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Global publishing bodies call for economic stimulus for book trade

The International Publishers Association (IPA), along with several other peak publishing industry bodies, has urged governments around the world to adopt ‘economic stimulus packages to sustain their respective publishing sectors and the value chains that surround them’.

In an open letter on Thursday 23 April, to coincide with World Book Day, representatives of the IPA, International Authors Forum, European and International Booksellers Federation, scholarly publishing body STM and the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations called on governments to ‘recognize, support and celebrate the importance of books, learning solutions,and professional and scholarly content’ in the Covid-19 crisis and beyond.

‘Books help us become better human beings,’ said the letter. ‘Books need authors to write and illustrate them, publishers to invest in them, booksellers to get them to readers, and collective management organizations to protect their copyright. This chain, so vital to society, is under imminent threat.’

‘The impact on the world’s creative industries, including the book sector, has been devastating,’ the letter said of the Covid-19 crisis. ‘In many countries, our industry is already struggling for oxygen. We must find ways to ensure the future for authors, publishers, editors, designers, distributors, booksellers and those who work in collective management, so that the book industry can bounce back once this pandemic is conquered. A world without new books would be a sad and impoverished place. We are working hard to come through this crisis, but we need help to survive. We need governments to help us get through it together.’

 

Category: International news