Publishing Sector Research Articles

Literary Networks and Digital Media in Contemporary African Literatures

Building on recent research around digital cultural production in Africa (Ligaga, Adenekan, Nyabola), my paper seeks to engage with digital media and online spaces — blogs, social media — in relation to contemporary literary practices in Africa. Its aim is to examine issues surrounding the production and circulation of contemporary “digital-native” texts, as well as the networks, both virtual and material, that underlie them. It draws on a range of examples from contemporary anglophone Africa, from online magazines (Bakwa, Saraba, Jalada, Hekaya) and Facebook fiction to self-published popular novels by writers who use social networks and blogs to produce, advertise and circulate their work (like Nigerian writer Myne Whitman and South African novelist Dudu Busani-Dube).First, the paper examines the complex relationship contemporary digital productions bear to the materiality and literary value usually associated with print. It then seeks to question the widespread notion that digital spaces are unmoored to geography and unbound by the power structures of the print publishing sector. Lastly, by analyzing two recent initiatives from Kenya (Jalada and Hekaya), it focuses on the various scopes and geographies of these virtual literary networks and the ways in which they intersect with material and social networks, through events like festivals or writers’ workshops.

Books and Events: Trends, Projects, Achievements in the Light of the 34th Moscow International Book Fair

The leading event for the library and publishing sector — the 34th Moscow International Book Fair (MIBF) — took place on September 24—27, 2021 at the Central Exhibition Complex “Expocentre”. The forum was held in a “hybrid format”, foreign participants joined the events online. There were announced the winners of the National competition “Book of the Year — 2021” and the 9th Competition of the Russian Library Association “The Best Professional Book of the Year — 2021”.The business program of the MIBF contained sectoral conferences and round tables devoted to the insight of state of the book industry. The 2nd International Conference “The World Book Industry in new realities: new technologies, new challenges, new prospects”, the sectoral conference “The Russian Book Market — 2021”, the round table “Books in the city” took place at the Fair. The MIBF outlined the vectors of the development of modern culture, creative industries and creative entrepreneurship in the context of books; prospects for the development of new formats for the reorganization of territories and the formation of a stable local identity; intersection points of interests of citizens, local and federal authorities, business and cultural institutions. The article summed up the overall results of the MIBF.

Digital Transformation as a Competitive Factor in Supply Chain Management: Proof of Concept in One of the Largest Editorial Groups in Portugal

Abstract Research purpose. Through the adoption of the concept of the Proof of Concept, the main objective of this work is to highlight the approach that allows the framework and study of the viability of investments in the digital transformation of companies. The research focuses on the publishing sector and, mainly, on one of the largest publishing groups in Portugal and focuses on the strategic decision, due to the covid-19 pandemic situation, to adopt a Warehouse Management System to increase productivity, competitiveness, and sustainability of the company under study. Due to the need for confinement, publishers saw their sales drop drastically and the option of e-commerce implied the need for adjustments in the organizational dynamics associated with the distribution of products. The research/paper goal is to show the viability of investments in the digital transformation of companies in order to enlarge their efficiency and effectiveness. Design / Methodology / Approach. As a methodology adopted in the first phase, the authors developed a framework of current challenges through the focus group technique. In the second phase, the authors conducted semi-structured interviews with the different managers of the group’s various companies and their departments. These methodological options aim to obtain more specific information on facts, the degree of relevance, validity, and reliability that is analyzed from the perspective of collecting information. Both methods provide elasticity in the approach and depth of the intended analysis, favoring spontaneous responses and the creation of openness to the approach of more complex and delicate topics. Findings. Information technology investments do not automatically bring competitive advantages. It is essential to carry out careful management of the project and carefully analyze the economic and financial viability of the investment. The disruptive changes do not allow errors in investment. So, adopting a methodology that integrates the strategic analysis of the challenges and technical analysis of the assets and respective viability seems critical for the success of digital transformation projects, namely in the publishing sector. Originality / Value / Practical implications. The digital transformation of companies is a current reality. The pandemic has highlighted digital as a factor of sustainability. However, this finding requires the preparation of management and the adoption of appropriate models and instruments. The present work presents a model that organizations can adapt to in a changing context.

Peter Brown—An appreciation

Peter Brown—An appreciation

From Orality to Open: Innovations in Multimedia Monograph Publishing in the Humanities

This article shares the story of the purpose and methods of the World Oral Literature series, an open access monograph series supported, hosted, and published by Open Book Publishers. The publication series emerged as a response to the increasingly problematic nature of certain sectors of academic monograph publishing in which production costs are kept low by exploiting free or subsidized labour by scholars, while profits are kept high and public access heavily restricted. In a move to counter this process, the fully open access World Oral Literature series was established to preserve and promote the dissemination of endangered oral literatures in innovative, ethical, and culturally-appropriate ways.

