BTW News Briefs

BISG to Present First Annual Industry Awards

On Wednesday, the Book Industry Study Group announced the creation of its first ever awards to recognize outstanding contributions and achievements in the publishing industry and efforts that reflect and further its mission. BISG members are invited to submit nominations for the awards, which will be presented at the BISG Annual Membership Meeting on September 27, 2013, in New York City. The awards shortlist will be announced in August, and the winners will be chosen by a jury.

The four awards are:

• Friend of the Industry, for work going above and beyond expectations and for contributions to the publishing value chain. Nominations due by July 30.
• Industry Innovation Award, for the individual or company whose innovation tools or processes have created more profitable and efficient relationships among trading partners. Nominations due by July 30.
• Most Valuable Committee Participant, to be awarded to the BISG committee member who has made the greatest contribution to the organization’s mission over the past year. To be nominated by BISG chairs.
• Lifetime Achievement Award, for outstanding work in furthering BISG’s mission over the course of a career

Study Shows More Students Seeking Illegal Alternatives to Textbooks

The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) revealed research on Tuesday showing that the use of alternative and illegal texts to supplement educational materials is on the rise among higher education students. Downloading of unauthorized content rose to 34 percent, compared to 20 percent in 2010, and 31 percent of students admitted to photocopying or scanning textbook pages, up from 21 percent, among students surveyed for BISG’s ongoing study of Student Attitudes Toward Content in Higher Education.

Additionally, 75 percent of faculty at higher education institutions surveyed said that the cost of pursuing a college degree is too high, and that textbooks — either print or digital — are priced higher than the value to the class.

Sixty-eight percent of respondents said they would be likely to try Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) for credit if the tuition was priced properly.

The survey findings are available for sale both as a PDF summary report and as a complete data compendium, accessible online. Details and ordering information is available at www.bisg.org

Media Coalition Concludes Gun Violence and Media Connection Flawed

A new Media Coalition report has found that the assumed link between gun violence and media comes from flawed research.

The 13-page report titled Only a Game: Why Censoring New Media Won’t Stop Gun Violence notes that the governments of Australia, Great Britain, and Sweden each found that the research showing a link between violent video games and aggressive behavior is inconclusive.

“The claim that video games cause violence has become a convenient narrative that is just not supported by the facts and is used as a crutch to avoid the more complex — if politically unpopular — issues,” said David Horowitz, executive director of Media Coalition. “Our report explains that when independent bodies review the research they find no studies that show that video games cause actual violence, and the studies that claim a connection between new media and aggression are flawed, in dispute, and ignore obvious explanations for their results.”

Frommer’s to Start Releasing Print Titles

FrommerMedia will start printing publications again in October and will have 80 titles released by the end of the year.

Arthur Frommer, the founder of Frommer’s Travel Guides, purchased the brand back from Google this past April and renamed the company. Publishers Group West will distribute and market the books, including a new series called EasyGuides, which features shorter, more practical travel advice.

Frommer’s was sold to Simon & Schuster in 1977 and was later acquired by John Wiley & Sons. Google purchased the brand in August 2012, incorporated its content into Google services, and planned to cease publication of print guides.

IPG and Trafalgar Square Acquire New Clients

Independent Publishers Group (IPG) has announced that it will be distributing both print and electronic titles for several new publisher clients.

Picture book publisher Minedition, Michael Neugebauer Publishing Ltd. will be distributed as of September 1, 2013, through IPG’s General Trade distribution program.

IPG’s Trafalgar Square Publishing will be distributing the following publishers as of January 1, 2014:

• Caffeine Nights Publishing, a crime and horror fiction publisher
• Double-Barreled Books, an arts publisher
• Freight Books, which publishes high-quality fiction for the English-language readership
• Korero Press, publisher of underground visual art and emerging talent
• Publishers represented by Macmillan’s publishing services

2014 BEA Global Market Forum to Focus on Books in Translation

BookExpo America’s 2014 Global Market Forum (GMF) program will include a dedicated focus on books in translation. BEA organizers announced this week that leading U.S. and international professionals will gather for a world summit on translation on Wednesday, May 28, 2014, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. BEA will be held from Wednesday, May 28, to Saturday, May 31, 2014.

GMF programming will be presented at BEA and at various venues and institutions in the New York City area. BEA’s partners for the summit include the Literary Translation at Columbia Writing Program; PEN World Voices; Open Letter Press at the University of Rochester; the Association of Author Representatives (AAR); American Literary Translators Association; Art of Translation in San Francisco; and representatives of international markets promoting literature in the U.S.

NCAC to Host Free Speech Celebration

The National Coalition Against Censorship will be celebrating free speech and its defenders at a benefit on November 12, 2013, at the Three Sixty event space in New York City.

Free Speech Matters 2013 will be chaired by Megan Tingley, executive vice president and publisher for Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, and will honor National Book Award-winner Sherman Alexie as well as other free speech advocates.

Ticket and sponsorship information is available at ncac.org.