We're excited to reveal 13 new laureates of the EUPL 2021 edition 

The European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL) recognises emerging fiction writers from the European Union and beyond. Engaging the 41 countries participating in the Creative Europe programme of the European Union, the Prize celebrates 41 outstanding new literary talents across a cycle of three years. Spotlighting the creativity and the immense and diverse wealth of Europe’s contemporary literature in the field of fiction, EUPL aims to promote the circulation of literature within Europe and encourage greater interest in non-national literary works. The 2021 edition awarded thirteen laureates from the countries participating in this cycle. 

We are pleased to announce this year’s thirteen laureates:

•    Albania: Enkel Demi (pen name Tom Kuka), Flama (Calamity), Publisher: Botime Pegi.
•    Armenia: Արամ Պաչյան (Aram Pachyan), P/F (P/F), Publisher: Էջ հրատարակչություն (Edge publishing house).
•    Bulgaria: Георги Бърдаров (Georgi Bardarov), Absolvo te (Absolvo te), Publisher: Musagena.
•    Czech Republic: Lucie Faulerová, Smrtholka (Deathmaiden), Publisher: Nakladatelství TORST.
•    Iceland: Sigrún Pálsdóttir, Delluferðin (Runaround), Publisher: Forlagið útgáfa (JPV).
•    Latvia: Laura Vinogradova, Upe (The River), Publisher: Zvaizgne ABC.
•    Malta: Lara Calleja, Kissirtu kullimkien (You Have Destroyed Everything), Publisher: Merlin Publishers.
•    Netherlands: Gerda Blees, Wij zijn licht (We are light), Publisher: Uitgeverij Podium.
•    Portugal: Frederico Pedreira, A Lição do Sonâmbulo (The Sleepwalker Lesson), Publisher: Companhia das Ilhas.
•    Serbia: Dejan Tiago Stanković, Zamalek (Zamalek), Publisher: Laguna.
•    Slovenia: Anja Mugerli, Čebelja družina (Bee Family), Publisher: Cankarjeva založba.
•    Sweden: Maxim Grigoriev, Europa (Europe), Publisher: Albert Bonniers Förlag.
•    Tunisia: أمين الغزي (Amine Al Ghozzi), زندالي ليلة 14 جانفي 2011 (Zindali, the night of 14 january 2011), Publisher: زينب للنّشر و التوزيع (Editions Zayneb).

The 2021 laureate for each country was selected by a national jury of experts in the fields of literature, publishing and bookselling. The 13 winning books and authors were revealed during a video broadcast on 18 May at 2:00 PM CEST. Their names were individually announced by a representative of each national jury.

Find out more.

The EUPL is organised by a Consortium of associations comprising the European Writers' Council (EWC), the Federation of European Publishers (FEP), and the European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF), with the support of the European Commission. 

Ahead of the European General Affairs Council meeting on 22 June, EIBF, FEP and IPA reaffirm their support for Hungarian publishers facing new censorship

Ahead of the European General Affairs Council meeting on 22 June, and following the adoption of a new amendment in Hungary threatening freedom of expression, the International Publishers Association (IPA), the Federation of European Publishers (FEP) and the European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF) reaffirm their support for Hungarian publishers and readers, who will be affected by the change.
The joint expression of solidarity follows a statement by the Hungarian Publishers and Booksellers Association on 16 June 2021, which criticized Budapest’s adoption of the law, broadly described in media reports as a ‘propaganda bill’. The IPA, FEP and EIBF also call for the President of Hungary, János Áder, to send the law back to the Constitutional Court.

The new bill, originally intended to tackle paedophilia, was adopted with late amendments that ban dissemination in school of content deemed to promote homosexuality or transgenderism. The law effectively conflates LGBTQ issues with paedophilia, affecting books on the national school curriculum and representing further erosion of the freedom to publish in Hungary.

