Skip to main content

News

Saturday night in Taipei and the cool kids are at the bookstore

By News, TIBE

20150106_134540_066
Michael Forsythe reports in the New York Times:

It is late night on a Saturday and the floor is packed. On one side, two female fashion models huddle together, whispering. Across the room, a group of men cast furtive glances at other patrons from a raised platform.

Quiet, please. This is no dance club. That is so Hong Kong. So New York.
In Taipei, Taiwan, the cool people are at the Esilite Bookstore on Dunhua South Road, open 24 hours a day.

Lena Lin, 28, is one of the models. She is sitting on the floor, reading a translation of Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In.” Next to her is her friend Esther Yang, 27, skimming through a Chinese version of “Notes on Directing” by Frank Hauser and Russell Reich. The bookstore has a longstanding policy: Stay as long as you like, read as much as you want, just don’t spill coffee on the books. Catnaps are fine. No purchase necessary.

But purchase they do. At a time when many bookstores in the United States are struggling in the face of an onslaught from the online retailer Amazon, Eslite is thriving. It has 43 stores in Taiwan and one in Hong Kong. The company has plans to open two branches in mainland China this year, in Shanghai and Suzhou. Sales rose more than 15 percent in 2013 in its listed arm, and profits are rising as well.

One secret to Eslite’s success is that it is far more than a bookstore. While the Borders chain, now defunct, in the United States featured coffee shops, Eslite stores are more like self-contained shopping malls. About 60 percent of sales come from books. The rest comes from items like food, kitchenware, music, wine, jewelry, watches, movies, toys — sold in shops interspersed throughout the bookstores. One branch in Taipei has a movie theater.

Another reason for its success is the character of the city where the company was founded in 1989. As in many Asian cities, people work late into the night, and a company survey in 1999 suggested that many people would frequent a 24-hour bookstore. The busiest time for the bookstore is between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., according to Timothy Wang, a company spokesman.

“People really wanted to come and read books late at night,” Mr. Wang said in a telephone interview.

At 11 p.m., the checkout line was about 20 people deep. By that time, Ms. Lin and Ms. Yang had already been at Eslite for four hours. They started with dinner in the bookstore’s food court, bought a calendar, then went upstairs to read.

“People in Taiwan, particularly in Taipei, are really calm. They really like to read books,” Ms. Yang said. “This is entertainment for us.”

MEDIA RELEASE: NEW ZEALAND HONOURED IN TAIWAN

By Media Releases, News

GoH_Logo_Black

Open hearts, Open minds, Open books
發現紐西蘭 樂讀新世界
Ngākau aotea, Ngākau māhorahora, Pukapuka wherawhera.

New Zealand is to be the Guest of Honour at the 2015 Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE 15), and is taking advantage of the opportunity to promote the country in as many ways as possible. The Guest of Honour Programme, managed by the Publishers Association of New Zealand, will have a Visiting Author programme, a Cultural Programme, a substantial publisher presence (both trade and educational publishers selling rights to NZ material) and other yet-to-be announced elements.

The initial selection for the Visiting Author Programme for TIBE 2015 (which is held in February) is highlighted by Booker Prize winner Eleanor Catton and Dame Joy Cowley. Joining them are Gavin Bishop, Jenny Bornholdt, Paul Cleave, Joan Druett, Witi Ihimaera, Heather McAllister, Mark Sommerset, Judith White and Sarah Wilkins. Other writers and/or illustrators will be added to the programme. The programme is funded by Creative New Zealand and is in partnership with the Taipei Book Fair Foundation.

The criteria for the initial invitation is that an author must have a book available in the Taiwanese market at the time of TIBE 2015 and a Taiwanese publisher must support the author’s visit with co-operative events. The authors will be involved in a series events at the NZ Pavilion in the fair exhibition hall and in other venues in conjunction with their Taiwanese publishers.

The Cultural Programme is headed by the popular Te Puia kapa haka group from Te Puia in Rotorua. They will perform daily at the TIBE and other venues, while a traditional Māori carver, with help from members of the group, will carve from a large log of Taiwanese wood.

