Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

Image. Advertisement:

Bookselling Without Borders launches Kickstarter to send booksellers overseas

In the US, advocacy group Bookselling Without Borders has launched a Kickstarter campaign for a scholarship fund to send independent booksellers to international book fairs, reports Lithub.

The project aims to establish US booksellers as bigger advocates for international voices in their local communities. Bookselling Without Borders said in the US, only three per cent of books published coming from international authors, which is ‘far behind the global average’.

The idea was proposed by Europa Editions editor-in-chief Michael Reynolds, who said he’s ‘always felt it’s a mistake’ to limit trips to international book fairs to editors.

‘I think [these trips] should include representatives from different sectors of the industry: translators, agents, reviews editors, features writers, critics, sales reps, and booksellers, because all of these figures contribute to the discoverability of a book, and discoverability is the name of the game these days,’ said Edwards. ‘None, as far as I know, include booksellers, which is a mistake because the importance of booksellers in getting books, especially those that don’t have huge marketing budgets behind them, into the hands of readers is paramount.’

Bookselling Without Borders is a collaboration involving five American independent presses: Europa Editions, Graywolf Press, Other Press, The New Press, and Catapult.

The Kickstarter campaign has a goal of $30,000 and ends on 30 October.

 

Category: International news