Kristenn Einarsson, Chair of the IPA’s Freedom to Publish Committee said: "The IPA fully supports the statement of the Hungarian publishers. The range of works that could be affected by these ill-considered and discriminatory amendments represent a who’s who of international and Hungarian literary greats. We urge the Hungarian government to reconsider."

Ricardo Levi, Vice President of the Federation of European Publishers added: "The Federation of European Publishers calls on the Commission and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs meeting on 22 June to uphold fundamental rights as key values in Europe. That day, holding a hearing on the “values of the Union in Hungary”, they need to ensure that freedom of expression remains at the centre of the European model."

Fabian Paagman, Co-President of EIBF added: "The European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF) stands with the bookselling and publishing sector in Hungary and calls for a decisive European response on the attack of freedom of expression in the country. Censorship of books and the written word should have no place in any modern democracy."

Read the full statement here. 

We hosted a digital panel during this year's online London Book Fair 

The European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF) convened a panel to discuss how the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union has impacted the bookselling industry. While Brexit has been a topic high on the political agenda for a few years now, it’s only since 1 January 2021 that businesses importing goods to, and/or exporting goods from, the United Kingdom encountered tangible disruptions. Focusing on the book trade aspect of this wide-ranging topic, this panel explored any impacts booksellers have been experiencing and highlighted what (if anything) they are doing to mitigate them.

The event brought together booksellers and wholesalers, including Jan Smedh, owner of The English Bookshop in Uppsala, Sweden, Tomás Kenny, General Manager at Kennys Bookshop in Galway, Ireland, and Elda Lamberti, International Sales Manager at Gardners, to discuss the impacts of Brexit on the bookselling trade. 

How has Brexit impacted the bookselling trade so far? 

The panel was moderated by EIBF's Director Julie Belgrado, who set the scene for the event: "As most of our members have close ties to the English-speaking book market, we have been following the UK's exit from the EU closely in the past months. We warmly welcomed the trade deal that was announced in December 2020, but as many business and retailers, we weren't clear on how this will work in practice. After a few hectic weeks behind us, with the situation further exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic, we felt this was a good opportunity to engage the wider book sector and see what we can learn from each other on this topic."

During the event, Jan highlighted how reliant the English Bookshop in Uppsala is on importing books from the UK. The store sells only English language books, with 75% of stock supplied from the UK. It is therefore crucial that logistics supplying weekly deliveries to the store are working properly. Jan outlined they were concerned how Brexit will impact this process, however, having a long-term partnership with a shipping agent based in the UK proved to be a great way to mitigate risks: "That has been a big advantage for us in these changes, and helped us maintain deliveries on schedule. What Brexit meant so far for us, is that our shipments are 24 hours later than they used to be as they need to clear customs before."

"Pandemic caused a bigger disruption"

Both Jan and Tomás agree that the COVID-19 pandemic had a bigger effect on business than Brexit (for now), firstly due to how warehouses can be safely operated in these times, but also because planning in advance has been very difficult. "We're an online bookshop and a big amount of our business is export. In the last 12 to 14 months, pandemic took a much bigger focus for us, meaning is was hard to get ready for Brexit," said Tomás.

While Jan mentioned some positive outcomes in Sweden, the overall experience in Ireland has been quite different. "When Brexit happened, it was a disaster," Tomás described the first weeks in January. "We didn't get any shipments between 1st and 22nd of January. It started to improve in February, but the average time for shipments to arrive was still three to four days longer than it was in 2020 and earlier. The biggest problem so far has been a lack of certainty."

"Shipping is one the main issues following Brexit"

For Elda Lamberti, shipping and new customs regulation present the main difficulties for bookselling industry following the UK's exit from the EU: "This caused a lot of delays and troubles for our customers. In addition, there wasn't much clarity at customs, with customs' agents sometimes not knowing what to do with the new documentation that came from the UK - and vice versa."

Has the situation stabilised by now? 

During the live Q&A session following the panel, the speakers discussed if the situation has now stabilised. It appears that while improvements have been made, especially around VAT, both Jan and Tomás agree a lot more can and should be done to help smooth this process out. 

