Information and Advocacy on Publishing, Culture and Freedom of Expression
Buchvielfalt bewahren is a campaign to re-introduce fixed prices for books in Switzerland. A recent meeting stressed that, as has happened elsewhere, the large chains have increased their share of the bookselling market and the variety of books being published is being reduced by concentration on bestsellers.
Under the heading “Literatur auf dem Scheiterhaufen – Der Geist im Feuer“ the Akademie der Künste, der Börsenverein, P.E.N. Zentrum Deutschland and the Verband Deutscher Schriftsteller remembers the 75th anniversary of the “Bücherverbrennung“, the mass book burning that took place in Germany in the days following 9th May 1933.
The 14th Book World Prague opens from 24th to 27th April 2008. The guest of honour is Spain and the theme is Love and Passion in Literature, Book and Lifestyle,
Blood on Paper at the V & A in London runs from 15th April to 29th June 2008. With works made from paper, papyrus, plastic, leather, bronze and lead, the exhibition examines the continuing physical nature of the book.
The 2008 shortlist for the Orange Broadband Prize is announced and includes Fault Lines by Nancy Huston, The Outcast by Sadie Jones, When We Were Bad by Charlotte Mendelson, Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O’Neill, The Road Home by Rose Tremain, and Lottery by Patricia Wood. The award ceremony is on 4th June.
94 Publishers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland have submitted 145 novels for the Deutscher Buchpreis 2008. The winner of the prize will be announced on 13th October.
IFACCA has published Ethics in Cultural Policy, prepared by Hannele Koivunen and Leena Marsio.
The programme of Amsterdam World Book Capital starts on 21st April and runs through to April 2009.
This year’s Eurozine conference will take place in Paris from 26th to 28th September 2008. Under the heading Crosswords X Mots croisés, it will explore multilingualism in Europe and its relation to critical publishing against the backdrop of media transformation and the consolidation of network structures. You can contribute to the planning at their blog.
A second, revised edition of Freedom of Information: a comparative legal survey is now available from UNESCO.
