Publishing News to cease publication

Book trade weekly Publishing News is to close, with the issue of 25th July to be its last. The 29-year-old magazine attributed the closure to advertisers' moves to shift their spend to online and direct sales.

The closure (see full statement, below) has meant eight redundancies across the editorial team, with editor Liz Thomson, deputy editor Roger Tagholm, Rodney Burbeck and Ralph Baxter all set to lose their jobs.

PN founder and chairman Fred Newman said that all other activities of PN Ltd were unaffected by the closure of the magazine. The company will continue to run the British Book Awards, for which it has just signed a new two-year contract with sponsor Galaxy. He added that there was a possibility that PN would continue to have an online presence, based around the British Book Awards. PN will also continue with the Christmas Books Catalogue, a joint venture with the Booksellers Association.

Research agency BML, which PN Ltd bought in 2003, will continue and will still mount its usual Books and the Consumer Conference in March 2009.

Newman said: "This has been a sad and difficult decision to make, but the nature of the book trade which today offers a multiplicity of ways for publishers to sell books both to booksellers and to consumers, has changed dramatically. For the biggest book publishers the trade press is now only one of many options for the promotion and sale of their titles."

PN m.d. Jo Henry added: "It’s been an interesting nine months since I took over as MD of Publishing News Ltd. It was clear from the outset that the job was going to be a challenge, and I’m only sorry that time ran out for the excellent and highly experienced team here to fully enact the plans we had for the future of the company as a whole.On behalf of the staff I want to thank the whole trade for their great support and encouragement over the last few difficult years and we hope we can look forward to working with you in the future."

Editor Liz Thomson, who joined PN in 1984, said that she had worked with a "fantastic, hardworking and loyal team" in the five years since she took over as editor. She added: "Working with Fred has been a rollercoaster ride – but one that has afforded great opportunities to develop wonderful relationships across publishing. I look forward to continuing these in my second act."

THE PUBLISHING NEWS STATEMENT IN FULL:

London July 15th 2008

Publishing News, the book trade weekly, is to cease publication. The issue of Friday July 25th will be the last.

The publication, founded in 1979, has been hit by the same problems that have affected all magazines and newspapers, as advertisers have shifted increasing proportions of their spend to online and direct sales.

PN’s founder and Chairman, Fred Newman, commented: "This has been a sad and difficult decision to make, but the nature of the book trade which today offers a multiplicity of ways for publishers to sell books both to booksellers and to consumers, has changed dramatically. For the biggest book publishers the trade press is now only one of many options for the promotion and sale of their titles."

The closure has entailed a number of redundancies, particularly on the editorial side, where over the years, PN’s innovative approach has set the highest standards in the reporting, analysis and interpretation, of events in the publishing industry.

Newman stressed that all other activities of PN Ltd are unaffected by the closure of Publishing News. The company will continue to organise the British Book Awards and has recently signed a new two year contract with its headline sponsor Galaxy. The team involved in the management both of the Awards and the British Book Industry Awards, Alastair Giles, Merric Davidson and Midas PR, will continue in their roles. Also unaffected is the Christmas Books Catalogue, a joint venture with the BA. The 2008 edition is now in production and close on one million copies will be distributed through bookshops. BML, the leading research agency for the book business, will also carry on and mount its usual Books and the Consumer Conference in March 2009.

Managing Director Jo Henry adds: "It’s been an interesting nine months since I took over as MD of Publishing News Ltd. It was clear from the outset that the job was going to be a challenge, and I’m only sorry that time ran out for the excellent and highly experienced team here to fully enact the plans we had for the future of the company as a whole. On behalf of the staff I want to thank the whole trade for their great support and encouragement over the last few difficult years and we hope we can look forward to working with you in the future."

Editor, Liz Thomson, says: "Since joining PN in 1984 I have been in the privileged position of witnessing fascinating book trade history. In the editor’s chair for the past five years I have worked with a fantastic, hardworking and loyal team, including Deputy Editor Roger Tagholm and a roll call of contributors and columnists who have helped make Publishing News a lively, multi-faceted and outward-looking publication. Working with Fred has been a rollercoaster ride – but one that has afforded great opportunities to develop wonderful relationships across publishing. I look forward to continuing these in my second act."