The dramatic changes in the publishing industry will be debated by an expert panel during Kirkcudbright Book Week, which takes place in the first week of March and features more than 40 events.
From the introduction of ebooks and the rapid growth of Amazon to innovations devised by bookshops and the advent of self-publishing, the industry has undergone its biggest changes since William Caxton introduced the printing press into Britain in 1476.
Never have more books been published, never have more small book publishers been started and yet never have bookshops faced more challenges to compete and never have authors had to work harder to bring in their income.
It all makes for a rapidly-changing industry and the Book Week panel will discuss the dramatic changes in a discussion on Sunday March 9 at 4:30pm in the Main Restaurant of the Selkirk Arms in High Street. The event is entitled Publishing’s age of change, and tickets are £10.
The panel comprises:
Elizabeth Parsons, of Kirkcudbright book shop Gallovidia, which is heavily involved in Book Week and sells books written by many authors who will be performing.
Ian Spring, who co-founded Rymour Books in 2020 to publish Scottish books by current authors as well as reprints of works with a Scottish theme.
Anstey Spraggan, local author, writes as Anstey Harris. Her debut, The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton (2018) was a Richard and Judy Summer Read. The follow up, Where We Belong, was shortlisted for the RNA Romantic Fiction of the Year Award in 2021. Since then, Anstey has written two books set in Scotland – When I First Held You, based on the story of her parents, who were 1960s Faslane protestors, and The House of Lost Secrets set in Dumfries and Galloway.
Gerry Hassan, political writer and commentator, has written and edited more than thirty books on modern Scotland and the UK, had several bestsellers such as A Guide to the Scottish Parliament, twice won the Sunday Herald Book of the Year and been awarded a Plain English Society award.
His latest book, Britain Needs Change, brings together two dozen leading thinkers and has been praised by ITV’s Robert Peston.
Chaired by Rosie Ilett, Kirkcudbright resident, writer and editor, and co-director of Kirkcudbright Fringe Festival.
Gerry, who is one of the organisers of Kirkcudbright Book Week, said: “The world of writing and publishing is fast-changing and challenging – both for writers and for readers. In what sometimes seems like a world of noise, how do you not only get that first break but critically stand out and say something original and worthwhile to readers? This Book Week event will explore these issues and ask what they mean for authors, books and readers.”
Tickets for the event can be purchased online via the Tickets section of www.kirkcudbrightbookweek.org or in person at the Book Week box office in Kirkcudbright Library in Daar Road.
