Talk of the Town: 7 Things that Happened in the Publishing Industry in August 2020

In August 2020, the world continues to grapple with social unrest alongside reckoning with uncertainties of the upcoming school year.

That’s why Anthem Press has curated 7 note-worthy articles that contribute to a glimpse of the current state and future trajectory of the publishing industry. Whether data, news or commentary, we aim to keep you informed.

1. Reading across the generations

The reading habits of people in the UK can provide golden insight for publishers. Recent research has found that millennials read more books than any other generation but the silent generation read for the longest! Check out the full report of each generation’s preferred genres and reading habits here.

2. Celebrate Independent Bookstore Day This Saturday

Independent Bookstore Day was this past Saturday, August 29. The event was administered by the American Booksellers Association and more than 600 stores participated, up from 580 last year. Typically, bookstores hold in-store promotions and readings, but this year the celebration featured a series of virtual events. How did you celebrate or support indie bookstores this year?

3. Sustainable Open Access – What’s Next?

Several factors appear to be converging to accelerate the move toward Open Access. To start, as many publishers made their COVID-related content freely available, participants in the scholarly publishing ecosystem began to question why this content was not open from its inception, adding perceived pressure to move to OA publishing.

4. Why Organizing Workers in the Book Industry Is So Damn Hard

Workers in the book industry often suffer poor conditions and low pay, but are supposed to feel grateful for the privilege of working near books. Casting off such illusions is the first step to organizing publishers and booksellers, and fighting the exploitation that thrives in the hallowed culture industry. Why is organizing the book industry such hard work?

5. US Publishers, Authors, Booksellers Call Out Amazon’s ‘Concentrated Power’ in the Market

The leading American professional associations for authors, publishers, and booksellers wrote to the House Antitrust Subcommittee about what they call Amazon’s ‘scale of operation’ and ‘share of the market’ and proposed four ‘concerns and recommendations’ for the subcommittee.

6. How book publishing has filled the coronavirus entertainment void

August is known in the book industry as the “dead zone,” when agents and editors take their vacations ahead of one of the busiest months of the publishing calendar, September. But there are no summer doldrums this year: books have remained one of the few forms of entertainment able to proceed relatively unaffected — and they’re successfully filling the void.

7. In Praise of Textbooks

When schools closed this spring, many parents felt overwhelmed trying to help their children participate in distance learning. But it doesn’t have to be that hard with the help of textbooks. After all, textbooks were designed to distribute essential curriculum under any circumstances and a global pandemic certainly fits into the category of “any circumstances.”