the plain-sounding mashed vegetable hint of sweetness. into season only in October. One enthu- Fodor’s Travel is one of the world’s leading with minced chicken soup. The dish is siast of the dish was 15th-century poet providers of travel information. Written by served in a large bowl, and resembles a and essayist Li Yu, who wrote of it in a team of over 700 writers located around green-and-white yin-yang. As befitting near-erotic terms. “Meat as white as the globe and covering more than 120 a dish resembling a Buddhist symbol, a (top left) Cooking Chinese dumplings. (top center) jade, golden roe . . . to use seasoning destinations worldwide, Fodor’s Gold Guides vegetarian version substituting rice gruel Peking duck. (top right) Meat-filled Beijing dumplings. to improve its taste is like holding up a and Fodors.com have provided the most (bottom right) Shanghai’s sublime hairy crab. (bottom for chicken broth is usually offered. center) Flash cooking with the wok. torch to brighten the sunshine.” engagingly written, up-to-date, accurate information for travelers for more than seventy years. For more information about Fodor’s Travel, please visit the Random House booth in Hall 8.0 S-893. Thursday Events See and Do: Our Event Picks for Thursday Frankfurt & Guests to reach new audiences. Learn how e- ing of their New York-based enterprise Fact Disguised as Fiction in Con- Books can open up access for those Open Road Integrated Media. temporary Chinese Writing Time: 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. who in the past have struggled to read the printed page, such as blind, With: Jane Friedman (CEO of Open Location: International Centre, Hall 5.0 Time: 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. D901 partially sighted or dyslexic people. Road Integrated Media and former CEO This presentation will include and President of HarperCollinsPublish- Location: Clients Lounge, Hall 8.0 L993 How to create a worldwide network demonstrations of how your books can ers Worldwide) and Jeff Sharp (Presi- be read in new ways, through larger dent of Open Road Integrated Media) Join Publishing Perspectives editor-in- of bilingual book publishers. This is chief Edward Nawotka for a conversa- something new: publishers of bilingual fonts, synthetic speech and Braille technology. tion with Wen Huang, transator of Liao children’s books meet at the Frankfurt Literary Encounter: Argentina Yiwu’s The Corpse Walker: Real-Life Book Fair and discuss cooperation Stories, China From the Bottom Up and projects. A meeting of interest for all With: Stephen King (Group Director of Time: 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Prevention and International Affairs, Xianhui Yang’s The Woman from Shang- publishers who want to make better Location: International Centre, Hall 5.0 hai children’s books for an international RNIB) and Mike Busboom (member of D901 the EBU Technology Commission) contemporary Chinese writing. world. , about fact disguised as fiction China is experiencing a boom among With: Henriette Barkow (publisher, Integrated Media writers in the German and Spanish- Frankfurt Book Fair Tweetup London), Shobha Viswanath (publisher, speaking worlds. With great humour India), Stephan Trudewind (publisher, Time: 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. and the pleasure of discovery, Ariel Time: 5:30 p.m. Netzwerk Mehrsprachigkeit, Berlin) Location: Film & Media Forum, Level 0, Magnus and Tilman Rammstedt look Location: Hall 8.0 L993 Moderated by: Mladen Jandrlic (agent, Room Analog into western notions of China and Twitterers will get the chance to meet Zürich), Iris Wolf (agent, Hamburg) despatch their readers on an unusual up face-to-face at the Frankfurt Book The Convergence of Publishing with journey to the Middle Kingdom via Fair at an event hosted by the fair or- Talking e-Books Film, Television and Digital Entertain- Buenos Aires and the Westerwald. ganisers and The Bookseller. ment: Legendary publisher Jane Fried- Time: 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. With: Ariel Magnus (author, Buenos Location: Clients Lounge, Hall 8.0 L993 Jeffrey Sharp (BOYS DON’T CRY, PROOF, Aires) and Tilman Rammstedt (author, EVENING)man and award-winning discuss their unique film producer vision Berlin) e-Books represent a new era for pub- Moderated by: Silke Kleemann (transla- lishing, and fantastic possibilities digital entertainment and the found- tor, Munich) for the future of publishing, film and

buchreport & buch aktuell Forum Literatur & Sachbuch Forum Fiction & Non-Fiction

14 15 October 2009 • Frankfurt Book Fair Edition PUBLISHINGPERSPECTIVES More opportunities More networking More potential 20th Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2 - 7 March 2010 Explore the publishing opportunities in the Middle East at the region’s most professional book fair. www.adbookfair.com Connect with potential partners, promote your brand and track the latest trends in the literary scene. Enter tomorrow’s markets today. Focus in 2010: Rights. COME VISIT US AT THE FRANKFURT BOOK FAIR, STAND A907 Hall 5.0, FROM 14 -18 OCTOBER 2009. Organised by: Supported by: Platinum sponsor:

Join us for a session on 'Business Opportunities for English Language Publishers in the Middle East and The Gulf Region' on Friday,16 October from 2–3pm in the Conference Room, Symmetry 3, Hall 8.1.

