Literature has never been more available — this morning at BEA I saw everything from interactive phone apps to literary tattoos — and yet, according to government studies, fewer Americans in the 21st Century opt to spend time and money reading. The studies reported, for example, that money spent on books, adjusted for inflation, dropped 14 percent from 1985 to 2005 and has fallen dramatically since the mid-1990s. Of course, the definition of “book” has also changed dramatically since the mid-1990s.

 

Dominique Raccah, Founder and CEO of Sourcebooks identified three emerging digital opportunities for publishers: the ebook, (including the media enhanced ebook); apps for phones and touch pads; web-based communities and interactive programs. Will the advent of such formats inspire more reading?

 

It’s impossible to predict, but fascinating to witness.

 

Clay Shirky, in his 7 x 20 x 21 presentation, invoked the power of unintended consequence: widespread Bible publication unhinged, rather than clinched, the power of the Catholic church. Abundance, in other words, can be as difficult to manage as scarcity.


 

We've never had more options for communicating  — between phones, voice mail and text messaging, email and other forms of social media. Yet, ask any publishing profressional. Rude silences have been on the rise for quite a while now.