Kraken Opus : publishing alchemy?

On entering the Kraken Opus offices, in the centre of the City and within sight of St Paul's, one is immediately introduced to this publisher's niche. Signed football shirts hang in frames. A number of staff work beneath a large plasma screen relaying the latest sports news. A photographer assembles his equipment. Sporting memorabilia litters the offices, including glossy red components of an F1 car. And a colossal book, some 4ft high, 4ft wide and 1ft in depth, dominates the boardroom desk…

These enormous books are the USP of the Kraken concept. These are large format titles with a difference: they are limited edition, aimed at the wealthy sports enthusiast and each is the size of a coffee table!

Kraken is a heady combination of wealth, sporting success, and the luxury end of the publishing market. It culminates in physically enormous, limited edition titles on subjects with well-established, worldwide followings – Manchester United, Wimbledon, the Super Bowl, Maradonna, Muhammad Ali, Celtic -- and cost from upwards of £3000 (for a normal edition) to literally £1 million for a special limited edition (a £1 million Manchester United edition, to be precise, purchased by wealthy Gulf investors).

Kraken Opus was started in 2005 by former derivatives trader and tax expert, Karl Fowler. With a successful career in finance with Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, I wondered what had brought him to realise his publishing venture. Was it love or money?

'Both. I love photography, I collect first editions. The sports autobiographies around are not even written by sportspeople, they are ghost-written, cheap, nothing between the covers, poorly produced. I wanted to produce material not seen before; telling a story in an unprecedented way. The market was a factor – there is clearly an appetite for a high-end, collectable first edition. To justify the price that we charge, we had to be offering a certain level of integrity and exclusivity.'

From just looking at the physical dimensions of these books, it is immediately apparent that every one is the culmination of costly investment. Not just in monetary terms, but in labour, time and production. Each title tops the scales at around 35kg, with a minimum of 850 pages and print runs ranging from just under 1,000 up to around 10,000. A high proportion of the £3m budget for each title is spent on commissioning. The writing function is outsourced, with well-known writers such as David Halberstam, Jim White, Hugh McIlvanney and James Lawton signed up to produce editorial for the books. The production and research teams are based inhouse.

The printing of these titles is carried out in China by Artorm, a company cleared by the International Olympic Committee to produce material for the 2008 Chinese Olympics. This print partner was apparently chosen by Kraken solely on the basis of their production values. The company also agreed to set aside an annex, on their printing operation, to house three more Heidelberg's to focus on the demands of the Kraken product. Size necessitates the Kraken products have to be hand-bound.

So how does Fowler see Kraken adding value to subjects already so well-documented? After all, there are already so many established titles on the market concerning the larger football clubs. A search of Amazon displays 64 titles for Celtic alone; there are hundreds of titles for Manchester United.

'The images are unique. 50% of the photographs have never been published before and the pages bear the signatures of the sportsmen central to the story. We will turn down offers to have them printed again. For example, they will not go to newspapers. The Manchester United title was composed of 75% of original photographs, it is creative storytelling. These are the minimum requirements.'

Looking at the Kraken products online, I noticed several have unusual methods of adding value, each of which seems destined to feed headlines and publicity. For example, the first 100 copies of the Maradonna title will have samples of his blood and hair, with a profile of his DNA inside the cover. The first copy of the forthcoming title on the musician Prince will have his emblem in platinum on the cover, inlaid in that will be a number of purple diamonds. I wonder if these extras do the titles justice: do they add to them, or do they in fact detract from taking the content seriously? I would hope that for most people it will be the former, and the hard work that has gone in to create the editorial and images does not get overshadowed.

How did they secure the services of such sporting luminaries as Alex Ferguson and Bobby Charlton early on, and convince them to cooperate with the mass signings and book promotion? Fowler is not forthcoming with remuneration, but adds:

'We approached Manchester United and explained this side of the club's story has never been told before. Manchester United wanted to be involved and tell their story from this perspective.'

Focussing on high-priced titles alone in the current economic climate certainly seems risk-laden to me, especially as the core market of wealthy people are even more conscious of where their money is invested. Fowler was optimistic: '25% of these books are bought as gifts. The economy is in a sticky situation but books are an investment. Look at the 1930s and the Great Depression, Hollywood was created as an escape from reality. These books can be the same.'

Are these the most challenging times for the company?