"We are nervous about what the future will hold," said Tomás. "The amount of material that is coming through the port in Dublin is still only a fraction of what it would've been from the UK a year ago. We are concerned that at some point when this starts to get bigger - and presumably now that the shops are open the traffic will increase, and it will increase again at Christmas - that there will be severe problems again. Even at the best of times, when things were fantastic, there were issues at Christmas."

Missed the event?

Re-watch the whole panel here. 

On Wednesday, 23 June, we hosted a webinar exploring the do's and don't's of social media engagement for booksellers

Over the past few decades, we have been experiencing an accelerated digitalisation boom, with many of our everyday objects and daily interactions now sustained through or via new technological solutions. The bookselling industry is no different.

Embracing digitisation into your businesses has become an integral part of bookselling, but it is especially important for keeping in touch with customers. The Coronavirus pandemic has exposed how crucial customers are in supporting their local businesses. Although physical shops offer services that online retailers can’t, having an established digital presence is a prerequisite for businesses in 2021. However, with a plethora of options and possibilities out there, it can be a daunting task to start creating or raising your digital presence. 

For booksellers at the Lesesaal Buchhandlung, a bookshop that celebrated 10 years this February, digital engagement is an important business consideration. From highlighting upcoming books to discussing important events, owner Stephanie Krawehl and her team have had a very intense year on digital channels.

We welcomed Roma Maria Mukherjee, Social Media Manager for the Lesesaal Bookshop, as our guest speaker for this EIBF Webinar, where we discussed the importance of social media for booksellers and shared a few tips for improving your social media presence. 

Missed the event?

Please note that the full recording of the event was accessible for the first 7 days following the event, after which only EIBF members can re-watch it. In case you are interested in the recording, please get in touch with Jasmina from our Communications team. 

EIBF and the Federation of European Publishers (FEP) have joined forces to highlight the main changes we are proposing to the Digital Markets Act (DMA) proposal for it to truly benefit the book sector

The book sector has long suffered the consequences of tech giants’ growing dominance and unfair practices. While we welcome this long-awaited regulation, we believe more is needed to ensure the DMA has a real impact on the sustainability of the book sector, particularly in regards to its scope, interoperability requirements and future proofness.

EIBF and FEP together call for:

• Clarification of the scope to cover retailing activities

For many years, some online marketplaces have become essential for booksellers and publishers to reach out to their customers. They can hardly be avoided.

In light of the ever-increasing market dominance of these marketplaces and the growing unfair and anticompetitive practices they implement, they have turned into real ‘online gatekeepers’ of unparalleled scope and scale.

A number of marketplaces acting as gatekeepers rely on a business model that combines two different activities running alongside each other, in a manner that is indistinguishable by the average consumer: an intermediation service (e.g. a bookseller selling books as a third party through the marketplace) and a retailing activity (i.e. the marketplace selling books directly).

While the online marketplace’s intermediation activity falls within the scope of the DMA, it is currently unclear if the parallel retailing activity of marketplaces acting as gatekeepers would be subject to the regulation’s obligations.

Call to action: the parallel retailing activity of gatekeepers should also be covered by the DMA to ensure that the regulation fulfils its ambitions.

• Broader interoperability requirements

The DMA proposal includes some provisions for interoperability. However, the scope for interoperability is severely limited, applying only to ancillary services, applications services (apps) and applications stores (app stores).

Furthermore, no definition for interoperability is provided in the proposal, which leads to potential ambiguity on the precise meaning of interoperability in this context.

The interoperability of digital services and digital content, along with the required software and hardware with which they operate, is essential to ensure that consumers can truly choose how to access the digital content and services that they wish to purchase. 

Call to action: an ambitious definition and scope for interoperability is needed, which should build on existing definition in the EU Directive on contracts for supply of digital content.

• Further clarifications to ensure future proofness

Business users should be allowed to freely conduct their trade on the online direct sales channels they own and at conditions that are not set by the gatekeeper. Therefore, it should be clearly specified that obligations for gatekeepers on MFN clauses also apply the business user’s own online direct sales channels.

