The Business of Books

Andre Schiffrin gave the luncheon address at the third annual meeting for Small and Independent Publishers. The former managing editor of Pantheon Books talked about his book, The Business of Books: How International Conglomerates Took Over Publishing and Changed the Way We Read, published by his own company. The book focuses on how the publishing industry has changed from the smaller, powerful publishing companies to the media conglomerates where most publishers now depend on each other. The author explained how this might affect the market and whether the larger publishing companies today are more interested in making money than they were a couple of decades ago, and if they still provide the public with the books they want. After his prepared remarks, Mr. Schiffrin answered audience questions. close