Bordering on the brink Dyson
The Age
Saturday November 28, 2009
Tough times for the big booksellers; why Mark Rubbo is looking for a free lunch; Diana Gabaldon's taste for men in kilts; the future of the Great Australian Novel; and the Wrangle at the Scarlet Stilettos. By Jason Steger. THE bumper festive season is crucial to booksellers, but life goes on after December 25 and it's clear to see from what's going on overseas that bookshops are not going to have it easy. In Britain this week the 45-shop Borders outfit is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy after high-street retailer W. H. Smith pulled out of a takeover deal. Bookshops are under pressure in Britain, which lacks an independent sector as robust as that in Australia. The large chains €” Borders, Waterstone's etc €” saw market share fall from 38.6 per cent in 2004 to 34 per cent last year. At the same time internet sales jumped from 6.6 per cent to 13.4 per cent. Booksellers also face fierce competition from the supermarkets, which have emerged in the past few years as significant players in the book market.Meanwhile, Borders in the US has reported a near 13 per cent drop in revenue in the year's third quarter and sales are down more than 12 per cent in its superstores. Apparently the company is focusing on getting ready for the holidays €” its book buying was up by $16.8 million over the comparable period last year.And what of Borders in Australia? RedGroup Retail, which owns Borders and Angus & Robertson, is tipped for a $600 million market float. It had a 52 per cent increase in revenue for 2008-09 to $685 million, boosted by the addition of Borders, which it bought from the US operation in June last year, and an increase in earnings (before all those normal deductions) of more than 300 per cent to $42.4 million.Hungry for itMARK Rubbo's mouth is watering at the prospect of a slap-up lunch. What's more, he won't have to pay; it will be courtesy of Alex Miller. It all stems from a chat at the launch of Miller's much lauded new novel, Lovesong. Rubbo, who runs Readings, told his old friend that he wanted to sell more copies of Lovesong than he did of Landscape of Farewell. His target was 1000. Not good enough, Miller said, he should aim higher, for 3000. As Rubbo says, that is a lot of books. Nevertheless, he has taken the challenge and last week told Miller that for the past three weeks Lovesong had been Readings' best seller."I'll take you to lunch when we hit 3000," Miller responded. "Pheasant under glass and Dom Perignon €” for starters!" Rubbo says he's never had either and is hopeful of putting his taste buds to work. So if you want to help a poor, starving bookseller to get a free lunch, you know what to do.Earning a kilt followingDIANA Gabaldon, a recent visitor to Melbourne, always says the inspiration for her character Jamie Fraser in her seven-book Outlander series was Jamie McCrimmon, the Scottish lad who first appeared in episodes of Doctor Who in late 1966.She was asked by a German literary journalist while she was on tour there exactly what the appeal was of a man in a kilt. If you had one on, she said, "you could be up against the wall in a minute". Apparently this made a big impression on said journo. No, he didn't start wearing tartan and showing his knees, but when she got the cuttings of articles that emerged on the tour there was a note from her German publisher. "What did you tell him? I think he's in love with you."'Great' expectationsWHAT future for the Great Australian Novel? That's the thrust of a debate at the University of Melbourne on Wednesday. The twist though is bringing in the issue of globalisation to see whether it's still possible to publish the GAN. Speaking for the affirmative will be Penguin publishing director Bob Sessions, Scribe commissioning editor Aviva Tuffield, plus student Jessica Mawson. Against will be professor of English Ken Gelder, Torpedo editor Chris Flynn and student Nicole Eckersley.It's all taking place under the aegis of the publishing and communications department and the brave man chairing the debate is Hugh McNaughton. It starts at 6pm and is in the Multifunction Room, 1888 Building, Parkville campus (near the corner of Grattan and Swanston streets). If you want to go send an email to: h.m@unimelb.edu.auMurder she wroteAMANDA Wrangles took up writing fiction only a year ago. She has been a hairdresser and a dive master but perhaps she has found her true calling as last night she won first prize in the Scarlet Stiletto awards, the annual short story gongs for women's crime writing presented by Sisters in Crime. Second prize went to Aoife Clifford for Smoke and third prize to Joanne Ruppin.The young writers prize was shared by Nese Gezer and Louise Bolland and the late starters prize went to Kerry James. The new talent prize was won by Eleanor Marney. The awards were presented by Rush star Catherine McClements.A popular choiceTHE final element of the Melbourne Prize for Literature was revealed this week: the $3000 Civic Choice Award, which is decided on the basis of a popular vote. It has gone to Amra Pajalic for her novel The Good Daughter, which was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Award for an unpublished manuscript in 2007 and published by Text earlier this year.
© 2009 The Age