Chark Blog - Hay-on-Wye

Monday, May 28, 2007

"Hay-on-Wye? Is that some kind of a sandwich?" A wonderful quote from the great playwright Arthur Miller when he was invited to attend the second Hay Festival of Literature in 1989. The festival now pretentiously describes itself as the 'Woodstock of the Mind' (first dubbed that by Bill Clinton in 2001) and has sponsorship from The Guardian, a blog, a haycast, more than 100,000 visitors and the cream of the literary elite. I am not there and to my shame I have never felt the urge to go. Photos like this one rather turn me off - and the weather is both wet and cold today.

Muddy car park

However, this photo is rather more attractive.

As a result of Hay and a bank holiday, books are in the news today. I wanted to share with you the business news on the Today programme of the BBC this morning but the link hasn't yet been posted (try going to 'listen to today's programme in full' and click on fifteen minutes after the beginning - 6.20 a.m. UK time). There were interviews with independent booksellers bemoaning the impact of Internet bookselling; an interview with David Roche about the profit impact of Harry Potter on retailers (with a plug for Borders UK); and a promotion piece for HarperCollins and its eco-friendly policy as explained by Vicky Barnsley. I wanted to ask Vicky why, if using recycled paper is a good idea for titles in her Fourth Estate list, does she not apply the policy to the much longer print runs enjoyed in the core HarperCollins lists. There must be a good reason.

During these various pieces two surveys were cited. One poll showed that most people would like to see independent booksellers survive. The other showed that most people would like forests to survive. Well I never... Motherhood and apple pie - we're all in favour.

And while on radio, literature and publishing, I recommend you find an hour to listen to this week's Private Passions where the guest is co-founder of Bloomsbury and brilliant publisher Liz Calder. Her choice of music is eclectic with a Latin-American tinge. Brilliant.

And finally, you might enjoy this link to the Afghanistan part of the Jewish Virtual Library. With only two Jews left in the whole of the country, they managed to fall out with each other. Very Mel Brooks.

5/28/2007 7:05:36 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

Having listened to the drivel about subsidies or grants for indie bookshops which was hinted at on this morning's Radio 4 Today, I think that some people are living in a dreamworld.

As an opinionated commercial trader I want no subsidies, or grants ; there are many more deserving causes.

One remedy is for all the booktrade, and the merchandisers who seem to gaining an increasing percentage of sales, only to be supplied "firm sale" !! This would of course be environmentally friendly as well as ensuring that all booksellers, be they dealers or merchandisers, started looking upon books as a commercial item.

As for recycled paper in books - will it be totally acid free, or be heavily "chlorinated" to stop it discolouring within 12 months ?

Clive Keeble

5/28/2007 8:34:32 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

Clive, I agree about subsidies and grants. Bookshops (and all businesses) need to be sustainably profitable without artificial incentives.

On firm sale, I wish that was the norm. It would be 'greener' and commercially better but the vast majority of our retail distributors insist on it as part of their terms of trade and we cannot afford simply to supply through the very few outlets which are smart enough to trade on firm sale. Maybe we should learn from New Zealand where firm sale is more common - http://charkinblog.macmillan.com/PermaLink,guid,62bea425-5232-48ee-ae31-270ff405d681.aspx

You'll have to ask Vicky Barnsley about chlorinated paper - I'm sure she has an answer.

richard charkin

5/28/2007 11:31:25 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

I just loved the woman who said, her daughter still visited bookshops to browse and soak up the atmosphere,(because that was the way she had been bought up) but that she bought her books over the internet because it was more convenient.

Jonathan Main

5/28/2007 1:29:39 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

Luvverly comment from that lady, Jonathan, just the sort of cheap sound-bite which aggravates indie bookshop owners.

The star comments were from David Roche, who I thought spoke brilliantly : he made valiant attempts to show the terrestial bookshops in a positive light.

Clive Keeble

5/28/2007 7:50:50 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

Bemoaning the impact of internet bookselling does sound rather like watchmakers bemoaning the arrival of battery powered watches. I'm sure they still do it- somewhere.

Tim Coates

5/28/2007 8:14:23 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

Well, Tim, that's absolutely true.

But it's not internet bookselling per se is it?

Richard previously posted about German publishing.

Harry Potter and his deathly hallows, on Amazon.de is listed at 24.90 euros,(£17.00) with no discount. The UK edition is listed on the same site with a 35% discount.

Meanwhile, the whole of UK bookselling is tearing their hair out to sell it at £8.99

Why, I wonder.

And yes Tim, I think you will find that there are a number of companies still making watches the old fashioned way - selling them mainly to footballers I should think - but certainly not daft enough to be flogging them on Amazon with a 55% discount.

Jonathan Main

5/30/2007 7:51:16 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

If my information is correct then last week 'firm sale' came a step closer to becoming a reality here in the UK.

It is all very well for distributors (please see Richard's comments above) to expect to be able to offer SOR terms to their customers, but I believe that this attitude breeds inefficiency.

There is every indication that the inefficient terrestial bookshops will not survive ; by offering SOR the distributors are merely permitting very sick ducks to splutter on for a few more years, before reaching their eventual death.

Of course, part of the "price" for the terrestial booktrade to accept firm sale will be that it becomes the norm to *all* outlets.

The days of publishers sending pallets on special SOR terms for supermarkets and internet merchandisers must be a thing of the past.

The publishing industry has the opportunity to come into the 21st century ; at least one UK bookchain is developing thinking in the direction of 'firm sale'.

The months ahead are going to produce some interesting discussions.

Clive Keeble

5/30/2007 10:48:16 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

Clive, I was not aware that a book chain was reconsidering firm sale. Can you let us know who so that we can open discussions with them?

Richard

richard charkin

5/30/2007 12:11:32 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

Richard

The information came to me as a matter of a recent face-to-face business conversation ; the details have been confirmed by another person. It would not be ethical of me to mention names : I am sure that you will hear plenty on your return to UK.

As I see it, the terrestial booktrade has to drive a strong spike into the ground, something around which we can collectively build our survival platform. "Firm Sale", rigidly applied to *all* outlets and all sales channels (inc supermarkets and internet) is one such possibility : it also opens up the opportunity for genuine "Clearance Sales" to increase footfall.

Fortune favours the brave ; the terrestial booktrade will in effect be dead and buried here in the UK unless we *all* take drastic measures.

Clive Keeble

6/1/2007 8:57:20 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

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