Downtown Music Publishing and Songtrust

As of 2018, technological innovation in the music industry at large had impacted firms in nearly every sector. Yet, music publishers have been traditionally unconcerned with technological advancement. Several competitive forces have made this position sustainable, but the broader industry’s pace of change was bound to reach the music publishing sector. The laissez-faire attitude of prominent market players in the publishing space has led to a market that was ripe for value innovation, and Downtown Music Publishing has already capitalized in this space, differentiating themselves from their competitors. This case highlights the choices the CEO and co-founder of Downtown Music Publishing and the rest of the senior management team must make about a new product. Should they keep it internal, or should it be spun off?

Diversity and Inclusion in Publishing: What Do We Know?

The challenges and opportunities of creating diverse and inclusive workplaces have never been more important that they are today; but how are publishers responding to changing social expectations? This article reviews recently published data on diversity and inclusion in the publishing sector in the UK and North America and highlights the risks of failing to take action to make change. Finally, it proposes three areas where much more research is needed.

An analytical audit of twenty years of literary translation into Breton

After presenting the key role played by translation in strengthening the literary canon of minoritized languages, this paper goes on to provide a detailed overview and analysis of the past twenty years of Breton literary translation since the turn of the millennium, covering a variety of aspects ranging from the overall evolution over time, target publics, the genres and the authors selected for translation, the range of source languages and the translators themselves, integrating a gender-based outlook whenever necessary. Taken as an integral part of the publishing sector, comparisons are drawn throughout regarding originals published in Breton for the same period. Particular emphasis is also laid on gauging the initial of the Literary Translation Program as a means of determining and potentially redirecting theoverall strategy for literary translation going forwards.

Okadabooks, E-Book Publishing and the Distribution of Homegrown Nigerian Literature

ABSTRACT This article examines the work of Okadabooks, a Nigerian e-book publishing and reading platform and its impact on the Nigerian publishing industry, exploring the complex and overlapping relationships between writing online, self-publishing and e-book publishing. Drawing on interviews as well as an institutional analysis of Okadabooks, the article traces the emergence and evolution of Okadabooks as a way of documenting an important and growing sector of literary publishing in Nigeria. By examining book distribution challenges in Nigeria, and exploring the ways e-book publishing offers solutions in terms of ease of publication, it shows how the platform enables writers to make money from their writing, and reach more readers. Consequently, it shows how Okadabooks is opening up spaces for homegrown Nigerian literary talent in a way that creates both cultural and economic value. Finally, the article highlights the innovative ways in which Okadabooks works both online and offline, through partnerships, social media campaigns and community social responsibility, to build communities of readers and writers.

Parrésia and the Business of Publishing Contemporary Nigerian Literature

ABSTRACT This article explores the dynamics and tensions between literature and publishing through the lens of a Lagos-based publishing company, Parrésia, that began publishing in 2012, considering the ways in which its outputs have been shaped in particular ways by its position within the Nigerian publishing landscape. In doing so, it asks questions such as: How is the business end of the book balanced with the literary and how does this affect the sustainability of publishing ventures such as Parrésia? How has the digital revolution helped to reinvent the physical book form? How are these interventions foregrounding African voices and identities in a global world? This paper argues that despite the challenges faced by Africa-based publishers — the disconnected value chain in the book industry, strained economies, unfriendly business environment and the dominance of western canonisation of literary works — companies like Parrésia through innovation and sheer determination can still eke out a stake in the competitive and ‘not so profitable’ literary publishing sector. It highlights in particular Parrésia’s responsive publishing strategy that works against challenges faced by the Nigerian publishing industry, and embraces opportunities presented by the Nigerian literary space.

Open Access Transition: A view through the lens of a librarian

20 years after international initiatives agreed in a joint effort to convert the scientific publishing system to open access, the transformation has come to a standstill. Despite the establishment of open access strategies and open access offices at universities, a large proportion of publications remain not openly accessible. Initiatives such as Plan S, founded by a group of research funders, are trying to accelerate the open access transformation, putting pressure on commercial scientific publishers. Whether this can succeed depends not only on the participation of the scientific institutions, but above all on the strengthening of community-based and science-led initiatives and infrastructures with the aim of making the publishing sector as a whole fairer, more sustainable and more transparent.

Implementation of Project Activities in UrFU: Educational Publishing Project "Her Life" (Based on the Book by A. G. Korepanova)

The article analyzes the student’s publishing project of creating the book “Her Life” as an example of practice-oriented activities carried out during college year. The publishing project was based on the book written by A. G. Korevanova “My Life”. The reasons for the choice of material for reprinting, the difficulties in the process of working on the project, the advantages and disadvantages of conducting project activities in the publishing sector are indicated. The project activity is considered as a type of training on the basis of the Department of Publishing of the Ural Federal University and the Publishing House of the Ural University.