Kevin Chapman, Project Director for NZ Guest of Honour says: “The Visiting Author Programme and the Cultural Programme are the cornerstone of the Guest of Honour project. We are pleased to have such a diverse group of successful and talented authors and performers to showcase New Zealand at TIBE 2015.”

Paoping Huang, Director of TBFF says: “We look forward to welcoming the New Zealand writers, illustrators and performers to TIBE 2015.  The Visiting Author Programme will introduce new writers to Taiwanese readers, and welcome back some old friends.”

TIBE opens on Wednesday 11 February 2015 and closes on Monday 16 February. TIBE 2014 attracted almost half a million visitors and 648 publisher exhibitors from around the world. TBFF will offer free entry for students for the 2015 event.

The Guest of Honour Programme at TIBE 2015 is supported by Creative NZ, Education NZ, The Publishers Association of NZ, NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the NZ Ministry for Culture and Heritage. The Author Programme is overseen by a Reference Group that includes representatives of funding agencies, the NZ Society of Authors, and other specialist advisors.

For more information contact Karen McKenzie, kmacPR
karen_m@xtra.co.nz,  027 693 9044

Frankfurt Book Fair 2014: Challenging, quieter, but still new business opportunities to be found

By News

 

Frankfurt Stand 2014_croppedAs Frankfurt drew to a close last weekend, PANZ News emailed the publishers on the New Zealand stand as asked for feedback. Here are their candid, mostly brief, reports:

Julia Marshall, Gecko Press:

Julia-MarshallWe are now on the last day of the fair and I am kind of exhausted which is as it should be. It has been good! Solid and steady is the report from the rights agents I meet and my own rights agent says the same.

My most fun meeting was bumping into one of the German illustrators we publish on the train on the way home at 1.30 in the morning (after being at the Frankfurter Hof with Sam Elworthy and he had some news that will change the line-up for our next year’s books!

Tracy Strudley, Global Education Systems:

Frankfurt 2014_Tracy Strudley_croppedFrankfurt still proves to be the leading book fair where new business opportunities are started. GES managed in excess of 20 solid appointments, with new business opportunities presenting themselves in Chile and Brazil.

We confirmed new product with existing distributors and partners and increased focus and interest in Marie Clay’s Professional Development titles.

The New Zealand stand continues to look smart and professional with its current design and branding. Sarah Ropata and her husband Ropes did a fine job! All the NZ publishers really appreciate their focus and passion for our country brand and our content.

Linda Cassells, Calico Publishing:

Linda cassells_cropped

Without a doubt the highlight for me was being presented with the German edition of our book Dealing Daily with Dementia. I met the publisher through a chance recommendation at last year’s fair and one year later the book is in my hand. You cannot match the thrill and satisfaction of that moment. The German publishers are delighted with the exceptional endorsements for the book they have received before publication in their market.

Frankfurt is also about making new contacts, so I was also pleased to be invited to the Russian publishers party held at the Frankfurter Hof, a beautiful nineteenth century hotel in the heart of the city. The lavish hospitality and networking was just amazing.

New to me was the emergence of Google Analytics in a publisher’s assessment process for a project or an author, especially among the Americans. They want authors with established online platforms. But I was struck by the number of new business models that are emerging in the current environment. The models have probably always been there, but there’s a greater openness to trying new things and being creative about how to work cooperatively together.

The channels to market have definitely become more challenging, but quality books will always find their readers.

Kevin Chapman, Upstart Press:

Kevin Chapman_NEW

I think I had a very good fair. The hall was slightly quiet but the appointments were high quality, and while it takes a fair time to know how many leads will eventuate, it feels very good at the moment.

 

 

Karen McKenzie, Little Green Frog Publishing:

Karen McKenzieAuthor Dr Libby met with 30 publishers from around the world on the company’s very first visit to Frankfurt. They now have significant interest from publishers in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Iceland and Taiwan.

In most cases there is interest from multiple publishers in these various markets, so I will be following up from now on to determine the best fit for Dr Libby in each market. Dr Libby was thrilled with the positive response.

Rachel Scott, Otago University Press:

Rachel Scott otago042589This was my first Frankfurt and I was very apprehensive. I found the first day or so completely overwhelming but eventually I found my way and started enjoying myself. Some very useful meetings, chance encounters, and even a handful of good prospects. At the beginning I wanted to run away; by the end I was sad it was over!