'Yes, but in terms of how do we scale up? The last 2 years have been important, but now is the most challenging. 20 deals have just been signed, and Michael Jackson has just signed a deal. We are soon publishing an Opus on Sachin Tendulkar, the Indian cricketer. It takes around 3 years to bring each one to the market.'

What are the future plans for Kraken?

'We've just opened in LA and Dubai. I want to float the business in London or on the NASDAQ. I want to raise capital to a new level. We're also looking at different media platforms: an e-version of titles; a tv channel; a radio channel which concentrates only on historical sporting content. There is a natural linkage between the two, and the publishing side of the business was always a platform to leap into other genres anyway.'

What to think of the Kraken business model? One must certainly acknowledge Fowler's initiative, enterprise and financial might. The subjects have guaranteed audiences, and the professional sports world which Fowler was well acquainted with as a tax advisor is certainly cash rich. Kraken bucks several trends in the publishing industry: in terms of staying with print, and avoiding digitalisation; in using vast quantities of paper and shipping the product from one part of the globe to the other; and in the high financial stakes involved (from commissioning to production to retail price) against the backdrop of a turbulent economy. It is hard to think of competitors in this market.

I am part of the majority that will never be in a position to purchase a Kraken Opus. Am I at a disadvantage at not being a part of this glamour, this exclusivity? After all, I am an avid Manchester United fan (just don’t talk to me about the European final!) and I treasure rare books. For the answer to this I have to go back to 2000. Whilst researching a dissertation for a publishing course at Stirling University, I was given a private viewing of a complete set of John James Audubon’s Birds of America in the John Rylands Library, Manchester. The thrill Audubon's books gave me has never been replicated since, I doubt any modern exclusive book would provide that experience, and that was before I was told by the librarian of their worth (£5m for each volume of the set). And it didn’t cost me a penny.

Perhaps there is a lesson to be found here: young publishers, in our clamour to gain technical skills, should not neglect the opportunity to develop our understanding of real intrinsic value. We should be all the more prepared to serve our markets well. The right product at the right cost goes a long way to achieving this. Integrity in publishers is a necessity when adding value.

For me the question remains: do these amounts truly reflect the value of the Kraken product? Do quantities of original photographs, famous writers and famous names in the sporting and entertainment world justify these retail prices? That is for the investor to decide. These are lavish books aimed at lavish pockets, and Kraken pitch their products well to this most exclusive of markets.

An International Concern : UNESCO Publishing

The publishing industry must always reflect, and operate within, the distinct circumstances at any given time: the nature of business, government, trade, politics, finance, market conditions and of course conflict on an international level are all factors that shape publishing companies and their fortunes. Needless to add, I am sure those of us who are fortunate enough to make their living in this industry, whether as employee, employer or freelancer, will have witnessed changes within the last 12 months that were necessitated by the global economic downturn.

Long-term prosperity in international circumstances enabled such global publishing powerhouses as Elsevier, Macmillan, WolterKluwer, McGraw Hill, Informa, Pearson and Springer (in no particular order) to emerge and flourish. These are companies where innovative, creative individuals plan and implement multi-media products; ultimately to provide value to shareholders/owners, which is an ever-present concern amongst such international houses. Oxford University Press, for example, has recently given £100m to Oxford University, in part aided by its fortuitous charitable status.

Much is known about these globally dominant publishers courtesy of trade news, PR, AGMs and annual reports. There is, however, generally less awareness within ‘mainstream’ publishing communities of publishing ventures which are not held to account solely in terms of gross profit, sales figures, turnover, citations, adoptions, takeovers or other barometers of success by which they judge performance. There are numerous political, religious, non-governmental organisation (NGO) and non-profit publishers thriving in the global landscape today. These include NGO publishers such as Oxfam, African Books Collective, Association for Progressive Communications (APC), HSRC Press, Practical Action Publishing, and The World Bank, amongst others. It is my belief that ‘conventional’ commercial publishers have much to learn from them.

UNESCO is one such example. Established in 1945, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization had one original, ambitious goal: ‘to build peace in the minds of men through education, science, culture and communication.’ Of course, this is now the cumulation of many tailored objectives, for example the Millenium Development Goals of UNESCO which stipulates:
‘By 2015 all 191 United Nations Member States have pledged to... Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger... Halve the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day and who suffer from hunger... Achieve universal primary education... Promote gender equality and empower women... Reduce child mortality... Improve maternal health... Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases... Ensure environmental sustainability.’