Furthermore, if the DMA provides for third party business users to raise concerns about unfair behaviour by gatekeepers with any relevant administrative or other public authorities, it should also be clear for the business user and, from the start, which court jurisdiction applies. Therefore, information on court jurisdiction should be drafted in plain and intelligible language and communicated to the business users in a clear and straightforward way from the start of the business user’s contract with the gatekeeper’s core platform service.

On a final note, as the DMA will be subject to a review clause, we suggest to take stock of the lessons learned until the first review, and then take into consideration the possible benefit that its application to ‘smaller’ gatekeepers might bring to regional markets.

Call to action: Stricter obligations for gatekeepers on most-favoured-nation clauses and contractual obligations with third-party sellers; clear information on the jurisdiction of specific courts and future flexibility on the DMA’s review clause, keeping the rise of ‘smaller’ regional gatekeepers in mind.

Read the full exploratory statement here.

For more information on the EIBF's position, please get in touch with Daniel Martín Brennan, EU Affairs Officer.

Discover the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Book Club recommendations on SDG15, focusing on sustainably managing forests, combatting desertification, and reversing land degradation

SDG15: Life on Land

Did you know that humans are the reason for 75% of the earth’s surface changes? These changes result from chopping down our forests, lack of care for our farmland, and not respecting wildlife and their habitats. Land is our planet’s body, and we must do everything we can to ensure it stays healthy. Forests around the world provide us with air, water, and food. If we don’t stop cutting down trees, destroying our farmland, and hurting animals and their homes, these changes will affect animals and humans alike.

Deforestation is one of the biggest threats to our planet. Around 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their everyday lives as those who live in rural areas rely on them for everyday resources like food and water. If we keep losing trees at the same rate, it will affect us, as millions of people and animals will have to move to find places providing food and shelter. We must also protect the land on which we grow all our food as 74% of the poorest people in the world need this land to feed their families. Lastly, we must learn to respect plants, wildlife and their natural habitats because they are vital to the earth’s natural ecosystem and the human diet.

SDG 15: Life on Land strives to solve these problems. Browse through our new reading list to learn more about the consequences of damage to our land. Read the books together with a family member or friend and find ways to protect and care for the land in your local community.

Find the SDG15 reading list here. 

The SDG Book Club makes content available in the six official languages of the United Nations – please see our other pages for more recommendations in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish.

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The EIBF is one of the organisers of the SDG Book Club, working together with the UN, IPA, IFLA, IBBY and IAF. Find out more. 

Discover the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Book Club recommendations on SDG14, focusing on reducing water pollution in order to protect our ecosystems and biodiversity within the oceans

SDG14: Life Below Water

Can you imagine a world without oceans to swim in and explore? Oceans are home to seahorses, dolphins, whales, corals, and many other living creatures. Oceans are our planet’s life support as they provide water, food and help regulate the weather. Oceans also provide jobs for more than 3 billion people who depend on marine biodiversity for their livelihood. If we do not stop polluting our oceans, there will be severe problems that affect every person and living creature on the planet.

Pollution poses the greatest threat to our planet and the lives of future generations! Do you ever ask yourself where all the plastic bottles and bags go after you use them? Every year an estimated 5 to 12 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean. Carbon emissions produced by human activities, like driving cars, are causing the oceans to warm and increase the acid level in the water. This is extremely bad for animals and organisms that live in the sea, as the acid can break the organisms’ shells and damage coral reefs.

All of us need to help to protect our seas. You can suggest to your parents not to use plastic bottles at home, but use a filter instead, if your tap water allows. Next time you go to the beach, bring a reusable bag to collect garbage, so it does not enter the water.

Our new reading list for SDG14: Life Below Water explains the importance of the ocean and the resources it provides to all of us, teaching you what you can do to keep our seas clean. The books will take you on underwater journeys and introduce you to many unique sea creatures while helping to understand what problems affect ocean’s health.

