Somerville

When the industry's final results are in, 2002 won't rank as one of publishing's best years. With few bright spots to point to, publishers across every segment are wondering what catalysts will reignite growth? Publishers used to know the answer to that question. Growth was created by acquiring authors who, in turn, wrote great books. This year, the question is hard to answer. Sure, acquiring competent authors and great content are as important as ever. But thanks to industry consolidation, there are usually less than five major competitors, within nearly every publishing segment. This means fewer publishers are fighting for a few great authors, and fighting