Ian Denison, its Head of Publishing since 2007, kindly allowed me an insight into how UNESCO Publishing is an indispensable part of this global strategy from its location in Paris. I began by asking him about his own publishing career, and how he came to work for UNESCO Publishing:

‘I came out of college with a law degree, by which time I had already decided not to pursue a career in law. I moved to Bristol and, as I was then very much into student politics, I worked initially on trade union magazines until I eventually got a job with Quarto publishing. In 1990 I then moved to France and got a job with the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) working on their energy content. I worked there for 5 years before being headhunted into UNESCO.’

Denison began at UNESCO by working on educational content, and spent the next 11 years in Paris. In 2005 he moved to Canada (with UNESCO) and returned to Paris as Head of Publishing in 2007. What have been the most important stages in his career?

‘Moving to the OECD. It is a big institutional publisher, where I learnt the ropes, and how to work within the confines of bureaucracy. The next important stage was becoming Head of Publishing. I’m working on providing new editorial guidelines for all staff worldwide, sourcing co-publishers and focussing on translating our products into languages than the six core languages.’

What does the Head of Publishing role involve?

‘I am heavily involved in standard setting across all offices worldwide, for staff and external consultants working on various projects. I’m working to pass on expertise in terms of rights and production issues. I’m working with the publishing of our frontlist, which is 100 books per year. I’m also involved with finding consultants and appropriate co-publishing companies.’

What are the most enjoyable aspects of the work?

‘Working internationally. I’m just back from the Bangkok, providing field training for staff and attending the book fair in Beijing. We’re getting involved with the new important book fairs, such as South Africa and Abu Dhabi. Having a challenge to ensure we publish in as many languages as possible. Adapting our books for different audiences as well.’

What are the main challenges ahead for UNESCO Publishing?

‘There are a few: I would say, to stay multi-lingualism. Another challenge right now is license with the right partners, especially those who can translate. We’re aiming to get our books into China, and translated into such languages as Russian and Arabic. A high priority for me is to focus on young people. The UNESCO Courier was a very popular magazine for young people, but the format wasn’t quite right, so now one of the main challenges is doing things for young people. So, in summary, it’s translating, sourcing rights partners and protecting the brand.’

How is technology being utilised by UNESCO Publishing?

‘We’re mainly using technology for sales and in mixed distribution channels. We’re involved in online major reference works, such as encyclopedias, in a Wiki-style format. We have a series -- the History series – which should be ideal for this type of format. We are looking at becoming part of Google Books and have had discussions several times with Google. We are also reorganizing distribution services to include POD (discussions with Lightning Source).’

What are the future plans for UNESCO Publishing?

‘We are under considerable pressure to justify what we are doing, so we need to establish a more economically viable operating model, show we are recovering costs and making profit from what we’re doing. We can’t continue to give titles away free forever, so we are looking to address this. We’ve also got the issue of evaluating our free content; we’ve not really been able to do that, so we’re aiming to be more visible economically, reaching out to the right people, producing a report on this, etc.'

Who are UNESCO Publishing’s core audience/consumer?

‘This is a difficult one to answer as they are so diverse. It’s mainly a core customer base of researchers, academics, studentscivil servants, NGOs, government employees, but again this is something we are looking into in more detail.’

Finally, I wondered if Denison could offer any advice to any SYP members interested in pursuing a career in this type of international publishing:

‘Yes, I would advise to be very flexible in job searching. There is never an ideal job at first or job profiles that correspond to private sector publishing, so it’s important to get a foot inside the door first, and then use your contacts. It’s often difficult to see from the outside to judge how the organisation functionswhat is going on. But once inside, for someone who is a keen and intelligent employee, and who wants to work for international progress UNESCO is a very good employer.'

Review: Books in the Digital Age, John B. Thompson

John B. Thompson, Professor of Sociology at the University of Cambridge, has contributed a sociological-, rather than technological-, driven academic study of academic publishing from the perspective of an industry 'outsider'. With the author apparently having no experience within the publishing industry or a technology content organisation/culture, Books in the Digital Age has every strength and every weakness of such a detached, sociological examination of its subject.

