Stephen Lotinga, CEO of the Publishers Association said: “The escalation of the coronavirus situation is causing a range of very significant challenges across publishing businesses. We are doing everything we can to support the industry at this extraordinarily difficult time. We have established a page on our website and are issuing regular member briefings. We…
By Dan Conway, Director of External Affairs at the Publishers Association The UK book industry has reacted with resilience to the regulatory and political uncertainty of recent years. The Publishers Association’s latest market statistics indicate that the industry revenue from books, journals and rights sales has grown since the 2016 referendum, now totalling £6bn (roughly…
Following the announcement that tax on digital books, journals and newspapers will be zero-rated from 1 December 2020, find our comment below. Stephen Lotinga, CEO of the Publishers Association said: “We are delighted that the Government has decided to zero-rate VAT on digital books and journals in the Budget. It’s fantastic that the Chancellor has…
By Ruth Howells, Deputy Director of External Affairs at the Publishers Association. As the UK’s new chancellor of the exchequer, Rishi Sunak, delivers the Government’s long-awaited Budget today, the UK publishing industry will be watching and listening closely for an announcement about zero-rating VAT on digital books. Will the tax anomaly between print and digital…
No.10 Downing Street has joined the celebrations for World Book Day 2020, hosting thirty school children from Southwark to help ‘Share a Million Stories’ and celebrate reading for pleasure. Prime Minister Boris Johnson joined Waterstone’s Children’s Laureate Cressida Cowell and children from Charles Dickens Primary School in Southwark for the event this week. Cressida Cowell…
The Government should make protecting the UK’s gold-standard copyright regime a top priority. Intellectual Property laws that are fit for purpose must be pre-requisites for all future UK trade deals, finds a report released today by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Publishing. The APPG, chaired by Andrew Lewer MBE MP, makes a number of…
James O’Brien, Rachel Reeves and Ian Murray beat David Cameron, Jess Philips and Melvyn Bragg to take home awards. Eclectic winning titles shine light on the pioneering women of Parliament, the nuances of modern political debate and football fandom. London. 26 February 2020: James O’Brien, Rachel Reeves and Ian Murray were announced as the winners…
The Publishers Association has appointed Catriona MacLeod Stevenson to the role of General Counsel. Catriona has over 13 years’ experience in advising copyright and brand owners on wide-ranging legal issues. She joins the Publishers Association from the legal team at the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, the trade association which represents the global recorded…
Today UK Research and Innovation launched its public consultation into its new Open Access policy. Stephen Lotinga, CEO of the Publishers Association, said: “Publishers support expanding Open Access for publicly-funded research. The best way to achieve greater openness is through a partnership involving researchers, funders, publishers and the wider academic community and we have repeatedly…
The most comprehensive overview of the UK publishing workforce ever recorded has been released today by the Publishers Association, showing that the number of women in senior leadership roles and representation of LGB+ staff are high within the industry, but there is still progress to be made in areas such as socioeconomic diversity, regional diversity…
David Cameron, Jess Phillips, Melvyn Bragg and James O’Brien are among those on the shortlist for the 2019 Parliamentary Book Awards, the only political book awards voted for by parliamentarians. Launched by the Booksellers Association and the Publishers Association in 2016, the annual awards champion the best of political writing and celebrate the link between…
The Publishers Association are delighted to present its Children’s Winter Reading List for parliamentarians. The Children’s Winter Reading List is a collection of books for children and young adults, nominated by members of the Publishers Association. All the titles are either festively themed, or perfect for reading over the colder months both before, during and…
Academic publishers want to make the transition to Open Access (OA) a reality as comprehensively and rapidly as possible and see transformative agreements as vital to this process, according to a new independent report published today. The report, authored by Dr Michael Jubb, emphasises the integral role agreements between academic publishers and institutions will play…
Picture book author and illustrator Nicola Kent has donated £500 worth of children’s books to the Play Service at London’s Whittington Hospital today, as part of her award prize as the Independent Booksellers’ Best New Illustrator. The prize, organised by the Publishers Association and voted for by independent booksellers, was awarded to Nicola earlier this…
Work in Publishing Week is a national campaign to inspire young people aged 14-24 to pursue a career in publishing, taking place from Monday 18th November to Sunday 24th November this year. Take part in #WorkinPublishing week by sharing why you work in publishing and what you love most about your job. You may…
The annual Trailblazer Awards now open for submissions, welcoming entries from book professionals aged 30 or under. The Trailblazer Awards, run by The London Book Fair, in partnership with the Publishers Association, together with SYP and BookBrunch celebrate young publishers who are demonstrating innovation and ambition in the book industry. Five Winners are selected by…
Former Blue Peter presenter and children’s author Konnie Huq led a delegation to 11 Downing Street today to hand-in a letter signed by 90 MPs calling for VAT on digital books to be scrapped, alongside representatives from leading literacy and accessibility charities. This comes as children’s laureate Cressida Cowell pledges her support for the campaign.…
Picture book author and illustrator Nicola Kent has donated £500 worth of children’s books to the Play Service at London’s Whittington Hospital today, as part of her award prize as the Independent Booksellers’ Best New Illustrator. The first ever cohort of Publishing Assistant apprentices have started their year-long programme of work and training this week.…