Find the SDG14 reading list here. 

The SDG Book Club makes content available in the six official languages of the United Nations – please see our other pages for more recommendations in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish.

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The EIBF is one of the organisers of the SDG Book Club, working together with the UN, IPA, IFLA, IBBY and IAF. Find out more. 

Listen again to our first webinar from the autumn series, exploring the upcoming marketing campaigns supporting the end of the year bookshop sales

Marketing campaigns in the lead up to the holiday season

It might be hard to believe we are almost entering the final quarter of the year, especially for those of us lucky enough to be enjoying the last remnants of summer. However, uncertainty along the supply chain within the book sector, staffing, and safety challenges are calling for even earlier planning than usual for the upcoming holiday season. 

Aiming to encourage customers to buy gifts early, thus avoiding disappointment and last minute rush sales, the American Booksellers Association (ABA) last year launched a very successful marketing campaign: 'October is the new December'. As fall approaches, ABA is re-releasing the campaign, providing support to  booksellers as they head into their busiest months of the year.

We welcomed Courtney Wallace as our guest speaker for this EIBF Webinar. As ABA's Marketing Manager, Courtney is ideally positioned to share a few insights from the campaign with us, focusing on the uptake and campaign's successes. 

Missed the event? 

Please note that the full recording of the event will be accessible for the next 7 days, after which only EIBF members will be able to re-watch it. 

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The EIBF webinar series aims to bring together the bookselling community to discuss opportunities and challenges of our industry.

Please note that the webinars are open to EIBF members and their members (through Booksellers Associations in respective countries). 
 

EIBF is proud to join many organisations supporting the IPA's INSPIRE Charter, championing sustainable post-Covid future for the book sector 

By signing the International Sustainable Publishing and Industry Resilience (INSPIRE) Charter, signatories from across the publishing ecosystem – including publishers, booksellers, authors, educators, bookfairs, international reading and literacy organizations, and free expression groups – have agreed to cooperate on supporting publishing’s post-Covid recovery

Read the full article on IPA's website here. 

Organisations working across the book sector call for unified action to tackle climate change in a joint statement 

The scientific consensus is clear; climate change is happening, and it requires urgent action across all sectors and all parts of society, from the individual to the global level to keep temperatures below the two-degree threshold outlined in the Paris Agreement. Yet, despite a clear and growing body of scientific evidence, progress has remained slow. 

In response to this crisis and in the lead up to the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, key players across the book and journals sector have united in calling for action on climate to be prioritized. This includes the International Publishers Association (IPA), the Federation of European Publishers (FEP), the European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF), the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), the International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers (STM), the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP) and the Green Book Alliance.  

As we have seen with the pandemic, books are an essential tool that will enable the world to understand and respond to climate change. All forms of the written word have the power to inform, inspire and shape a sustainable culture. As such, we are encouraging the production of and access to works that can support research into the climate crisis, as well as motivate the behaviour changes needed to tackle it. We have already seen progress through collaborations such as the Sustainable Development Goals children’s book club and other initiatives showcasing climate related books and resources. 

Additionally, we must also take responsibility for own environmental impact adopting climate-friendly practices with an agreed international approach and intent to work together across our supply chain. In turn, we encourage governments to recognize and factor in the importance of books, the written word and reading in climate action, as part of comprehensive policy responses. 

To further develop an international approach, concrete actions and agree on a shared vision for a sustainable book and journal sector, the signatories have agreed to be part of a series of conversations on climate convened by the International Publishers Association. The first will take place in Frankfurt Book Fair, followed by virtual sessions, with the aim to release the agreed conclusions and actions ahead of COP 26. 

The focus of the book sector on climate has been welcomed by the United Nations with Sherri Aldis, Chief of UN Publications saying, “We welcome this initiative in support of SDG13: Climate Action. Unless there are immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, we will be unable to limit global heating to 1.5 °C. The SDG Book Club encourages young readers to take action towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, including combatting climate change, while the SDG Publishers Compact has brought together the publishing industry to make its practices more sustainable. The series of conversations on climate will help gather momentum for action ahead of COP26 and we are excited to contribute to the sessions.” 

