Merchants of culture - John B. Thompson

These are turbulent times in the world of book publishing. For nearly
five centuries the methods and practices of book publishing remained
largely unchanged, but at the dawn of the twenty-first century the
industry finds itself faced with perhaps the greatest challenges since
Gutenberg. A combination of economic pressures and technological change
is forcing publishers to alter their practices and think hard about the
future of the books in the digital age.

In this book - the first
major study of trade publishing for more than 30 years - Thompson
situates the current challenges facing the industry in an historical
context, analysing the transformation of trade publishing in the United
States and Britain since the 1960s. He gives a detailed account of how
the world of trade publishing really works, dissecting the roles of
publishers, agents and booksellers and showing how their practices are
shaped by a field that has a distinctive structure and dynamic.

This
new paperback edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to take
account of the most recent developments, including the dramatic increase
in ebook sales and its implications for the publishing industry and its
future.