Fantastic support for this newbie from all the veterans on the NZ stand. Sore feet, but!

 

 Sam Elworthy, Auckland University Press:

Sam Elworthy

I thought Frankfurt 2014 was enormously energising. A little shrinkage in Hall 8 and all of us will be off to Hall 6 next year, closer to the French and Italians which is a good thing. The Finns were country of honour (Finland. Cool) but many said that New Zealand was cooler. Actually, only one person said that, to the media, it was me, diplomatic incident.* Lively stand, one of my busiest fairs with a handshake sale for our anthology of Maori poetry Puna Wai Korero; a bidding fight lining up for Helen Sword’s Writers Diet and Birds of the Pacific, and lots more.

*Interviewed by Publishing Perspectives at the Fair and published in their daily bulletin here.

Peter Dowling, Oratia Media:

Peter Dowling_cropped

The fair kept me pretty busy, but the aisles were noticeably less busy than in previous years. Which gave me a bit more time than usual to talk with people and do follow-ups. We celebrated the launch of our co-edition of Christopher Pugsley’s revised Gallipoli with Frontline Books, and a promising start to our North American distribution with International Publishers Marketing.

‘Difficult’ is the most commonly used adjective for book markets everywhere; you need to be playing the long game.

Sarah Ropata, NZ stand manager:

Sarah-Ropata1_cropped

The stand was well attended this year, and our people all reported good solid meetings. The floor seemed quieter in terms of foot-flow but that said, the walk up traffic seemed more focused and serious. New Zealand is still enjoying excellent PR off the back of Guest of Honour year, with a great centre page piece all about our presence setting a bench mark in one of the Fair Dailies. The big talk in Hall 8 was of the impending move to Hall 6 next year – which is being greeted with support from most. We will report back on that as the plans become clearer to us.

Guest of Honour successes acknowledged

By News

gw-1212-buchmesse-02Being FBF’s featured market provides exposure but it is a sizeable investment was the tag line on Roger Tagholm’s story for The Bookseller daily at Frankfurt. The journalist interviewed Kevin Chapman and Iceland’s Halldor Gudmundsson about their countries’ respective Guest of Honour campaigns.

“When New Zealand swept into the Frankfurt Book Fair as Guest of Honour in 2012 with its haka, its musicians, its dancers, some 50 publishers, 80 authors and a pavilion whose dark, magical, starlight-and-water installation took people’s breath away, the excitement and sense of discovery was palpable.

This was FBF’s Guest of Honour programme at its very best…” wrote Tagholm.
Interviewing Kevin Chapman, he asked about anything tangible in a business sense that was achieved.

Chapman listed the positives: smashing the target to get 100 titles translated into German, cultural programme acts being invited back to Europe, Food and Wine set targets they achieved and a change in the way Germans saw New Zealand culture and a subsequent rise in tourism.  Read the full article here.

New Charitable Trust To Govern New Zealand Book Awards

By Media Releases, News

NZ Book Awards TrustA new charitable trust has been formed to govern the prestigious New Zealand Book Awards and the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.

Major changes to the timing and to refresh the format of the awards are also underway.

Announcing the formation of the New Zealand Book Awards Trust, chairperson Nicola Legat said the new legal structure would, amongst other things, allow more flexibility to apply for grants and patronage.  New Zealand Post Group, which sponsored the Book Awards for Children and Young Adults for 18 years and the New Zealand Book Awards for five years, has withdrawn from its high profile sponsorship and the search for new sponsors is well underway. We thank them for their great support over the years.

The New Zealand Book Awards Trust is comprised of members from the Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ), the New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA) and Booksellers New Zealand (BSNZ).  Each is represented on the board by one member, with scope for the appointment of non-trade board members.

Nicola Legat

Nicola Legat, Chairperson, New Zealand Book Awards Trust

The trustees are Sam Elworthy, President of PANZ, representing PANZ; Kyle Mewburn, President of the NZSA, representing the NZSA; and Stella Chrysostomou, Manager of Page and Blackmore Booksellers, representing BSNZ.

Independent members are Karen Ferns, former joint Managing Director of Random House Australia and New Zealand; businesswoman Sue Wood; and well-known publisher and journalist, Nicola Legat.