Young publishers and non-specialists should not be unduly daunted by this title. From the cover, first impressions are that it could primarily be aimed at information technology specialists or publishing academics. Those members of the SYP working within academic publishing have much to gain from this title; specifically, it is a valuable resource on how textbook publishing programmes in the UK and US, in the early stages of the new millennium, had evolved from the 1980s industry landscape. It also gives an opportunity to learn from interviews with senior executives, within the academic publishing arena, speaking frankly on condition of anonymity. (It is worth mentioning here the rigorous research Thompson undertook from 20002003 is a significant benefit; involving a rigorous series of interviews with senior executives: 'In total, I carried out more than 230 interviews in Britain and the United States, amounting to more than 450 hours of interview material'.)

Readers should not expect a technical analysis to dominate this title. On page 152, Thompson observes '[university presses encouraged authors] ... to write for a wider audience – by broadening the scope of the book, making the the text more accessible stylistically, using a more trade-oriented title, etc'. Books in the Digital Age certainly falls into the latter category, as the sub-title is far more indicative of the content: The Transformation of Academic and Higher Education Publishing in Britain and the United States, and most of this is not concerned with digitalisation.

The book is divided into four parts, comprising 15 chapters, four of which concentrate on The Digital Revolution. Part I: The Publishing Business proceeds with Chapter 1 covering all bases of the publishing chain, not in especially close detail but The Publishing Cycle and The Publishing Chain sections are sufficient in laying out the process from author to retailer to consumer, for the non-specialist (the more elaborate Figure 1.2 is particularly useful, despite ommitting the indexing stage). This is an opportunity to stress one of the distinct pluses of Books in the Digital Age: the book is liberally illustrated with relevant figures and tables from current research. Thompson goes on from Figure 1.3 to detail how publishers add value: via content acquisition and list-building; financial investment and risk-taking; content development; quality control; management and coordination; and sales and marketing. The Economics of Publishing follows on in fairly brief fashion.

Chapter 2 concerns the assets of publishing firms, namely economic capital; staff; symbolic capital; and intellectual capital. Why each one is important is well covered, and it serves to allow Thompson to introduce a concept which runs throughout this title as a sociological blueprint through which he analyses the industry: publishing 'fields'.

'So what are ... publishing fields? A particular publishing field is a space of positions which are occupied by agents and organizations of various kinds, and these agents and organizations stand in relations of collaboration and/or competition with one another.... The field is the structured social environment in which firms operate and exist, flourish and fail. Each publishing field has its own conditions of success, and therefore its own forms of knowledge...' (p. 37)

These fields are not difficult to comprehend, and as the book progresses this concept is far more apparent to the author than the reader. Thompson then elaborates on three publishing fields -- namely trade, academic and higher education publishing -- to explain this concept further. Thompson discusses linguistic considerations within publishing fields: English being the international language of business; the British Empire and colonial education; and the US as a globally-dominant nation. All worthwhile for putting international markets and foreign language competitors in context.

Part II covers the Field of Academic Pubishing, and Chapter 4 looks at the academic research process; the scale and scope of the leading academic publishers (e.g. OUP being nearly three times the size of CUP; OUP being somewhat decentralized globally and CUP operating more as a single entity in Cambridge; and the differences between these and the major US university presses: Harvard, Princeton and Yale). This chapter progresses to discuss two factors which were to have major repercussions in the academic field: the decline of the scholarly monograph, and the expenditure of libraries in the UK higher education sector.

With three-quarters of the content focussing on the key strategic shifts affecting US and UK academic publishers, focus on electronic content and certain e-book programmes, their initiation and the level of their success, is concentrated in Part IV.

Pasrt IV essentially concludes that the true digital revolution in academic publishing is with digital printing and the electronic workflow; and not the development of ebooks as an alternative, setting a finite future on the printed book. Has the development of, and signiificant investment in, electronic content set the clock ticking on the lifespan of printed academic books? It could be argued that Thompson's conclusion has neatly side-stepped the issue and, after 3 years of research on this subject, is either unwilling or unable to commit to one definitive viewpoint.

In my opinion, Thompson at times seems to run with the hare and the hounds. He stops short of declaring digitalisation failed, but continually emphasises that ebooks never took off as they were expected, devoting over 100 pages to chronicling ebook setbacks. (This is despite detailing the profound seachange in the relationship between academic publishing activity and higher education wrought by electronic delivery.) He does not consider the competing format problems facing technology companies, nor publishers' copyright issues, worthy of inclusion.

