The recent return of book buyers to stores in Italy has helped the overall Italian book business bounce back. After showing a year-over-year revenue loss of 20% through April 18, that loss is down to 11% as of July 11.
A report by the Federation of European Publishers aims to quantify the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on European publishers, citing a significant plunge in bookstore sales and commensurate lost revenue for publishers.
German Book sales crashed during lockdown, but have bounced back as bookstores reopened, and are down just 14% overall for the first six months of 2020, compared with the same period in 2019.
The organizers of the Guadalajara International Book Fair, scheduled for November 28 to December 6, may divide the fair into two venues, go virtual, or cancel altogether.
The Bertram Group, one of two major U.K. book wholesalers, has gone bankrupt. Asset sales have been agreed to, and the majority of its employees have been let go.
The Frankfurt Book Fair updated exhibitors on changes, which includes getting free additional booth space, the option to reserve a co-working space, or cancel with a full refund before August 15.
The Frankfurt Book Fair has launched Pitch Your CIP, a new Facebook-based community to connect rights holders and facilitate books-to-film pitches and other intellectual property exchanges.