The Bookseller.com

4th July 2009

Bestsellers 'tyranny' attacked

21.11.07 Laura Barnicoat

The obsessive hunt for sure-fire mass market bestsellers is "tainting" the UK publishing industry, according to Clare Alexander, president of the Association of Authors' Agents.

She launched her attack at a Royal Society of Literature debate this week on the "tyranny of the bestseller". Hosted by broadcaster and author Libby Purves, the panel also included Faber c.e.o. and publisher Stephen Page, author Tracy Chevalier and Bookseller deputy editor Joel Rickett.

Alexander criticised the culture of ghostwritten celebrity books and the rise of the misery memoir, arguing that these genres have "tainted publishers' minds". She pointed to Coleen McLoughlin's mooted move into fiction as an illustration of this "inert, cynical market".

She contrasted the current television-focused UK non-fiction bestseller charts with the more serious titles on the New York Times list: "We have the stupidest bestseller list in the world at the moment." Publishers are not trying hard enough to creatively market less well-known authors, instead relying on 'Richard & Judy' or literary prizes, she said.

Page responded that the industry has evolved to compete and reflect popular culture. But he agreed that the search for bestsellers is becoming an "fixation"—rather than extra bonuses, they have become "crucial to publishers' survival". He is "worried" by the ever-widening gap between small sellers and bestsellers.

Although Page conceded that even Faber "cannot publish without a supermarket in mind", he maintained that having books in such retail environments has been a breakthrough in delivering literature to a wider audience.

There was agreement among the panel that word-of-mouth is still the most powerful force. Marketing and publisher's hype can push a book so far, but only personal recom­mendation can generate major successes.

Publisher Laura Barnicoat

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