The fact is that the vehicle of electronic delivery is continually gathering momentum, and the concluding stance of Books in the Digital Age may have been as premature as those over-optimistic predictions back in the late 1990s. Perhaps this is related to the timeframe this title was researched and written (when the industry was becoming to emerge from the .dotcom boom and bust at the end of the 1990s/start of the deacde). Although this study has been in print for only 4 years, the industry has since witnessed significant progression; and no doubt Thompson experienced shifting sands even as he researched this title. Nevertheless, as a well-researched and intensive academic study of the transition of the UK--US academic publishing scene, for this alone it is a highly rewarding and recommended read.

Children's Book Publishing: commissioning and development at OUP

Liz Cross, head of Children's Fiction at Oxford University Press, delivered a vibrant and engaging talk on the OUP Children's Books list to a packed Galley room at Oxford University Press, revealing how in their centenary year OUP find their books and then make an impact in the large and vibrant children's book market.

Liz started with the fundamental question: 'how do you find the books?'. There are several ways that OUP undertake this:

* The 'old friend, the slush pile': some publishers have a policy of ignoring the slush pile, and in general this is sensible as most of it is unsuitable (poorly planned, written at the wrong level, requiring significant revision, covering wrong topics, etc) but, as Liz confirmed, at OUP 'we can't bear not to! There might be a jewel in there.' Indeed, this was the case with Philip Reeve's book, although his work was recommended through a personal contact (friends and other contacts are, after all, part of the wider slush-pile). An experienced colleague goes through the OUP children's slush pile once a week, judging fairly quickly whether or not a manuscript merits further investigation.

* Agent submissions. This is becoming an increasingly mainstream route for the department to receive ideas and submissions. As recently as 6 or 7 years ago most authors did not have an agent; the reverse is now the case, and those authors without an agent are now in the minority. An important part of Liz's job is 'wooing' the agent. This, Liz feels, is quite a challenge as more agents are taking children's titles after the Harry Potter phenomenon, and 'agents of course like auctions, I don't!' Liz went on to describe several bids and the successful strategies OUP employed: one title being obtained as the whole department, from MD down, wrote why the title meant so much to them and why they liked it. The author was won over by their enthusiasm, and illustrated that it is not always the highest amount that succeeds. Commissioning editors will also approach favoured agents and ask if they know of a suitable writer for a project.

* Brainstorming. The Oxford Book of Children's Poetry was devised at one ideas meeting, and it was instantly recognised as a book which would fit in nicely with the OUP brand; they then went out and sourced the right author to write it. Another brainstorming session centred around boys' obsession with dinosaurs: Dinosaur Cove sprang from this, despite it being 'very un-OUP' (a fiction book for young children). This process is becoming increasingly popular with publishers; Egmont have recently produced an imprint developed completely from focus groups.

* The backlist. OUP has a very strong, varied backlist with a literary heritage including great names from J M Barrie to Astrid Lindgren, and its anniversary party earlier this month was attended by current writers including Brian Wildsmith, Geraldine McCaughrean and Tim Bowler. Liz said a successful tactic has been to stick with authors through thick and thin, and nurture their talent: 'it's important you never overestimate the importance of authors, and it's important you feel your way when handling each of them. Some are very secretive, some want their hand held every step of the way'. Whichever category they fall into, most of them need to be given advice on the market and to target their output.

Liz covered the concept of when to choose a book,

'When you fall in love with it. If you as the editor don't love the book, nobody will. You have to make everyone in the company love that book too. If the sales and marketing team aren't inspired about it, it won't sell'.

Finding the right hook or pitch is now more important than it was in the last 6 or 7 years. So many books are published in this market that your book has to stand out. Liz described a 'gatekeeper' existing between the publisher and the child -- this could be a parent, a bookseller, or a librarian -- so they have to appeal to them as well as the child. Booksellers are very important; if they can't get titles on tables and in displays then the effect on sales is dramatic.

A hook sums up a book piffily, and a good example is Artemis Fowl' 'Die Hard with Fairies'! Positioning a book is also a key consideration; for example, magical fantasies are now kept alongside Harry Potter. My So-called Life by Joanna Nadin has been so successful owing to its careful positioning in the market.

One book disliked by OUP was Shadowmancer, which Liz felt didn't sit well with the OUP brand but went on to be a great success with Faber. The author really capitalised on his ex-vicar status for maximum PR Similarly, Ricky Gervais' Flanimals has been a success on the back of the author's celebrity status in the UK and US.

