Cook Partners

Philippines: WWJD For Religion Publishers Today

ABS/CBN News reports,

Although faith comes in endless supply, the demand for spiritual and theological books are reportedly slowing in the economic crisis, such that some religious publishing houses are asking: What would Jesus do?

Fr. Benedict Dilag, executive director of the Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc. (CCFI), said that their small publishing house-cum-book retail business has been feeling the crunch.

Read more here.

India: Market Could Surpass Canada Within 10 Years

From India's Business Standard:

The National Readership survey 2005 revealed that the time that people in India spend on reading has gone up significantly — from 30 minutes per day to an average of 39 minutes per day over the previous three years. The increase was sharper in urban India (from 32 to 42 minutes per day). This increased reading habit augurs well for the future of the book market.

Though the proportion of Indians who speak and read English-language books is very small, given India’s billion-plus population, this stills adds up to pretty substantial numbers in terms of the potential readers that can be targeted by publishers. A potential market of 65 million persons is second only to the 215-million English-language speaking population in the US, and more than the 60 million of the UK and 20 million of Australia. Which is why Penguin’s David Davidar says India is the fastest-growing English-language market in the world today. In the coming decade, India’s book market could be bigger than that in Canada.

Read the rest of the article here.

Philippines: Book Blockade Over

The Far Eastern Economic Review features an article from Robin Hensley, who first broke the story regarding book import troubles in the Philippines:  

One should never underestimate the collective fury of book lovers when their book supply is threatened....

Once the story jumped the tracks from the Internet to the mainstream, it started gathering an incredible amount of force that even a bureaucrat couldn’t withstand....

As I write this, I’ve just heard from a friend that President Arroyo has lifted the book blockade, that effective immediately, there will be no taxes on imported books. Together, Filipino book lovers have performed what I consider a miracle in less than a month’s time.

India: Key Market for Business Books

David Wan, president of Harvard Business, just opened a subsidiary in India, and spoke to the Wall Street Journal about the opportunities for publishers in that market today:

I see the current slowdown more as an opportunity than a challenge for publishers to change the way they work and adapt to the changing needs of consumers in a rapidly changing business environment.

... There are opportunities in adversity and we are trying to explore every such possibility. To reach out to newer audiences, we are creating learning experiences that can be delivered through the Web, desktop, mobile devices and learning management systems.

A big part of our business is educational products and solutions for MBA programmes, and this segment is growing because ... many people facing company downsizing are taking the opportunity to go back to school. The fastest growing segment in India is the corporate learning business ...

... Times like these offer opportunities to change the way we work and bring along the much needed transformation required for growth. There is a huge premium being placed on leadership development, especially at a time like this. This creates strong prospects for a management practice publisher like HBP as managers look for answers in a tough economic situation.

Philippines: More on the Book Blockade

The Manila Bulletin reports,

Lirio P. Sandoval, president of the Book Development Association of the Philippines (BDAP), confirms that books were indeed being held in storage for about a month [earlier this year] as book importers refused to pay the duties they were being asked to pay by customs.

“There were four or five shipments pending at the airport, and the first order of business was to have those released,” he recalls.

Since then,

Sandoval and the BDAP have [prepared] a position paper ... and plan to appeal directly to the President. Even if one assumes that these [new book import] guidelines are legal, says Sandoval, it does not mean that the collection of these duties is right.

China: Christianity is Growing

"China's Communists Get Religion," proclaims the headline at CBN News:

"We found that as many as one in two of the Chinese people consider religion important in their lives," said Brian Grim, [a senior research fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life]  who is documenting the rise of spirituality in China.

And the religious appeal stretches across all segments of society, including members of the political class.

"We found that among various occupational groups surveyed in China, [those] who expressed an interest in learning more about religion through media, the Communist Party and government employees expressed the greatest interest," Grim said.

Read more here.

India: Book Publishers Need to Look at Mobile Phones

The New York Times describes the growth of cell phones in India:

There are 65 times more cellphone connections than broadband Internet links, and the gap is widening. And so those who wish to influence Indians are not waiting for the computer to catch on, but are seeking ways to adapt the cellphone to the things Westerners do online. Indian companies have invented methods, via simple cellphone text-messaging, to wire money to temples, pay for groceries, find jobs and send and receive e-mail messages (on humble phones with no data connection).

Seoul Book Fair Begins

The Korea Times reports:

The Seoul International Book Fair (SIBF), the country's biggest annual publishing event for industry insiders and the public, will be held at COEX in southern Seoul from May 13 to 17.

... About 836 publishers from 21 countries including Korea will participate in the event, with Japan as the Guest of Honor.

... Alongside the SIBF, the 6th Seoul International Book Arts Fair (SIBAF) will take place with 42 publishers from nine countries at the same venue.

Philippines: Resistance of Customs Fees Is "Futile"

Almost a week ago Cook Partners featured an article on book importation troubles in the Philippines. Here, from The Inquirer.net, are more details on the matter:

From February to March, booksellers were frustrated in their efforts to comply with constantly evolving government regulations, until they were told a flat duty of 1 percent would be imposed on educational books and 5 percent on all other kinds of books.

... The importer, whether an ordinary citizen or a bookseller, [bears] the burden of proof: of convincing the Bureau of Customs that the books they intend to import are “economic, technical, vocational, scientific, or cultural materials,” qualified for the 1-percent duty ... or else have a 5-percent duty slapped on it.

... This new government policy ... was enshrined in a Department of Finance Order (No. 17-09, dated March 24 of this year, published in the papers on April 12, Easter Sunday, and therefore in effect as of April 27). The publication date of the Order ensured a minimum of public attention and, thus, fuss. But it accomplished legalizing past duties demanded and collected from ordinary citizens and booksellers; and clearly imposed a policy of “resistance is futile” when it comes to any delusions of the continued duty-free importation of books.

Book industry organizations oppose the new legislation and are considering legal action.

Chinese Design

The Frankfurt Book Fair newsletter features an interview with Professor Lu Jing Ren discussing design in China, who says,

Over the last 20 years, Chinese designers have made increasing efforts to develop a Chinese design language of [their] own. In the process, more and more designers are calling to mind traditional Chinese book art and on that basis, are creating new ideas and designs. But that does not exclude continuing to learn from other countries.

Read more about contemporary Chinese design trends here, and then take a look at photos displaying 12 beautiful Chinese books in this gallery.