The International Publishers Association, the Federation of European Publishers and the European and International Booksellers Federation are extremely concerned by new reports from RadioFreeEurope regarding the detentions on 16 May of Andrey Yanushkevich, and his associate, Nasta Karnatskaya.

The pair were reportedly detained after they opened a general bookstore in Minsk, the Belarusian capital, and continued to sell copies of George Orwell’s 1984 which was banned, along with other publications, on 19 May 2022.

Kristenn Einarsson, Chair of the IPA’s Freedom to Publish Committee said: We recognized independent Belarusian publishers in the 2021 IPA Prix Voltaire shortlist. We know that publishing and bookselling is so difficult in Belarus now and incidents like this will undoubtedly lead to self-censorship on the part of authors, publishers and booksellers. We continue to offer our support to all those publishers in Belarus who want to publish freely.

EIBF Co-President, Jean-Luc Treutenaere, added: We are concerned by the reports of book-banning, bookshop searches and overall censorship coming from Belarus. We call on the full respect for the freedom to publish and sell books, and we stand firmly with the Belorussian, European and international publishing community against any form of censorship of the written word.

Peter Kraus Vom Kleff, President of the Federation of European Publishers said: George Orwell’s book, 1984, denounces totalitarianism and mass surveillance. These are issues that, together with the role of truth and facts within politics and the ways in which they are manipulated, calls for increased consideration from politicians and society at large. No book, perhaps especially this one, should ever be banned. Freedom to publish and freedom to sell books are central to a democratic society.

The original press release is available here. 

Spotlighting diversification in bookselling sector: Apollo bookstore chain from Estonia 

First starting in 2000, Apollo bookshop opened it's first store in Estonia. In the two decades that followed, the chain grew to encompass 18 bookstores, while also expanding their presence in various non-book related businesses. The Apollo Group today includes 16 cinemas, 10 blender juice bars, 9 restaurants, 6 entertainment centres, 2 bowling arenas, and other ventures. 

At the recent International Booksellers Conference in Sharjah, Agne Ahi, Apollo's Product Manager of Foreign-language Books, highlighted the chain's diversification model and explored how this allowed the bookshop side of business to thrive: "We decided not to diversify just inside the stores, focusing on what we sell, but the business itself. By 2016, we created what we like to call the Apollo entertainment complex. This include bookstores, cinemas, and restaurants. To combine these together, we created Apollo loyalty club."

Agne joined one of the conference panels, spotlighting how diversification can work in practice and looking at experiences from four countries. The speakers also included Akshaya Rautaray, from Walking Book Fairs, India, Hassan Ali, Lightning Source, Sharjah, and Keith Thong, UBSM, Malaysia. From cinema partnerships to innovative book-tuk truck that bring books to children in rural areas in India, the panelists highlighted the important role of bookselling for enabling access to books and culture to all. The speakers presented what worked and what didn’t work in their circumstances, including the role of Print on Demand for booksellers.  

See Agne's full presentation. 

Notes from a conference: The Sharjah Booksellers’ Conference is the first of its kind on this scale at a global level. What did it do for the booksellers who participated?

In a new article published by Scroll.in, journalist Venkatesh M Swamy explores what participants of the recent International Booksellers Conference in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, have leant during the two-day event. Find out the key takeaways and read the full article here.

We are excited to reveal the global bookselling markets report for 2021, analysing current trends, exploring the pandemic impacts and highlighting development opportunities for the sector

The bookselling industry has been reshaped since the outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020, with many booksellers undergoing a complete reinvention of their business models, often having to incorporate practices not associated with their traditional core business. In these changing circumstances, it is important to acknowledge the importance of customer interaction in bookshops. 

Booksellers rely on consumer presence in their stores and this connection is an integral part of any successful bookshop, no matter where in the world the store is located. From bustling city centres and urban residential areas to remote rural spaces, customer engagement underpins bookselling.  

As we try to understand the current trends shaping the global bookselling sector, we have to consider the ones that are gaining traction due to pandemic restrictions, such as lower footfalls in the shops, primarily digital audience groups and overreliance on online sales channels, among others. 

The European and International Booksellers Federation is excited to share its milestone report on the global bookselling markets for 2021, exploring the total sales numbers for the past year and analysing emerging trends to understand how the industry can respond to future development opportunities and challenges.