Opportunities for selecting a book can also arise from unexpected quarters. Geraldine McCaughrean's Peter Pan in Scarlet has been very successful. The copyright for the original Peter Pan was given by J M Barrie exclusively to Great Ormond Street Childrens Hospital. This expires this year and the hospital will inevitably lose much-needed funding; as a result the hospital wanted to publish an official sequel to retain the copyright on this, and OUP were happy to oblige.

Liz insisted that certain questions have to be addressed on whether to publish a book. Will it fit on the OUP list? OUP has changed dramatically over the last few years and now publishes books it would not have contemplated in the past: 'Good authors are always at the heart of this list. We've done a lot of work in broadening things out. We used to publish for the 10 years plus age group but we now have a wider audience. For example, one of our chick lit books could be regarded as rude, but it does have boundaries.'

Can we do the book justice? The market is very 'best-seller' focused and it is rare for a book to be successful without a huge marketing push. OUP has clearly defined limits and budgets, and the marketing plan is now an important factor at sourcing stage in deciding whether or not to go ahead with a title. If a budget is not available, it might be best to publish it the following year.

Will it make us money? This is, unsurprisingly, often the clincher. One important factor is the size of the advance, and Liz says this is difficult to weigh up and causes much debate in editorial meetings. She believes agents fighting for the highest amount are often not acting in the author's best interests: if it does not sell, publishers will be very reluctant to touch the next one. Often it would have been better for the author to accept a lower fee and steadily evolve their career from there.

Keeping the list alive and fresh is also important in the children's market. The colour picture book list changes very little: books such as The Hungry Caterpillar and the Gruffalo will probably be in the top ten many years from now. Winnie the Witch is important for OUP as half of all picture book revenues come from this title. Cold Tom was published by OUP five years ago, and they have now put on a new cover: a simple solution to combat dwindling sales and giving it a new lease of life. OUP has also just launched the Oxford Children's Classics, a fortuitous decision as no commissioning or copyright fees had to be paid.

OUP will also work with outside agencies to produce a title. They have worked with Working Partners, who have a team of writers, to 'put flesh on the bones' of an OUP commission, and this has worked well. Liz rounded off a robust welcome insight into this important sector of the industry with the subject of rights; the most important co-edition publisher is the US, with the other main markets being Europe (France and Germany in particular), followed by the Far East and Asia.

Society of Young Publishers: Careers Conference, Oxford Brookes, 2007

In November 2007, I was part of the Oxford SYP committee which organised the annual careers conference, which alternates between London and Oxford. This was my brief report from the proceedings (the speaker in the photograph below is Simon Juden, then Chair of the PA, and now head of public policy at Pearson).

The 2007 Society of Young Publishers Careers Conference took place on 10 November at Oxford-Brookes with the theme of ethical publishing. We were fortunate to be supported by a distinguished panel of industry professionals who delivered a variety of lectures and workshops: Alison Baverstock on Marketing; Suzanne Collier, Giles Clark and Nicholas Jones on Publishing Careers Success; Pat White on Agents; our own Christine Appel on Journals; Kate Harris on Children's Publishing; and Leander Reeves on Magazine Publishing.

The conference opened with a panel debate comprised of Simon Juden (CE of the Publishers Association), Alison Kennedy (Production Director of Egmont) and Sarah Totterdell (Head of Publishing at Oxfam) who discussed various topics relating to the industry and its social and environmental impact.

Giles Clark (Routledge author of Inside Book Publishing), Nicholas Jones and Suzanne Collier provided their own dynamic, detailed assessments for Publishing Careers Success, first, of the main sectors of the industry and their functions; second, the main market sectors; third, current market trends and the industry's future issues; and finally, the roles and prerequisite skills required for each.

Gordon Graham, Editor Emeritus and founder of LOGOS, the premier publishing journal of the world book community, presented his Literature of the Book collection and talked about his long and distinguished career as a newspaper correspondent in India, publisher's rep in Asia, International Sales Manager of MGraw-Hill in New York, Managing Director of McGraw-Hill in Europe and Chairman and CEO of Butterworths.

In summary this was an informative, enjoyable conference which enabled delegates to extend their network of contacts and armed them with a firm understanding, not only of the nature of publishing, but of the personal and professional attributes necessary to succeed within each sector of the industry.