The Bookseller.com

20th July 2008

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Crunch on coeditions

16.04.08 Tom Tivnan

Coedition publishers at the London Book Fair are struggling to sell into markets in western Europe as pressures from shifting retail landscapes, the economic downturn and fluctuating currencies take hold. Publishers at the fair say that dramatic shifts in exchange rates are upsetting the old order.

Andrew Welham, deputy c.e.o of Octopus Publishing, said LBF coedition sales were "challenging in traditional markets such as France". He added: "French publishers across the board have cut back on buying coeditions from British publishers. We are looking elsewhere, such as Latin America and eastern Europe."

Andrew Phillips, chief operating officer of Dorling Kindersley, agreed that the markets that seemed the slowest were the "older, European ones", with booksellers’ difficulties  straining the markets. He added: "The Nordic areas and France in particular are slower. There is a lot of consolidation on the retail side in these territories and publishers are feeling some pressures."

Though many of the larger traditional markets are struggling, Welham said that new areas were continuing to open up: "We are looking at markets such as Poland and Bulgaria, and newer ones such as Romania and the Baltics where we can genuinely develop new business."

US publishers are feeling the effects of their country’s economic woes, with the fluctuating value of the dollar making acquisitions tough to complete. Marcus Leaver, president of New York-based Sterling, said: "The weakness of the dollar makes it very, very difficult to bring books in. However, international sales are up, he added: "I would say it is still a buoyant market in general for the right books. As publishers we can’t just throw some old rubbish against the wall and make it stick."

Christian Frederking, Thames & Hudson’s international rights director, said that consolidation within the German book trade was having an effect, with publishers  much more cautious. "They have had such a change in retail in Germany, particularly with pressure from Amazon.de," he added.

The overall Canadian market has suffered as well from the declining US dollar and the relative strength of the Canadian dollar, with export values hit hard. Carolyn Wood, executive director of the Association of Canadian Publishers, said: "This can make a dramatic, drastic difference, with the American market making from 30% to 50% of some of our members’ businesses."

London Book Fair - Day Three

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