The report is based on a member survey, carried out by EIBF in April 2022. The national booksellers associations from eighteen countries responded to our written questionnaire, shedding light on ongoing challenges booksellers face in their daily activities: Australia, Denmark (Faroe Islands), Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. In addition to the survey answers, this report includes supporting information gathered by EIBF during the course of the past year.

Download the full report here. 

EIBF’s policy team, Daniel Martín Brennan and Tora Åsling, highlight their impressions from the two-day event in Lillehammer, Norway. 

With the aim of becoming an annual event and an arena to discuss, analyse and empower worldwide change on freedom of expression, freedom of speech, and freedom to publish, the first World Expression Forum (WEXFO) took place in Lillehammer, Norway on 30-31 May 2022.  

WEXFO brought together influential voices from civil society, politics, academia, media, the book trade and the arts, among others, to examine the current challenges concerning the right to freedom of expression across the globe. However, it also provided a platform to discover solutions, share best practices and showcase what progress has been made.  

The conference spotlighted the fragility of freedom of expression as a right and the urgency to fight for it, with distinguished speakers such as 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureates Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov, UN special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of freedom of opinion and expression, Irene Khan, and Vice-President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová.  

Day 1: The challenges to freedom of expression today and visions for the future  

Keynote: The current state of freedom of expression and key challenges for the future 

As one of the opening keynote speakers, Irene Khan gave an overview of the state of freedom of expression in the world today, explaining that, although attacks on freedom of expression have always been prevalent, there are new dangerous dynamics that make such attacks harder to tackle, such as the role of technology and the rise of populism. 

To follow up on this, Khan identified three major concerns when it comes to freedom of expression today:  

1. Retrogression of women’s human rights;  

2. Decline of press freedom and safety of journalists;  

3. Digital authoritarianism, i.e., the power big tech corporations hold over people due to our increased usage of digital platforms.  

With regards to the role of technology and digitalisation, she believes it has contributed massively to attacks on freedom of expression. While Khan highlighted its double edge sword - how it can be used both for good and bad – she emphasised the importance of digital literacy to be better protected. “We need to close the digital divide, and digital and media illiteracy must be given more attention.”  

She ended by advocating for stronger rules for the digital sphere, arguing that the lack of a shared framework to differentiate between truth and falsehood online is a huge problem.   

Regulator of the World 

In a pre-recorded video message, Vice-President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová, outlined the European Union’s efforts to introduce legislation promoting freedom of expression in the digital age, emphasising that “technologies should be tools for emancipation, not manipulation and repression.” Furthermore, Vice-President Jourová referred to the European Media Freedom Act, the EU’s new initiative to protect free and pluralistic media, as well as future plans to prevent abusive litigation (SLAPP) targeting journalists and rights defenders. 

Day 2: Hard truths and practical approaches to overcoming FoE challenges 

Workshops 

WEXFO’s second morning offered two sets of interactive workshops, engaging participants from a range of industries – media, book sector, arts etc. – on topics such as encouraging youth to speak out against hate speech, freedom of expression in times of war and the role of tech and tech regulation. Participants of the conference, coming from over 50 countries, discussed strategies, challenges, national differences, and practical tools to combat threats to freedom of expression. 

Keynote: What are you willing to give up for the truth? 

Maria Ressa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year for her fearless work as a journalist and co-founder of the online news website Rappler. During her keynote speech, Ressa explained how Rappler’s mission of speaking truth to power has put her at personal risk by making her a target of online threats and violence. She underscored the fact that online violence is often used to silence women who are human right defenders and asked the pertinent question: “why are we not protected in the code of the virtual world?” 

Despite having suffered personally from online violence, there is no doubt of Ressa’s continued activism and online presence. “You need to fight tech with tech,” she said, highlighting the importance of regulating tech but also the need for individuals to occupy space to make the online world a better place. 

See you next year! 

The conference demonstrated diversity on stage, with panels of activists and human rights defenders from across the globe sharing their stories together with representatives from politics, academia and the book and press industry. 

WEXFO shed light on the vulnerable and worrying state for freedom of expression in many parts of the world. Yet, by continuously asking the question on how to move forward, how to solve the seemingly unsolvable, coupled with the unwavering strength of spirit and optimism of all the attendees, the forum managed to leave its audience with a sense of purpose and hope for the future.  

