This month in publishing news:

PA & INDUSTRY NEWS

Members of the Northern Fiction Alliance join the Publishers Association

Eight members of publishing collective the Northern Fiction Alliance (NFA) have joined the Publishers Association for the first time. The NFA was founded in 2016 by four of the UK’s leading independent publishers – Manchester’s Comma Press, Leeds’ Peepal Tree Press, Liverpool’s Dead Ink Books, and Sheffield’s And Other Stories. The Alliance showcases the creativity, diversity and spirit of risk-taking that sets publishers in the North of England apart. With the support of Arts Council England, the Alliance has exhibited the output of Northern indie presses to new audiences and publishers around the world. Find out more.

Value of UK publishing industry increases 5% to £5.7bn

The UK publishing industry had a record-breaking year in 2017 according to new figures released by the Publishers Association. The industry is already the number one exporter of books in the world and export income rose a further 8% to £3.4bn in 2017, accounting for 60% of total revenues. Print and digital versions of the Yearbook are available to buy from the PA Bookshop. The Yearbook is free for PA members.

Film, TV and theatre adaptations of books attract more revenue, viewers, and critical acclaim

Research produced by Frontier Economics for the Publishers Association demonstrates that the UK publishing industry significantly increases the commercial and cultural value of film, television and theatre productions, acting as the foundation of the UK’s £92bn creative industries sector. The research shows that as compared to original scripts and screenplays book adaptations attract on average 44% more in UK film box office revenue (and 53% more globally), 58% higher viewership of ‘high-end’ TV productions, and nearly three times more ticket sales for theatre productions. You can read the full report and watch a video summary on the PA website.

Save the date for PA BESA Educational Publishers Conference

The PA BESA Educational Publishers Conference has now set the date for 28th November. The annual conference is organised by the Publishers Association (the PA) and the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA). The PA represents book, journal, audio and electronic publishers across the UK, spanning fiction and non-fiction, academic and educational publishing. BESA is the trade association covering the entirety of the UK educational suppliers sector. Register your interest to attend by emailing the PA's Communications Manager Eliza Kavanagh.

BIC's New Trends in Publishing Seminar

On the 4th September, BIC’s New Trends in Publishing Seminar will return to the Stationers' Hall, London. This is a fantastic opportunity to hear about the opportunities and challenges facing the book industry from industry experts, including Miroslaw Bober, Mark Christian, David Frohlich, and Vicky Hampshire. Topics to be covered include immersive products in the classroom, introducing the "a-Book", curating digital content and audiobook sales and discovery insights. Further information about this event, and to book, visit the website.

Penguin Random House's Creative Responsibility Report

On July 26th, Penguin Random House launched their second Creative Responsibility Report, which marks where they are along the journey to realising the goals set in their Creative Responsibility manifesto by 2020. The report shows that they have donated 218,727 of the 500,000 books pledged and need to volunteer 2,902 more working days to reach their target of 4000 by 2020.

BookBlast announces tour of 10 cities with 10 publishers

A carnival of authors, poets, translators and publishers will be travelling to major cities across England from 11th September to 15th November, showcasing some of the finest independent-spirited literature and poetry being published today. A series of themed talks across 10 cities, each one chaired by a small independent publisher, will be held in flagship regional branches of Waterstones over 9 weeks, celebrating risk-taking publishers who fill a unique niche in discovering talent. The launch will take place on 11 September at 6.30pm in Waterstones Gower Street, located in the heart of Bloomsbury. Book tickets here.

Applications for the Government’s Cultural Development Fund now open

The publishing sector has an opportunity to secure between £3-7m per project to support Creative Industries development. This funding can be used to unlock economic growth in towns and cities across England and use creativity as a catalyst to make places more attractive to live, work and visit. The funding can be used to make an investment in cultural and creative industry activities such as events, leadership training, capital investment, skills development, cultural programmes. For general queries and to apply, please get in touch with your local ACE representative by emailing enquiries@artscouncil.org.uk.

Updates and opportunities:

The Man Booker longlist has been announced. Add the list of titles to your Summer reading.
There will be 30 publishers exhibiting at Beijing International Book Fair 2018, eight of these for the first time. See the list of exhibitors here.
Following YALC18, a report written by Melanie Ramdarshan Bold shows that only 5% of YA authors were writers of colour in 2016 compared to 9% in 2006.