The timing of both Awards will change. The 2015 Book Awards for Children and Young Adults will be held in August. This will make way for the New Zealand Book Awards to be held in Auckland as part of the Auckland Writers Festival in May 2016.

The trust board sees the partnership with the Auckland Writers Festival as a great opportunity for New Zealand writers – putting them where there is a huge audience of committed readers.

For its part, “The Auckland Writers Festival is thrilled that the Book Awards Trust wishes to bring these prestigious awards into the festival programme,” said the Festival’s director Anne O’Brien. “It is a marquee event in New Zealand’s literary calendar, and partnering with the Trust fits perfectly with our aspiration of supporting and showcasing New Zealand writers and their work. Being able to have the winners as part of the programme over the Festival weekend means that these fine writers are being placed where readers are, and can take advantage of the Festival’s considerable – and growing – audience.”

Submissions for the 2015 Book Awards for Children and Young Adults will open on 3 November for books published between January 2014 and 31 March 2015.

One of the first tasks of the new trust board will be to appoint judges for the 2015 Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. Expressions of interest in being on the judging panel can be sent to awards@bookawardstrust.org.nz. You will find the digital form to apply on our website, www.bookawardstrust.org.nz.

Due to the timing change for the New Zealand Book Awards to May 2016, the period for submissions for these awards will be extended to include books published from June 2014 and until 31 December 2015.

Chairperson Nicola Legat says, “To try to hold the awards next May, with only six months’ of books that would be eligible, was thought to be unfair to publishers and authors.

“We have made these changes as the result of a period of deep discussion and consultation, and that consultation will continue on for a while yet.

“As well as changing the dates, other adjustments will be made to both sets of awards to make them relevant and fresh while retaining their inherent mana. Those further changes will be announced in the coming weeks.

“It’s an exciting and positive time for these awards and what is absolutely clear is how critically important they are as a way of rewarding excellence in New Zealand writing, and of encouraging New Zealanders to read New Zealand books.”

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Nicola Legat, Chairperson, New Zealand Book Awards Trust

Telephone  09 918 5722
Mobile 021 958 887
Email nlegat@randomhouse.co.nz

Publishers and Visually Impaired Readers in New Zealand. Paula Browning asks – How well do you know Section 69 of the Copyright Act?

By News

The most quoted statistic about the “book famine” for blind and visually impaired people (VIPs) is that in developed countries, like New Zealand, VIPs have access to only 5% of all published books. Historically this has been due to the fact that so few books have been produced in formats such as braille, large print and audio that are accessible to VIPs.

Developments in digital technology are helping to change this for some VIP readers and Copyright Licensing (CLNZ) has been working with the Royal NZ Foundation of the Blind (RNZFB) for the past two years on a project known as TIGAR* that is also a step in the right direction towards improving access. However the most recent and brightest news in the provision of access to published works for VIPs came in June this year when a new World Intellectual Property Office Treaty was agreed in Marrakesh. This quickly became known as the Marrakesh Treaty and is an agreement between the member states of WIPO that each country will implement the requirements of the Treaty into its legislative framework.
 
There’s lots of tedious international treaty and law specifics I could go into at this point, but that’s not what you want to, or need to, know. What you need to know is “what does this mean to me as a publisher?” Given that New Zealand already has a copyright exception for the creation of accessible format copies of copyright works for VIPs (in Section 69 of the Copyright Act), we’re already well down the track towards complying with the terms of the Treaty. Our current Copyright Act however doesn’t define the position on importing and exporting accessible copies and this may need to be changed.
 
Importing and exporting accessible files is what’s happening in the TIGAR project, but that’s with a signed agreement between WIPO, RNZFB and CLNZ and with title-by-title clearance by publishers.
 
So what does happen in New Zealand at the moment? RNZFB provides an invaluable service for its members in creating and distributing accessible copies of books and other text-based materials. A large number of these are produced as narrated audio – an audio file where someone with a voice that’s easy to listen to reads the entire book out loud and this is recorded into a digital format. These files are copied to a CD and distributed to RNZFB members by the team in the RNZFB library in Parnell, Auckland. Each member can receive a number of books at a time and, on returning the CD, access more files/books for their reading pleasure – just like any other library service. This work is funded by donations the RNZFB receives each year.
 