KITAB, the joint venture between Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heri- the Abu Dhabi Authority of Culture tage, launched a program that subsi- and Heritage and The Frankfurt Book dized rights deals that take place at Fair, is hosting two sessions tomor- the fair. This year, publishers may ap- row: The Anti-Piracy Breakfast, and ply for a subsidy of up to $1,000. Business Opportunities for English ABIDF 2010 will be bigger than Language Publisher in the Middle ever, with even more Arab and inter- East/The Gulf Region. national publishers in attendance and In anticipation of next year’s increased participation from US, the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair UK, and Europe. (ADIBF), to be held March 2-7, 2010, Because of the increased focus on KITAB is working closely with pub- digital publishing, ABIDF will launch a lishers from the West to make sure brand new eZone allowing e-service they know about the vast opportuni- providers to showcase their products ties available in the Middle Eastern and services. The eZone will also fea- market—what books sell, what titles ture panels and presentations by such are appropriate, and what resources schools are buying for their libraries and classrooms—while also confront- companiesAnti-Piracy Breakfastas BlackBetty. • ing the issue of global digital publish- Time: Friday, 16 Oct, 8:00 - 10:00 a.m. ing and the threat of piracy. Location: Hall 8.1, Room Symmetrie At the ADIBF, Western publishers are capitalizing on the new business Business Opportunities for English opportunities in the Arab publishing industry, a rapidly expanding com- Language Publishers in the Middle mercial sector serving more than 300 East/The Gulf Region million potential readers. Last year, Time: Friday, Oct 16, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. to help foster Western expansion of Location: Hall 8.1, Room Symmetrie publishing, KITAB, along with the Abu Discussion Forum at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair Independent vs. Corporate Publisher?

By Chris Artis Macmillan’s FSG division in March 2010, In the US, the conventional wisdom The Question is Moot, Silverberg is representing Open City in the has always been that a writer must make deal to license a reprint of Venus Drive to his career either with a large corporate FSG; the house also continues to support publisher or with one of the dozens of the author’s frontlist career, excerpting smaller independent houses. The think- Argues Agent Ira Silverberg The Ask in the Winter 2010 issue of Open ing was that since the corporate and indie City Magazine. publishing worlds are so different in terms where actors and filmmakers often work After a long history with Grove At- of priorities and styles an author and his simultaneously on small indy art films lantic, novelist, short story writer and poet collective work could only belong in only and big-budget studio films. In Frankfurt, Dennis Cooper signed a three-book deal one. Today that notion is changing. Silverberg is offering international rights with HarperCollins. On leaving the inde- Ira Silverberg, an agent at Sterling to the works of several authors who are pendent for a large house, Cooper took Lord Literistic in New York City and co- examples of this phenomenon. A case in a cue from indie music: “If Sonic Youth president of the board of The Council of point is Ben Greenman, an editor at The did it, I figured I could do it!” he told the Literary Magazines and Presses, a US New Yorker who writes fiction, essays, New York Observer, referring to the cult service organization for small publish- and journalism for publications that range band’s 1990 move to Geffen Records. ers that facilitates connections between from The New York Times and The Wash- Cooper maintains his cred with indie small presses and larger houses as well as ington Post to Zoetrope, McSweeney’s and houses, though. His poetry collection, The between literary journals and agents, has Opium. His first five books were published Weaklings, was published in a letterpress spotted a growing trend in which authors by independent houses with his most re- limited edition by the small press Fanzine, are publishing with indie and corporate cent collection of stories, Correspondenc- and he edits “Little House on the Bowery,” publishers simultaneously, and all parties es, issued as a letterpress limited edition which publisher Akashic calls its “line of are benefiting.“It’s fantastic that small and by Hotel St. George Press. HarperCollins fiction books in the tradition of the young larger presses are working together,” says just inked a three-book deal with Green- New Directions and Grove Press.” Silverberg. “As larger publishers become man which will include a reissue of Cor- “There’s an exciting cycle of discov- more focused in tending to bigger frontlist respondences. ery and rediscovery of the works of many titles, small publishers are increasingly Novelist and story writer Sam Lipsyte talented writers,” says Silverberg. “And able to pick up the slack in terms of pub- maintains an on-going relationship with it’s happening in large part due to a spirit lishing backlist, midlist and literary titles.” Open City, the publisher of his first story of cooperation between indie and main- In this way, the publishing industry is collection, Venus Drive. While Lipsyte’s Agent Ira Silverberg stream presses.” • moving closer to the Hollywood model, latest novel, The Ask, will be published by

PUBLISHINGPERSPECTIVES Frankfurt Book Fair Edition • 15 October 2009 15 Publishing in China Birthday Boost for China’s Banned Books