El audiolibro en España: ¿industria o modelo de negocio?

This research has the general goal of analyzing, through an exploratory methodology, the impact that audiobooks have on the internal processes in the value chain of Spanish publishing companies, to which two more specific goals are added: a) How can the new roles from audiobook be added in an publishing circuit?, and b) is it possible to affirm that the new business model can already be considered an industry within the Spanish publishing sector? Through the analysis of the publishing circuit and the production flow chart carried out in this study, it is observed not only the impact of the audiobook on the entire operational process of a publishing house, but also the new actors on the publishing business scene. Based on the existing data from the audiobook business in Spain, the study concludes that, nowadays, the existence of an audiobook industry that is fully independent from the other consolidated business models in the Spanish publishing sector cannot be affirmed. Resumen Esta investigación tiene como objetivo general analizar a través de una metodología exploratoria el impacto que los audiolibros tienen sobre los procesos internos en la cadena de valor de las editoriales españolas. A este se añaden dos preguntas de investigación específicas: a) ¿Cómo se puede incluir a los actores del audiolibro en un circuito editorial?, y b) ¿se puede afirmar que el nuevo modelo de negocio es una industria dentro del sector editorial español? A través del análisis del circuito editorial y del flujograma de producción realizado en este estudio se observa no solo el impacto del audiolibro sobre todo el proceso operacional de una editorial, sino que además se advierten los nuevos actores en la escena del negocio editorial. Partiendo de los datos existentes sobre el negocio del audiolibro en España, el trabajo concluye que hoy por hoy no se puede afirmar la existencia de una industria audio-editorial independizada plenamente de los otros modelos de negocio consolidados en el sector editorial español.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race: An Analysis of Contemporary Children’s Publishers in the Philippines

There has been little examination of Philippine children’s literature for any period of its history, and even fewer accounts are available for the publishing sector that brings this literature to market. This article addresses this gap by an analysis of a series of in-depth interviews conducted with representatives of three of the major publishing firms in the country. There are three main findings that will be discussed. The first is that publishers experience challenges in dealing with various gatekeepers before reaching their targeted readers, that is, children. Secondly, the local economic context coupled with cultural developments and government policies are major concerns to the industry in the Philippines. Lastly, while for most publishers, slower pace of sales is considered a bane of the industry, it is celebrated in the Philippines.

English

One of the biggest challenges facing publishing in Nigeria today is how to integrate or adopt “e-publishing” (electronic publishing).  Across the world, the coming of computer has completely revolutionized the printing process from manuscript development through printing, marketing and distribution. The “destructive innovation” of e-publishing has worsened the fortunes of many news and academic publishers and major corporations have gone under as a result. Yet, stakeholders differ remarkably in their readiness to embrace the innovation. While some believe e-publishing should be approached and adopted with caution, many others believe it should be rapidly adopted. This study sought to find out the perception of electronic publishing by Nigerian publishers and end-users on: how beneficial do stakeholders consider e-publishing; how ready are end-users for electronically published products; and to what extent have stakeholders in the publishing sector deployed e-publishing. The design for the study was quantitative–cluster and stratified sampling was used to strategically select 39 publishers and 150 end-users. A focus group discussion was conducted among stakeholders to give perspectives to the findings. The study revealed that publishers were considered the main beneficiaries of e-publishing, while authors and marketers benefit the least. End-users of electronically publishers are however more prepared than publishers for e-products. The news publishing sector has deployed e-publishing more than other publishing sub-sectors in Nigeria.   Key words: Electronic-publishing, prospects, publishing, innovation adoption.

Variable Frames: Women Translating Cuban and (Afro-) Brazilian Women Writers for the French Literary Market

This article seeks to examine how contemporary works of fiction and non-fiction by women from Cuba and Brazil are translated and marketed for Francophone readers. It will focus on Wendy Guer­ra’s novels, translated into French by Marianne Millon, and on contemporary Brazilian (non) fic­tion translated into French by Paula Anacaona, the head of Anacaona Éditions, a publishing outlet specialized in Brazilian literature for Francophone readers. The contribution will start with a brief presentation of the French publishing sector and some of the recurring patterns observed in what is often labeled as littérature étrangère or littérature monde (foreign literature and world literature, respec­tively), exploring various layers of intervention that appear in translated fiction. The article will then further explore the role of paratext in the marketing of Caribbean literatures for (non-)metropolitan French audiences, before it examines the translations of Todos se van and Domingo de Revolución by Cuban writer Wendy Guerra. Paratextual matter in Marianne Millon’s Tout le monde s’en va and Un dimanche de révolution will be analyzed as a site of feminine co-production, in which the author and the translator’s voices at times collide in unison and at others create dissonance. In the case of Do­mingo de revolución, the French translator’s practices will be compared to Cuban-American Achy Obe­jas’s English translation (Revolution Sunday), in the hope of highlighting varying degrees of cultural appropriation and/or acculturation, depending on the translator’s habitus and trajectory (Bourdieu) and her own background. These reflections will lead to a broader analysis of paratext as a site of further agency and potential redress as (Afro-) Brazilian history and literature are examined in works circulated by writer/translator/publisher Paula Anacaona. Ultimately, figures traditionally sidelined from hegemonic and patriarchal (his)stories, whose voices are restored in Anacaona’s paratextual practices, will serve as illustrations of feminine publishing practices that challenge (phallo-)centric models from the metropolis.

