This is the definitive social and economic analysis of the current state and future trends of the American book publishing industry, with an emphasis on the trade, college textbook, and scholarly publishing sectors. Drawing on a rich and extensive data, the thoughtful analysis presented in this book will be valuable to leaders in publishing as well as the scholars and analysts who study this industry.
These are turbulent times in the world of book publishing. For nearly five centuries the methods and practices of book publishing remained largely unchanged, but at the dawn of the twenty-first century the industry finds itself faced with perhaps the greatest challenges since Gutenberg. A combination of economic pressures and technological change is forcing publishers to alter their practices and think hard about the future of the books in the digital age. In this book - the first major study of trade publishing for more than 30 years - Thompson situates the current challenges facing the industry in an historical context, analysing the transformation of trade publishing in the United States and Britain since the 1960s. He gives a detailed account of how the world of trade publishing really works, dissecting the roles of publishers, agents and booksellers and showing how their practices are shaped by a field that has a distinctive structure and dynamic. This new paperback edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to take account of the most recent developments, including the dramatic increase in ebook sales and its implications for the publishing industry and its future.
This volume provides an innovative and detailed overview of the book publishing industry, including details about the business processes in editorial, marketing and production. The work explores the complex issues that occur everyday in the publishing in
This path-breaking book argues that printing—both with woodblocks and with movable type—exerted a profound influence on Chinese society in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Concerned with the cultural and economic roles of independent bookstores, this collection considers how eight shops created during the modernist era exceeded their commercial functions to open the spaces of literary production. Understanding these unique social spaces on the threshold of commerce and culture provides a basis for comprehending how the changes to the physical contexts of the twenty-first century reading experience have affected our relationship to books and reading.
Entrepreneurship underpins many roles within the publishing industry, from freelancing to bookselling. Entrepreneurs are shaped by the contexts in which their entrepreneurship is situated (social, political, economic, and national). Additionally, entrepreneurship is integral to occupational identity for book publishing entrepreneurs. This Element examines entrepreneurship through the lens of identity and narrative based on interview data with book publishing entrepreneurs in the US Book publishing entrepreneurship narratives of independence, culture over commerce, accidental profession, place, risk, (in)stability, busyness, and freedom are examined in this Element.
Attending a live concert or theatrical performance can be a thrilling experience. At their best, the performing arts represent the height of human creativity and expression. But the presentation on stage, whether it is Shakespeare, Beethoven, or The Lion King, depends on a business backstage. This book provides an overview of both the product on stage and the industry that makes it possible. While the industry’s product is unique—with unique supply and demand characteristics—it is still an industry, with supply inputs, organization structures, competitors, business models, value chains, and customers. We will examine each of the major segments (Broadway, regional theater, orchestra, opera, and ballet) along these business dimensions. This book will give lovers of the performing arts an understanding of the business realities that make live performances possible. Managers, board members, and performers will be better equipped to take on the strategic challenges their companies face. People contemplating any of these roles will have a better idea of what to expect. Business analysts and students of strategy will discover how economic frameworks apply in this unique setting where culture and commerce converge.
Will the twenty-first century be the next American Century? Will American power and ideas dominate the globe in the coming years? Or is the prestige of the United States likely to crumble beneath the pressure of new international challenges? This ground-breaking book explores the changing patterns of American thought and culture at the dawn of the new millennium, when the world's richest nation has never been more powerful or more controversial. It brings together some of the most eminent North American and European thinkers to investigate the crucial issues and challenges facing the United States during the early years of our new century.From the subterranean political shifts beneath the electoral landscape to the latest biomedical advances, from the literary response to 9/11 to the rise of reality television, this book explores the political, social and cultural contours of contemporary American life - but it also places the United States within a global narrative of commerce, cultural exchange, i
How are we to understand the changing role of design and designers in the new age of consumer experience? Drawing on perspectives from cultural studies, design management, marketing, new product development and communications theory, The Design Experience explores the contexts, practices and roles of designers in today's world, providing an accessible introduction to the key issues reshaping design. The book begins by analysing how consumers acquire meaning and identity from product and other experiences made possible by design. It then explores issues of competitiveness, innovation and management in the context of industry and commerce. If designers are creators of human experiences, what does this mean for their future role in culture and commerce? Subsequent chapters look at new ways in which designers conduct user research and how designers should communicate about design and decision-making with key stakeholders. The authors conclude with a discussion of the design 'profession': will that label be a help or hindrance for tomorrow's designer? Written for students of design, design management, cultural and business studies, The Design Experience is also of interest to practitioners of design, marketing and management. Illustrated case study material is integrated into the text, and the book also includes a glossary, and extensive references.
The fifth volume of A History of the Book in America addresses the economic, social, and cultural shifts affecting print culture from World War II to the present. During this period factors such as the expansion of government, the growth of higher education, the climate of the Cold War, globalization, and the development of multimedia and digital technologies influenced the patterns of consolidation and diversification established earlier. The thirty-three contributors to the volume explore the evolution of the publishing industry and the business of bookselling. The histories of government publishing, law and policy, the periodical press, literary criticism, and reading--in settings such as schools, libraries, book clubs, self-help programs, and collectors' societies--receive imaginative scrutiny as well. The Enduring Book demonstrates that the corporate consolidations of the last half-century have left space for the independent publisher, that multiplicity continues to define American print culture, and that even in the digital age, the book endures. Contributors: David Abrahamson, Northwestern University James L. Baughman, University of Wisconsin-Madison Kenneth Cmiel (d. 2006) James Danky, University of Wisconsin-Madison Robert DeMaria Jr., Vassar College Donald A. Downs, University of Wisconsin-Madison Robert W. Frase (d. 2003) Paul C. Gutjahr, Indiana University David D. Hall, Harvard Divinity School John B. Hench, American Antiquarian Society Patrick Henry, New York City College of Technology Dan Lacy (d. 2001) Marshall Leaffer, Indiana University Bruce Lewenstein, Cornell University Elizabeth Long, Rice University Beth Luey, Arizona State University Tom McCarthy, Beirut, Lebanon Laura J. Miller, Brandeis University Priscilla Coit Murphy, Chapel Hill, N.C. David Paul Nord, Indiana University Carol Polsgrove, Indiana University David Reinking, Clemson University Jane Rhodes, Macalester College John V. Richardson Jr., University of California, Los Angeles Joan Shelley Rubin, University of Rochester Michael Schudson, University of California, San Diego, and Columbia University Linda Scott, University of Oxford Dan Simon, Seven Stories Press Ilan Stavans, Amherst College Harvey M. Teres, Syracuse University John B. Thompson, University of Cambridge Trysh Travis, University of Florida Jonathan Zimmerman, New York University
