HOW BREXIT MIGHT AFFECT PUBLISHING MORGAN ST . JAMES
The following excerpts are from an article on the Melville House website by Nikki Griffiths . She interviewed Philip Jones , editor of the Bookseller . Click here to read the original full article .
Might the appetite for book buying increase or fester in this uncertain period of change ? I think there will be a recession , and this will hit book sales . No one knows how long it might last or the damage it will cause . The last recession surprised publishers by pulling books in quickly , and it is to be hoped that we remain battle-hardened so that we can resist the worst of it . Of course there is also now a huge opportunity for publishers to bring out books exploring the full ramifications of the vote , as well as more coloring books to calm us all down . I ’ m not sure the latter will offset the former but it won ’ t stop publishers giving it a go .
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How might Brexit affect overseas sales and rights deals ? Could the cheaper pound in fact help UK exports ? Will relationships with European customers and agents be damaged ?
Yes , a falling pound is not all bad , and actually some have said that the pound had become overheated . That said , publishers are not currency traders , and everyone outside the big groups ( who may be able to offset losses in one region with gains in another ) will find their ability to trade internationally ( compete for rights deals , for example ) diminished . I think the American publishers will look again at acquiring European rights , and I ’ m not sure agents will be able to resist . Digital changes all this too , of course , and a reduced pound will enable the big US groups to more easily acquire World English . The drift to the West will become more pronounced . I think European publishers will be incredibly supportive in the short term , but inevitably as the EU and the UK develop in different directions those close connections that we have all forged will become weaker .
Do you think indie publishers and bookshops might fare worse than the big conglomerates and chains ? Yes , for the reasons given above : but small presses tend to be nimbler than the big groups and this will help them take what advantages they can from the fluctuating markets .
JULY-AUGUST 2016
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