Middle East

Figures released today by The Publishers Association reveal the UK publishing industry to be maintaining its strength, diversity and innovation.  Overall book and academic journal sales remain steady at £4.3billion with digital revenues growing to 35% of the overall total.  Export sales now account for 44% of revenue.

Academic journals lead the way in digital publishing with electronic journals now accounting for 79% of all subscription income.  Consumer fiction remains hot on its heels with ebook sales increasing to 37% of total value and trebling in absolute terms in three years.

As North American university presses struggle with identity, and seek to redefine their place in the publishing ecosystem, I felt that it would be worth exploring the activities, and outlook of the AUC Press through the eyes of its Director, Nigel Fletcher Jones. What can we learn from this publisher, who has ambition, optimism, and a recent track record of significant growth?

Just when it looked like the bubble might be cracking, that venture capital investment in education was stuck in the doldrums, and that the year in EdTech might end with a whimper, no bang in sight, along comes Knewton to put an exclamation point on an active December.

In a whopping round that stands as the fifth largest venture investment for an education company in 2013, TechCrunch has learned that the New York City-based EdTech veteran has just closed a $51 million financing,

Columbia University Press is pleased to announce the addition of two new distribution clients. Beginning January 1, 2013, Columbia University Press began to distribute frontlist and backlist titles from Transcript and, in a separate deal, Jagiellonian University Press.
 
Effective immediately, Columbia University Press will sell and market Transcript books in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia.  Jagiellonian University Press books are available through Columbia University Press in the United States, Canada, and Latin America.

Today Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, announced the launch of Scholastic Learning Zone, a platform through which teachers, students, and school administrators in international markets can access Scholastic’s growing portfolio of quality digital instructional programs with single sign-on.

Most of us have probably sold an old book at a yard sale, on eBay, given it to a library, or some such thing. We probably never gave it a second thought. Maybe we need to. Maybe we are criminals, violating copyright law.

A case has come before the Supreme Court that could turn some of our assumptions upside down, at least as pertains to books produced overseas. Take that, Gutenberg! You better read Johannes' copyright notice before you sell your copy of his bible.