When it comes to education texts RNZFB has other formats and means by which it distributes content. Some of these are made possible by the publisher being able to provide a digital file to assist with the creation of the required format. Others are created from a hard copy of the text.

Section 69 of the Copyright Act includes a condition that an accessible copy can only be made if a book is not already commercially available in the format in which the VIP needs it. Where the required format is braille, it is unlikely that the publisher will have that format available. But if the required format is audio or large print then, in the world of digital formats, the publisher may already have the book commercially available in that format. For example, the company Read How You Want provides commercial editions in large print, braille and daisy editions for some publishers.
 
As a publisher, you may be contacted by someone at RNZFB to ask for a file or in regard to permission for a particular work. The information above is provided as a short story (with all the important bits) on how Section 69 works in practice between publishers and the RNZFB. If you need to know more about the workings of this particular area of copyright, please contact me –  paula@copyright.co.nz
 
*TIGAR stands for Trusted Intermediary Global Accessible Resources. Launched in November 2010 by the WIPO Stakeholders’ Platform, TIGAR is a three-year pilot project that seeks to facilitate cross-border transfer of copyrighted works in accessible formats among various national institutions or Trusted Intermediaries (TIs), notably national libraries serving those with print disabilities.

Need help with illegally uploaded content … Copyright Licensing NZ can help

By News

CLNZ can assist publishers with the completion of ‘take down’ procedures if you find your content illegally uploaded on the internet. Takedowns are possible from cloud-hosting services such as Mega, Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud etc. Some websites also offer relatively simple takedown services, however there are many illegal services like torrent sites that do not have the facility to action takedown notices.

If your content is:
  1. online somewhere and
  2. you have not provided permission for it to be uploaded and
  3. the website offers a takedown facility
then CLNZ can help you. In order to take action on your behalf we need the following information:

a)      Evidence that you are the copyright owner the content and did not authorise the particular use/ distribution of the work that you want us to have removed (a statement to this effect in an email is all we need from New Zealand rights holders)

b)      The full title of the work, it’s ISBN number (or other identifier), author/s name and date of publication

c)       The URL (full link) of where the content is located online

d)      The full name of the copyright owner

e)      Contact details for the copyright owner

Please send an email with the information required in (a-e) above to infringement@copyright.co.nz

Kiwi authors’ income hurt by illegal file sharing

By News, News Archive

Discovery of an educational text co-authored by a New Zealander and made available for download on Kim Dotcom’s file-sharing site Mega is just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ according to Publishers Association of New Zealand president Sam Elworthy.

The text, Using MIS (Management Information Systems) (NZ) by David M. Kroenke and Tony Hooper – a lecturer at Victoria University in Wellington, was shared via a link posted on the Facebook page of a tertiary institutions’ study group.
PANZ has issued a ‘take down’ notice to Mega to remove the files from its site and contacted Facebook to have the post removed.
“Educational texts are being illegally shared at an alarming rate and it’s hurting New Zealand authors, publishers and distributors to the point where earning a viable living is becoming increasingly threatened,” Elworthy says.
“Technology makes sharing files very easy but it’s the people who put in the hard work to make and
supply the texts in the first place who miss out.”
The text is published by educational publisher Pearson and distributed in New Zealand by start-up business Edify. Pearson quit the New Zealand market in August this year after claiming its local business model was no longer sustainable.
“There are very few publishers now investing in publishing for the New Zealand tertiary market due to its small size. However it’s hugely important that the New Zealand context is provided to support New Zealand students in their learning of a topic,” says Edify’s Adrian Keane.
“To see an author and publisher who were prepared to make this investment in publishing for the New Zealand environment treated in this way is infuriating. It will only serve as a disincentive to any other author or publisher when they see the negative impact that illegal downloading has on income.
“This particular text was even available as an eText so it’s not like it was hard to access in a digital format.
“Where we have a text that’s prescribed for a course we used to be able to rely on 80% of the students buying the book. Now that figure is more like 50% which puts the viability of publishing these books under threat. It’s safe to say that illegal sharing is really hurting both our business and the incomes of New Zealand authors who spend months creating the works,” Keane says.
Elworthy says the link posted on the student Facebook page went straight to the files on Mega meaning anyone could download it.
Kim Dotcom is fighting extradition to the United States on copyright and racketeering charges over the operation of his previous file locker site Megaupload.