Bodour Al Qasimi, President of the International Publishers Association said: “We are facing today’s biggest challenge to our society: climate change. Like so many other times in history, society need the tools to enable us all to have a broader perspective and to inspire everyone to really change our day to day lives to become more sustainable. COP 26 is the starting point where publishers alongside the rest of the book chain are united in becoming a force for good and put sustainability and climate change on the top of our priorities”.  

Peter Kraus vom Cleff, President of the Federation of European Publishers said: “Climate change is a global issue and this year alone we have seen its devastating effects across Europe with extreme heatwaves, floods and bushfires. This year’s COP 26 takes place in Europe and European publishers, our members, are rising to the challenge. We see great progress not only in taking responsibility for their own environmental footprints, but in publishing content that will help society tackle climate change. By uniting as a wider industry we are taking a critical first step to accelerate our progress as an international community.”  

Barbara Lison, President for the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) said: “Libraries have an essential role in driving sustainable development within our communities, providing access to information and culture. Climate is arguably our next biggest challenge, and there is power in uniting across our book industry to drive progress needed for a sustainable future. We are looking forward to contributing and taking action.”  

Liz Page, Executive Director for the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), which represents thousands of reading promoters, creators of children’s books, scholars, librarians and many others in the book chain said: “Our members are greatly affected by the devastating consequences of climate change. To help future generations prosper and survive, we need to work towards creating a sustainable environment. Books and reading play an essential role in society, especially in the development and lives of children. It is their future that is in peril if we do not act now.” 

Fabian Paagman and Jean-Luc Treutenaere, co-Presidents of the European and International Booksellers Federation said: “Bookshops are essential for raising awareness and creating a knowledgeable society that shapes our future, not just on climate-related issues. Books help readers form opinions based on facts, research and views from multiple angles, thus contributing to a lively and constructive public debate. Without bookshops, the necessary information and knowledge becomes less accessible and these matters lose access to the local stage. Local businesses in general, and local bookshops in particular, largely contribute to a more sustainable distribution of products, among them books. Many booksellers are already engaged in reducing their CO2 emissions. The individual distribution in individual packaging by vehicles to the doorstep of customers is highly intensive in CO2 emissions. On the other hand, customers making their way, often by public transport, bicycle or foot, to their local bookshops, heavily decrease the released emissions involved in getting literature and culture to readers.”

Philip Carpenter, Interim Chief Executive Officer for STM (the International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers) said: “Publishers are taking action to reduce their environmental impacts – establishing a wide variety of commitments designed to address climate change. They are also, of course, vital players in disseminating research on the social and environmental impacts of climate change, particularly in those countries most likely to be impacted by its effects through access programmes such as Research4Life. However, there are still a number of important challenges that publishers need to work collaboratively to solve. I am confident that together the industry can rise to these challenges, fast-tracking the action required to achieve a net zero emissions transformation.”

Wayne Sim, Chief Executive for the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers said: “Progress required to tackle climate change depends greatly on having the best research, data and evidence to empower all sectors of society to make the right critical decisions. Learned societies have long played a vital role in informing society and decision makers. ALPSP is pleased to join an international call to action to continue to accelerate these efforts and not also apply them to our own sector, paving the way for a sustainable future.”

Speaking on behalf of the Green Book Alliance, Karina Urquhart (Executive Director, Book Industry Communication – a co-founding organisation of the Green Book Alliance) noted: “It is in the supply chain that the most significant changes can be made by the global book industry to eliminate waste and reduce its impact on the environment. It is vital that international organisations collaborate and provide leadership in this critical area. The Green Book Alliance welcomes the opportunity to facilitate cross-sector supply chain initiatives with organisations signing this pledge to help the book industry understand and make significant changes to reduce its overall environmental impact on the planet.”