A LITERARY WAR.

Woodville Examiner, Volume XXII, Issue 3962, 14 December 1906, Page 1 (Supplement)

A LITERARY WAR.

A COMPLEX SITUATION. A war has broken out in the literary world between the Publishers’ Association and tho Times’ Boole Club. Tho Times, a year or so ago, started a book club, whose members must be subscrib ors to the Times newspaper; they could read all tho latest books, ami ultimately if they chose, purchase them at low prices. Eor instance, the Times Book Club buys novels at the retail price of 4s. 6d and offers to sell them to its subscribers for 3s lid a mouth after publication, at 3s in three ’months, and Is 6d in six months. The Times assorts that it is fighting tho battle of the public and the authors. It says that the fight is between the Publishers’ Association and tho Times’ Book Club. The Publishers' Association says it has been driven to take action by the booksellers, who have refused to take up books on the ground that the Times Book Club is underselling them. A meeting of the Publishers’ Association was held, and it lasted two hours. It was decided that the firms represented by the Publishers’ Association should decline, iu existing circumstances, to supply the Times Book Club with “net” hooks at other than the ordinary retail price, and there was a general feeling among those present that, ponding a .settlement of the dispute, it would bo unwise of tho members of the association to continue their advertisements in the columns of the Times newspaper. No formal resolution was submitted to tho meeting upon any of tho points raised, but it was resolved to combat the Times Book Club on tho question at issue with all tho power and resource at the command of the association. Tho Publishers’ Association has withdrawn its advertisements from tho Times, but Mr. iMoberley Bell says bo ta receiving offers of books on all hands.