By Wen Huang Story. Earlier this month, as the Chinese Ho says tourists have created a government rallied the country in a unique Mirror Books fever among Chi- week-long celebration of the 60th an- nese readers. “Many of our publications niversary of the Communist revolution are circulated underground and are that led to the founding of the People’s very popular in mainland China, a must Republic of China, many used the holi- read for the political and cultural elite days to instead read up on the internal - businessmen, scholars and students,” nior leaders. hethere, claims. including government officials, fightingDuring and the power National struggles Day holidaysof their se in He attributes the popularity of his early October, also known as “the gold- company’s books to their exclusive en travel week,” tourists from mainland inside information as well as to inde- China traveled to Hong Kong, where Riot in Xinjiang a Mirror pendent and diverse views that are not accessible to ordinary people in China. books related to Chinese politics, histo- Books publication that was And he credits the Chinese government they snatched up copies of non-fiction- on prominent display at for creating some of his company’s best- port kiosks and specialty book stores in the Hong Kong Book Fair sellers. “Each time the government is- Hongry and Kong. senior Then, Communist they smuggled officials atthem air sues a circular to ban one of our books, back home where most of the titles are in July. This book, which is it’s like telling the elite that another Owner of Mirror Books, Pin Ho banned. banned in China, describes good book has been released. People Pin Ho, owner of the US-based Mir- rush over to buy it overseas. It’s the best publishing program will serve as an ex- ror Books, one of the largest Chinese- advertisement.” language publishers outside China, says Xinjiang Uyghur Autono- Ho doesn’t expect his company to sales volume in Hong Kong jumps by mousthe ethnic Region conflicts in July. in the theample. citizens And he themselves, believes is not to find just a intel way- two to three times each year during the in mainland China at any time in the lectualsto offer “unfiltered”or politicians. views of China from establish official distribution channels October holidays. To take advantage of near future. Instead, he says he will con- “We need to hear not only those of this year’s peak travel season, his com- na’s Military Buildup. tinue to rely on tourists in Hong Kong, the Chinese government or dissidents pany released 11 new titles on current Founded in 1991, the company as well as Chinese living overseas, to from China, but the voices of the Chi- affairs, ranging from Six Tigers Fight began in Canada and is today based in distribute Mirror Books publications to nese public,” Ho says. “This is the only at the !8th Party Congress, The Riot in New York City. It has released nearly China via underground networks. way to overcome misunderstanding of Xinjiang, and Unauthorized Biographies In the short term, Ho does hope to of Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang, the Future to China, including bestsellers such as expand into publishing his books in Jap- Leaders of China, to Mass Protests in Yellow300 non-fiction Peril: The and Later fiction Years titles of Premier related anese and Korean. Chinese politics and culture.” • China, and Grand Review of Troops, Chi- Zhou En-lai and June Fourth: The True Ultimately, he says, he hopes his “No digital solution for doing the dishes” China Copyright Service Station

These characters, representing the China Copyright Service Center, handed out copies of the China Copyright Service Guide to fairgoers in the Agora yesterday. Ac- cording to the Guide, several documents from the Nan Song Dynasty (1,000 years ago) included statements that could be interpreted as copyright rules. Pick up your own copy of the Guide in the Agora. Look for the blue men! Photo Andrew Wilkins

By Erin L. Cox as a publisher of both cookbooks and a Two things that don’t naturally go recipe site. Questioned whether there is together are food and computers, but concern that a recipe site would poach yesterday’s “Cooking Digital, Digital sales from Reader’s Digest’s cookbook Cooking” in the Gourmet Gallery shared line, Koranyi-Esser said, “I think the some innovative new ways to bring the two markets will co-exist…We must cre- experience of cooking online. ate tailor-made content for people in Panelists Patrik Jaros, a Michelin- the way they want it—print, digital, or starred chef, and Rocco Georgi, co- print-on-demand.” founder and developer of PavingWays, All three panelists agreed that, no have both created applications for matter what the method of delivery of smartphones. Jaros, author of some recipes, it is all about the content. With forty cookbooks, created an application increased ability to show beautiful pho- that would download his recipes to any tography on smartphones, the shots of smartphone and, with the transport- ability of this device versus a cookbook, enticement to buyers of these applica- make searching for recipes while shop- tionsfinished as they dishes are areto buyers just as of muchcookbooks. of an ping for ingredients much more conve- Sadly, Georgi noted that, while the nient. Georgi took a different path: his digital aspect of all of their applica- application includes recipes and a game tions and websites make cooking easy component to help teach novice chefs and may draw a new audience of cooks, how to cook. there was still no digital solution for do- The third panelist, Suzanne Ko- ranyi-Esser of Reader’s Digest and All- recipes.com offered her perspectives ing dishes. •

16 15 October 2009 • Frankfurt Book Fair Edition PUBLISHINGPERSPECTIVES