PRICE OF BOOKS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 193, 16 August 1922, Page 13

PRICE OF BOOKS.

MAY FALL SHORTLY, Mr. T. Young, managing director of Cassell and Co., Ltd., one of the largest publishing houses in the world, arrived in Sydney from London by the Euripides ! on the (ith inst. He is making the trip partly for holiday reasons and partly to look into the operations of Cassell's braiu-hes in Sydney and Melbourne. Mr. Young told an interviewer that no one regretted more than his firm the ' present price of books, particularly ! novels. But although he expected prices j to fall shortly, the high price was at present unavoidable. Every expense in connection with the publishing business was practically at a premium. To acevntuate matters, a section of the printing trade in England, he said, was agitating for a working week of five days, "We can afford to take no risks," said Mr. Young, "and consequently the unknown author has little chance. We must pin our faith to the writers whose books are recognised as 'good sellers.' and only when our reading department pronounces the work of a new author as of a striking nature will -we undertake publication." Mr. Young, who is afeo a member of the council of the Empire Press Union. "\-iirrt*. to be in Australia about three - months.