The Bookseller.com

8th September 2008

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Publishers warned on 'misleading' quotes

05.06.08 Joel Rickett

Distorting or selectively quoting from book reviews could leave publishers open to prosecution under new EU legislation. Publishers regularly use phrases from media reviews to print on the cover or opening pages of books. But the EU Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, to be enforced in the UK by the Office of Fair Trading, outlaws "contextomy"—where a passage is removed from its surrounding matter to distort its meaning.

Jo Howard, chair of the Book Marketing Society, said the legislation would make publishers wary: "This will bring scrutiny they haven't had before."

The Telegraph's Sam Leith said: "[This] does happen in books, but it's less prevalent than with the film industry." Granta editor Alex Clark agreed: "I did once appear in flattering short-form on the back of a Ben Elton paperback, which enraged me at the time. But I couldn't in all truth say that it was a widespread practice."

Joel Rickett publishing OFT