BRITISH BOOK SALES

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27367, 4 June 1954, Page 10

BRITISH BOOK SALES

“Tough Market” In North America

LONDON PUBLISHER’S OPINION

North America is recognised as a “tough market” by British publishers, according to Mr J. EL Barrett, of London, who is managing director of World Books, director of a publishing firm, and chairman of the English Association of Book Clubs. Mr in an interview in Christchurch yesterday, described the United States market as .“difficult” and the Canadian market as “allergic.” The North Americans were newspaper readers, he said. World Books, whose membership now totalled more than 200,000. had increased its exports so substantially that, the Bank of England considered the organisation worth supporting in a drive for dollar members, said Mr Barrett. “The Americans like aiding you, but they don’t like trading with you in a very competitive market,” he remarked.

Canada was “littered with the corpses of British publishers” who had- tried to sell British books there, said Mr Barrett. He had found that the only way to interpret World Books to Canadians was to use American resources—he had interested the American publishing house of Doubleday in the project—and Canadian brains. American and British *laws relating to book clubs’ operations differed considerably, Mr Barrett said. In Britain, for instance, book clubs could not reprint a book until at least a year after its original publication; they could not announce forthcoming titles more than six months ahead; and members had to take subscriptions for at least six months. American book clubs were allowed to publish simultaneously with the first edition, there was no restriction on advance notification of titles, and the minimum membership period was four months, he said. In America, the clubs also offered free books as an inducement to join. British book clubs were thus in no way comparable with American book clubs, Mr Barrett said, and the American clubs were more expensive to join than the British clubs.