Paula Browning: Arguing for fair payment for use of your publications

By News

Paula Browning_thumbPaula Browning used the presentation of Copyright Grants to authors last week to make a spirited speech for fair payment by universities and others. Here’s what the CEO of Copyright Licensing NZ said on the issues:

 Good evening everyone and a very warm welcome to this years’ Awards evening.

There were 68 applications for the awards this year which is right on the average number of applications that we’ve had every year for the past 10 years. I would like to personally thank our selection panel for the wonderful job they did with this year’s applications. Each applicant receives equal and robust consideration to ensure that the aims of the awards are met by those who are successful. To Paul Diamond, Gillian Candler, Geoff Walker and Rae McGregor – my thanks.

The New Zealand Society of Authors Research Grants had a huge increase in applications this year over the number received in 2012 and we are delighted that the new President of NZSA, Kyle Mewburn, is able to be with us this evening to present these grants.

I’m always very conscious of my choice of words when I’m either speaking to or writing for a literary audience. Without any form of literary pedigree it’s more than a little intimidating to be the focus of attention in a room full of our top writers and publishers. It’s been especially challenging this year to find the words to describe the past 12 months at CLNZ. This time last year we were looking forward to finalising the next term of our licenses with the New Zealand tertiary sector – but this was not to be. We now find ourselves at the Copyright Tribunal arguing for fair payment for the use of your publications in our universities. This is a stand we must take because Copyright – your right to earn a living from your writing – is under attack. Governments throughout the world are being swayed by the well-funded lobbying of the likes of Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple into changing copyright law in ways that benefit these corporate giants’ business models. We’ve already seen this happen in Canada and the UK and legislative reviews are underway in the United States and Australia.

We refer to those who refuse to see the value in intellectual property rights as the copy-left. You might think that this type of effective and highly mobilised group are only active overseas – but alas, no. In New Zealand we have our very own copy-left group made up of a dozen or more organisations including some that will be very familiar to you. I’m sure you’ve all heard of Trade Me? How about LIANZA – the library association and Internet New Zealand – the organisation that operates the dot co dot nz domain name? These three are among the membership of a group that has named itself “Fair Deal”. They say they want a fair deal for New Zealand from the Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement, otherwise known as the TPP. On that point copyright owners can agree with them – we also want New Zealand to have effective trade agreements that are fit for type of trade that takes place in the 21st century –trade that includes intellectual property and copyright. We can also agree with Fair Deal that it would be better for all countries involved in these trade agreements if the negotiation process was more transparent. The limited details we do have of the intellectual property chapter of the agreement date from 2 years ago when a copy of the paper was leaked. This type of smoke and mirrors negotiation isn’t good for anyone. However, the approach of the copy-left in wanting to throw the baby out with the bath-water, isn’t going to solve anything either. If we are going to have copyright law in New Zealand that ensures that the creativity we are so well regarded for generates an economic return for both those who create and for our country, then we need INFORMED DEBATE. This is where you come in. I know that, as writers and publishers, you like to sit quietly in a sunny room and tap away on your keyboard to create beautiful books that we all want to own and to read – but in the current political climate I’m afraid that’s not enough. If you want your writing and publishing to continue to be an income generating activity in future then the time to speak up is now.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment recently published a list of 6 business sectors in New Zealand for which it is commissioning reports into their economic value. The first report has been released – it was on ICT or Information and Communications Technology. The other 5 are tourism, petroleum & minerals, construction, high tech manufacturing and something called knowledge-intensive-industries (which is mainly the scientific and technical services sector). No sign of the New Zealand creative sector in that list is there? So if the government doesn’t know what our creative economy is worth, how does it know what it’s potentially trading away in agreements like the TPP?

In the absence of this type of data from the government, the creative industries are busy preparing their own. Film and Television released a report earlier this year that puts its value at close to 3 billion dollars and employment in the industry at over 20,000 people. The New Zealand music industry has a similar report – figures from this are due out soon.