The Publishing Industry in Spain: A Perspective Review of Two Decades Transformation

The main aim of this study is to examine the leading transformations that have occurred throughout the period 2000–2018 in the Spanish publishing industry as a consequence of technological change and its adaptation to the new digital environment. Firstly, this work focuses on the economic importance of Spanish publishing sector studying three key variables: production, employment, and export capacity; secondly, the analysis moves along the structural changes in the Spanish publishing sector through the new millennium, and thirdly, this study discusses on the main business models emerged in the heat of technological disruption. Finally, conclusions close this research.

A Curriculum for Blackness: Podcasts as Discursive Cultural Guides, 2010-2020

ABSTRACT African-American podcasting’s ascent marks a potent articulation of Black identity and experience in media history, one reaching an unprecedented range of audiences, dialogs, and online communities. This study examines how content, production practices, and digital audiences for Black podcasting generate a metaphorical curriculum for blackness, a set of discursive cultural guides for listeners. Case studies representative of major genres and publishing sectors where Black podcasting flourished from 2010 to 2020 include humorous commentary on popular entertainment in The Read (2013-), independent media’s exploration of Black life in The Nod (2014–2020), and legacy media’s in-depth cultural criticism and analysis in Still Processing (2016-).

Tecnologías digitales, comunidades virtuales y nuevas formas de leer ¿Qué está pasando en el sector editorial juvenil en Argentina?

The youth publishing field is one of the fastest growing in sales and publications in the world, and also in Argentina in the last years. Parallel to this phenomenon, technological advances have modified reading and writing practices, especially among young people: Platforms dedicated to literature, huge virtual communities of readers and new mediators of reading on networks, such as BBB (bloggers, booktubers and bookstagrammers), make up this novel map. The sector has perceived these new experiences by incorporating strategies to capitalize on them. This paper proposes an approach to this editorial configuration that emerges in the youth sector with emphasis on new actors and promotional actions. The statements in this article are based on a qualitative methodological approach, from an analysis of fieldwork at events such as book fairs, as well as in-depth interviews with members of the BBB community, references in the youth publishing sector and young readers who consume both: books and BBB.

Why Books are Important in the Scholarly Communication System in Social Sciences and Humanities

Books are relevant outputs in research in Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) and need to be considered properly in research evaluation. Books are different from journals and the scholarly book publishing sector remains quite unknown within evaluation agencies. This paper describes the state of the scholarly publishing sector, beyond the large publishing groups and imprints, focusing the attention to the role of small- and medium-sized scholarly publishers at the national level. Bibliodiversity and multilingualism are essential values for representing plural and diverse SSH research. They are also linked to societal impact. Academic Book Publishers project and Helsinki Initiative are described to this regard. Finally, some remarks and recommendations for addressing the assessment of books are provided.Policy HighlightsSince monographs and edited books are essential communication media in Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH), they should be considered properly in research evaluation processes. Books are not outputs of second level in SSH research.Books are different from journals, which means that specific knowledge on the book publishing ecosystem and editorial practices is needed for addressing their evaluation. In this sense, it is important:Establishing stronger connections between the associations of scholarly publishers and research evaluation agencies.Boosting research on national academic book publishing landscapes.SSH research may be locally oriented and therefore published in national languages through national journals and publishers. Academic books should be evaluated considering this relevant feature of SSH research. It entails:Using complete publication data sources that reflect the diversity of scholarly publishers contributing to the dissemination of high quality research in SSH.Acknowledging the role of the small- and medium-sized, professional scholarly publishers which in each country take care of the publication of rigorous scholarly contents, closer related to local topics and written in national languages. Their role is complementary to that of the large imprints and publishing groups.Giving an adequate value to channels that allow for generating societal impact, especially to scholarly books (by local, regional and national publishers).Indicators can be used properly only if they take into account the diversity of scholarly publishers and the characteristics of the publishing landscape.