Peter Kačmár shares insights on bookshop stock curation and presentation from the perspective of Panta Rhei

IKAR, the largest publishing house and book distributor in Slovakia, was founded in 1990. In over 30 years of its existence, it has brought more than 6,700 titles to the Slovak market, of which more than 34 million copies were sold.

Another important part of IKAR’s business is sale through Panta Rhei, IKAR’s sister company. Panta Rhei operates the largest chain of bookstores in Slovakia, with approximately 60 shops around all the country as well as online point of sales.

Peter Kačmár, IKAR’s sales director, offered his insights into the book market in Slovakia during his presentation at the recent International Booksellers Conference in Sharjah. In his speech, he highlighted the consignment model, used by established bookshops in the country. Through this model, booksellers have no immediate financial commitments, as they do not have to pay for the displayed titles until they sell. On the other hand, Slovakian online bookshops still mostly purchase books directly from publishers.

Joining a panel discussion exploring how having well curated and presented stock is essential to sales in bookshops, Peter offered an example from Panta Rhei: “Initial book orders reflect potential marketing campaigns, which are agreed between publisher and bookseller centrally. These are based on store size and position, with displays dedicated to new releases, bestsellers, short-term thematic panels.”

Peter also spoke about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Slovak book market. Due to long periods of lockdown and somewhat complicated and slow government support schemes, brick and mortar bookshops in the country were hit the hardest, while also losing some customers to online shops.

The participants also heard from Kenny Chan, former senior director at Kinokuniya Book Store, Singapore, Remi Morgan, CEO of Laterna Ventures, a leading literature importation, distribution and marketing organization in Nigeria, and Sonia Draga, publisher, founder and president of the Sonia Draga Publishing Group and Bookstores in Poland, during the panel. 

See Peter’s full presentation.

Nadia Wassef, one of the owners and co-founders of Diwan, Egypt’s first modern bookshop, has shared her industry experience in a keynote at the Sharjah International Booksellers Conference 2022

In her speech, Nadia recounted the story of Diwan, Egypt’s leading bookseller and the country’s first modern bookshop. Diwan was founded in 2002, offering its visitors something new: aside from books, music, films and stationery, customers had a chance to enjoy a relaxing break in the bookshop’s café.

Since its founding two decades ago, Diwan has gone through many challenges and various transformations, but it has always stayed true to its values, placing great importance on its character and identity. In her keynote, Nadia stressed just how important it is for a bookshop to be conscious of its identity and to find effective ways of sharing it with potential customers: “The export of our identities to our readers, customers, target audiences, through whichever means we can enlist, engenders a realization about the role of booksellers: we don’t just sell books; we strike up conversations.”

The emphasis that Diwan places on readers and on creating a dialogue is also reflected in the selection and training of its staff: “Our greatest asset, as booksellers, isn’t the choices we make about which books we line our shelves with, but the people we choose to champion them. The booksellers we in our turn recruit, train, and empower are vital to our ecosystems.”

And what does the owner of Diwan advise to other booksellers? “My advice will always be to take the gamble of innovation because it is the only insurance policy against the future worth having. Develop your bookstore’s identity in an unexpected way, surprise yourself and your reader.”

Read the full speech given by Nadia Wassef at the recent International Booksellers Conference in Sharjah

In this guest blog post, Secretary General of Intergraf Beatrice Klose explores the impacts of paper shortage on the wider book industry 

After two years of rolling lockdowns, Europe is finally able to take a (maskless!) breath. Shops are open, events are taking place, and we are rediscovering the pleasure of in-person connections. Rising demand for print goes together with a healthy economy, so the reopening of our societies should be offering much-needed relief to printing companies. But although the printing industry is experiencing a predictable rise in demand for printed products (particularly books), recovery is being stifled by the lack of availability of our sector’s primary raw material: paper.

For the last six months, few printing companies have been able to secure the quantity of paper they need to fulfil all orders. The shortage has been exacerbated by the diminishing capacity of paper producers – particularly those producing graphic paper, which lost more than 25% of capacity between 2016 and 2021. Shrinking capacity was already an ongoing trend, with COVID-19 speeding up the process. But of course, the pandemic was only temporary. Demand for paper is now rising and paper producers no longer have enough capacity to supply the market. The price of paper has also been an issue since mid-2021, when paper producers implemented unexpected, steep price increases due to rising energy costs. For some printers, paper prices have gone up 100% compared to one year ago. This has created the perfect storm for printing companies and their supply chain.