And what does the New Zealand book sector look like? Well hopefully we will have a general idea by the end of this year when the report we have commissioned from PWC is completed. We’ve given the team at PWC a huge challenge however, as the data that’s needed for these economic value reports just isn’t available from the New Zealand book sector. Something else we need to actively work on in the short term.

I’m sure none of us need to be reminded of the dire news that has hit the local publishing sector this year with the withdrawal of multi-national publishers from the New Zealand market and yesterday’s shock announcement of the closure of Learning Media . At an Asia Pacific copyright meeting in Bangkok a couple of weeks ago I joked that soon New Zealand children would be reading about Kangaroos instead of Kiwis. But it’s really not funny. As New Zealanders we’re used to a rich creative culture. We’re used to having access to our own stories in our own books and our own TV programmes; through our own music and our own movies. It’s something we’re inherently proud of as we were able to unequivocally demonstrate at the Frankfurt Book Fair last year.

All of this is at risk if we do not have effective copyright law. Without it, the business model that is the foundation of the creative economy will be worthless.

So what can you do? Do what you do well – write. Whether it’s a blog, twitter, opinion pieces, articles – anything that stimulates informed debate that shows the value of copyright and local publishing to our economy. The time is right to do this now. The government has announced that it has deferred the review of our Copyright Act pending the conclusion of the TPP. This gives us time for a robust discussion. Talk to your friends and family about what copyright means – especially the younger ones. The ones who think it’s OK to post a question on Facebook asking their mates for a copy of their digital movie collection or the ones who share copies of digital textbooks on USB sticks. They want to be able to copy and share, and technology lets them do it easily, but they’re completely removed from the impact that very copying has on our creative economy – they need YOU to tell them!

This year our selection panel commented that the finalists for tonight’s awards are those applications where the passionfor their subject is evident. Well New Zealand needs you to get passionate about copyright and your rights as owners of intellectual property. I know it’s not sexy and it’s not an easy dinner party conversation but it is critical to the future of New Zealand writers and New Zealand writing. If we all sit back and think someone else will fight the fight for us, we risk losing the rights we currently have. Now I’m not generally regarded as a drama queen so when I say to you that getting noisy about copyright is critical – I really mean it!!

Right – I hope I’ve reached all of you in some way on the need to get loud about copyright. Now on to the real reason why we’re all here tonight – to celebrate and invest in New Zealand non fiction.  At last week’s New Zealand Post Book Awards one of our previous winners took out the General Non Fiction category. We were absolutely delighted for both Steve and for the team at Awa Press on their success withCivilisation – Twenty Places on the Edge of the World.  For a girl from Mt Roskill it was a thrill to venture into Place Number 10 in the book and enjoy Steve’s take on how the suburb I grew up in differs now from its earlier times. If there’s anyone in the room who hasn’t lost themselves in Civilisationyet, then it’s time you did!

Book Covers Awarded, Book Design Celebrated

By News

modern best book_croppedIt was a cold and chilly night… but inside the warmth of the Sapphire Room at Ponsonby Central last Thursday night, book designers, book production teams and publishers came together to applaud the PANZ Book Design Awards nominees and winners for 2014.

 Most agreed the stunning shortlist meant all categories would be hard fought, and no one envied the judging task of industry professionals Gideon Keith, Cameron Gibb, Alan Deare and broadcaster Noelle McCarthy. 

The first Award of the night was that for Young Designer of the Year with portfolios from finalists Sam Bunny – “Awonderful range of striking design, enlightening and transcending often challenging categories,” said the judges; Kalee Jackson whose “book designs display restraint and a poetic lightness of touch,” and Jenny Haslimeier “(her) work is bright and playful, showing an obvious delight in her subject matter and her pleasure in working with wonderful content.” Kalee Jackson (right) was the winner, but after viewing all portfolio entries, the audience had no doubt the future of book design is in talented hands.
 
Also ready for collection were stunning glass paperweight trophies designed and made by Peter Raos for the Best Designed Books in seven categories…
 
Random House New Zealand Award for Best Illustrated Book to Arch MacDonnell of Inhouse Design for Modern: New Zealand Homes from 1938-1977 “Bold decision-making makes this book stand out in a crowded genre.”
 
