Nielsen BookData reported a five-year trend of increasing print book sales during the annual Black Friday retail promotion in Australia. Books+Publishing reported that since 2017, unit sales in the Australian book market have been 32% higher (on average) in the week of Black Friday, compared to the four weeks prior, according to Nielsen. This equates to approximately 440,000 more books being sold during the Black Friday week than in the four previous weeks.
Sales for Black Friday week in 2019 were 36% higher, with a similar rise in 2020, a slight decline to 28% in 2021, and again a 36% peak in 2022, when there were additional unit sales of more than 541,000 during Black Friday week.
The lead-up to Christmas is a key trading period for the book industry, Books+Publishing noted, with the four weeks to Christmas typically accounting for 17% of the annual revenue of the measured Australian book market.
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Kwame Scott Fraser |
Kwame Scott Fraser is stepping down as president and publisher at Dundurn Press after five years in the position for the Canadian company. Quill & Quire reported that Fraser is relocating to Jamaica, but will remain at Dundurn as editor-at-large and continue to work on acquiring new titles. He will transition to his new role effective February 1, 2024.
Fraser was named to his position when founder and longtime president and publisher Kirk Howard sold the independent press in 2019 to tech entrepreneurs Jason Martin, Lorne Wallace, and Randall Howard.
"We love what he's done," Martin said. "He's taken Kirk Howard's 50-year-old entity and brought it into the 21st century. We're taking risks and we're more diverse now... all these great things and it's all because of his vision."
Martin added that the press is looking for a new publisher who will continue to build on the momentum Fraser generated. "Our focus remains to talk about the Canadian experience and to move into the Canadian conversation books, both nonfiction and fiction, that address who we are, that talk about our present, our history, and our future."
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In Italy, sales in comic-specialized bookstores grew by 28.5% last year, according to a survey by the Italian Publishers Association. The European & Independent Booksellers Federation's Newsflash reported that bookshops specializing in the genre sold new comics worth €71.2 million (about $76.2 million), 40% of the €179.1 million (about $191.1 million) turnover from comic sales in all trade channels, including generalist bookshops, e-commerce, and supermarkets. The survey also noted that there are 440 comic-specialized bookstores across Italy.
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British bookseller's holiday season window art: "Thank you to Richard Jones and Laura for the wonderful new window painting for new book 'Tis the Season, a lift the flap poem-a-day Advent Calendar!" Ivybridge Bookshop, Ivybridge, Devon, U.K., posted on Instagram. --Robert Gray