Paper shortages are threatening publications printing (e.g., books, newspapers, magazines, and advertising), and board shortages are threatening packaging printing. Time-sensitive products are particularly at risk, as well as many essential products like food, medicine, and schoolbooks. Some printing companies reported that at the beginning of the year 40% of the paper they needed could not be obtained. One large sheetfed printer from Germany stated that “we can foresee missing amounts of paper of up to 15% of our planned production in 2022”. Another Swedish printer warned: “We have financial pressure both from customers and now also from our suppliers. We are struggling to keep our margin and with pressure from both ways this is really a challenge.”

Paper is a critically important raw material. Such alarming shortages and price increases will have an enormous effect on printers, their customers, and their supply chain – not to mention on wider society. Printers are working closely with their customers – notably with book publishers – to find the best solutions, and everyone is helping each other. But with many printers now being forced to handle only the most urgent orders, a crisis is underway, and the production of essential products is at risk.

Intergraf, the European trade association for the printing industry, has taken various actions to draw attention to this emergency, as have our member associations across Europe. We call on the European regulator to acknowledge the seriousness of this situation, and to secure a sufficient supply of raw materials to facilitate the continuous production of essential goods – goods that serve European citizens in their daily lives and are key conveyors of information, education, and culture in Europe. Most critically, we call for a significant reduction in exports of pulp and paper to third countries, and the safeguarding of sufficient production capacity to ensure the autonomy of Europe’s printing and publishing industries.

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The European printing industry is made up of some 112,000 printing companies (95% SMEs), which employ 640,000 people, and generate a combined turnover of €82 billion (EU27 + UK; CH; NO).

Intergraf is the European printing industry association, representing employers. We are a Brussels-based umbrella organisation with 20 members from 19 countries. Our primary task is to advocate for the printing industry in Europe, working with European Union to support the sector’s competitiveness through advocacy, information-sharing, networking, social dialogue, and European projects.
 

What's next for the European cultural and creative sector? EIBF director Julie Belgrado spotlights the priorities for the bookselling sector within the context of the EU's upcoming Work Plan for Culture 2023-26

On 29 June 2022, the European Commission published its report on the Work Plan for Culture 2019-22 in the EU. The Work Plan for Culture is a plan that helps steer Member States’ four-year collective strategy to support the needs and priorities of the cultural and creative sectors.

The new report gives a positive assessment on the plan implementation for the past four years and lists the Commission’s identified priorities in the field of culture for the years ahead. Among those are enduring priorities, such as challenges and opportunities of the digital transformation and the relationship between culture and sustainability. However, new ones are also identified, namely the recovery and resilience of the cultural and creative sectors after the COVID-19 pandemic and broadening access to culture and creativity to people with disabilities. 

As the implementation of the current Work Plan 2019-2022 is coming to an end this year, the preparations for the Work Plan for the 2023-2026 period have begun.

Earlier this year, the French Presidency initiated the conversation with stakeholders from the cultural and creative sectors to assess the challenges and priorities for the following four-year cycle. However, it will be up to the Czech and Swedish Presidencies to adopt the next Work Plan and come up with an efficient political response.

In this context, EIBF has been invited to join and feed into the ongoing discussion, spotlighting the priorities for the bookselling sector in the years to come, particularly within the framework of the Creative Europe programme.

While the dialogue is still ongoing, EIBF has already identified some priorities and opportunities for development for the bookselling sector, which can contribute to the Work Plan for 2023-2026. For instance, many booksellers call for measures to facilitate and encourage reading promotion among children and younger generations. In that process, booksellers and bookshops should be recognised as valuable resources to stimulate and promote reading.

Reflecting on the upcoming plan and on booksellers’ priorities, EIBF Director Julie Belgrado said: “The pandemic showed us that many people went back to reading, new readers came along and book sales, overall, went up. Our work ahead is to ensure those readers continue visiting bookshops and to keep newfound readers engaged. Through the Creative Europe Programme, we can facilitate the creation and distribution of European content that is accessible and meets the demands of today's readers.”