Scholastic New Zealand Award for Best Children’s Book, to Rowan Sommerset (pictured right with husband Mark) for The Boy and the Cherry Tree, “wonderfully illustrated and a great example of less being so much more.”
 
Edify Award for Best Educational Book to Sam Bunny for Living by the Moon – Te Maramataka o Te Whanau-a-Apanui “Evocative cover design of this title makes it a strong contender in this category, and the interior of the book lives up to the cover by delivering the bilingual text in a spacious and elegant manner.
 
Mary Egan Publishing Award for Best Typography to Modern: New Zealand Homes from 1938-1977, designer Arch MacDonnell (pictured below). “Dig below the surface of the perfectly balanced jacket to discover the stunning case design and connecting endpaper.”
 
PANZ Award for Best Non-Illustrated Book to Book of New Zealand Words, designer Pieta Brenton “The jacket, case cover and endpapers are brilliant, reminding us that language can indeed be colourful.”
 
1010 Printing Award for Best Cookbook to Alan Deare, Area Design, for Cut, Josh Emett’s latest cookbook. “Cut is distinguished by great photography that lets the food shots be the heroes.”
 
HarperCollins Publishers Award for Best Cover was also presented to Alan Deare, this time for Peter McLeavey: The life and times of a New Zealand art dealer.
“They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but the cover makes it very hard to walk past this one. A single image of a young Peter McLeavey, set against a black backdrop, with orange type, the cover of this biography manages to be visually arresting and utterly delightful at the same time.”
 
The best of the best receives the Gerard Reid Award for Best Book sponsored by Nielsen Book Services… no surprises here … it was once againModern: New Zealand Homes from 1938-1977“The only title in the entire competition to set text in a colour. The typefaces are period, but set in a contemporary way that makes them seem new and fresh, just as the design of the book itself causes us to reappraise the modernist houses in a contemporary setting.” 

While two of the judges had entries in the Design Awards, PANZ has a strict conflict of interest policy, and throughout the judging process no judge is permitted to comment on or vote for their own work, an obligation strictly upheld by PANZ and the panel.
 
PANZ congratulates all the finalists for the exceptional quality and calibre of their design.

For the full list of winners and book images visit the Book Design Awards Website here. 

Media Releases

December 10, 2024 in Media Releases

Judges announced for 2025 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults

Two highly experienced panels that include bestselling and award-winning authors, illustrators, editors, book reviewers, kaiako and librarians have been appointed to judge entries in the 2025 New Zealand Book Awards…
Read More
November 30, 2023 in Media Releases, News

Successful recipients of the 2023 ‘Copyright Licensing New Zealand Contestable Fund Grants’ announced

We are excited to announce the successful recipients in this year's round of Contestable Fund Grants, with a total of $75,000 granted. Applications were invited for projects that had clearly…
Read More
July 25, 2023 in Media Releases, News

Congratulations to winners of Book Industry Awards

Lamplight Books, a recently established bookstore in the Auckland suburb of Parnell, has been named Bookshop of the Year at the Aotearoa Book Trade Industry Awards, held on Saturday night…
Read More
June 8, 2023 in Media Releases, News

Teenager joins established names on shortlist for national children’s book awards

A 16-year-old Kāpiti Coast student is among the writers and illustrators announced today as finalists in the 2023 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, the preeminent celebration…
Read More
June 8, 2023 in Media Releases, News

Novel that New Zealanders have ‘clasped to their hearts’ wins country’s richest writing prize

Celebrated New Zealand writer Catherine Chidgey has won the $64,000 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the 2023 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards for The Axeman’s Carnival – a…
Read More
February 2, 2023 in Media Releases, News

Ockham New Zealand Book Awards Longlist Breaks All Records

Highly personal memoir, probing political treatise and gut-punching poetry collections sit alongside trailblazing fiction and books exploring our whenua, moana, artists and entertainers in the longlists for the 2023 Ockham…
Read More
April 12, 2022 in Media Releases

HELL Launches New Reading Initiative to Boost NZ Reading Rates

New Zealand’s rich landscape, its people and the authors who write about it are taking centre stage in a new reading initiative being rolled out by HELL to help lift…
Read More