A panel discussion on publishing’s uncertain future
It would be an understatement to say that a lot has changed since Johannes Guttenburg’s revolutionary invention of the printing press in the 1450s. Today, however, the future of publishing as we know it may be at stake.
Vocamus Press and 10 Carden Street held a panel on the future of publishing on Friday, Oct. 25, from 9 to 11 p.m. at Red Papaya. The panel included Tim Inkster, Andrew Hood, Danica Evering, and Nicholas Ruddock, and was moderated by Bruce Dadey.
Speakers participated in a lively discussion, exploring the challenges facing the publishing industry from various perspectives.
Tim Inkster, of independent press The Porcupine’s Quill, has participated in the publishing world for close to 40 years. Inkster brought to the table the issue of “fair dealing” as it relates to copyrighted material in academia.
Universities previously paid to access copyrighted materials, but many have recently decided that since they are educational institutions, they can copy anything they want, at any time, in any quantity, Inkster explained. Publishers and authors are losing royalties they previously received from licensed copying – one of many challenges the publishing industry has been contending with.
Danica Evering then introduced Publication Studio’s unique approach to publishing: “We print and bind books by hand, and we create original works with artists we admire…We don’t simply produce books, but we bring people together through the shared experience of reading a book. Each one is made by hand, one at a time.” This model of publishing resolves the problem of readership, since books are only printed when there is a demand for them.
Writer Nicholas Ruddock was next to speak, representing the traditionalist view on publishing. Early in his career, Ruddock began writing short poems and stories, and submitted them to various small magazines across Canada. Publishing credits started to accumulate, and led to greater opportunities. Ruddick acknowledged that the rejections over the years were difficult, but he maintained faith in the trial-and-error process of submitting to magazines.
“I feel a strong attachment to the little presses and the little magazines, I just hope that they are able to pull through. Particularly the little magazines, which are invaluable to anybody who is trying to write, and trying to find if anyone is interested in what they have to say,” said Ruddock.
Andrew Hood’s experience as a writer didn’t follow this traditional route. Hood was able to form a personal connection with the publishers of his first book of stories, who ran the independent business out of their basement. As Hood pointed out, the endeavor did not aim to make a profit.
“I’ve never made money from publishing. Publishing has led me to receive grants and awards, and I’ve made money that way. But as far as the books themselves, they’ve never really yielded me anything beyond the opportunity to meet people who, for some idiot reason, do this out of love, or some weird belief in the process of publishing,” Hood said.
Hood addressed the cynicism that often accompanies discussions on “the death of publishing,” an overused phrase. “I think the most terrible part of this conversation is the rhetoric – when people talk about the death of anything, I think that just drags us to a halt, because things are changing,” Hood clarified.
One major issue is declining readership – fewer people are buying books. It seems that the reading community is becoming insular: the people who support independent publishers are often other writers and publishers, who are involved in what may be considered a niche market.
Ruddock pointed out that there is a proliferation of published material – there’s a greater volume of published work, but it reaches smaller audiences. “There are still a lot more novels being published now than there probably were 40 years ago. Now you couldn’t possibly catch up with the deluge of new novels that come out.”
Reading as a leisure activity requires a great deal of time and intellectual effort – and, as an audience member noted, trendy bestsellers tend to have arguably little literary value (vampires, anyone?).
“Reading is hard; it makes sense that pablum sells,” Hood added. “What’s lacking in people is a lack of trust in their own faculties. I think readers have come to mistrust their own ability to engage in storytelling.”
Ruddock responded that the situation is not one of despair; he still encounters young people who are reading and writing. “You should probably just be writing to write,” Ruddock stated.
There are many challenges facing the publishing industry today, ranging from financial setbacks, to copyright laws, to the general public’s reception of printed works in an age where information is so easily accessible online.
People are no longer reading the same way they were in the past, but that doesn’t mean books will become obsolete – we may just have to cast aside some traditional notions of what it means to read, write and publish in this era.