IPG Offers Independent Publishers Rights and Export Training
In the Literary Agents and Scouts Center, or LitAg, at the 2009 Frankfurter Buchmesse. Image: FBM, Peter Hirth
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Also today:
Frankfurt Aims for 70 Percent of Its Pre-Pandemic Size
Shine: ‘To Make the Most of Exciting Opportunities’
In the run-up to Frankfurter Buchmesse (October 19 to 23)he Independent Publishers Guild (IPG) in the United Kingdom is working with some of its member-publishers to prepare them to make the most of the trade show in Germany.
This preparation program is supported by funding from the UK government’s Department for International Trade.
The training program is focused on buying and selling translation publication rights and exporting inventory to international markets. There are four webinars in the IPG program, each with two options relative to aptitude—a beginner-level course and an intermediate-level option. These webinars, led by people with experience in the field, are to allow time both for general questions and for one-to-one inquiries.
Backing up the webinars, online content is intended “to support rights, exports, and book-fair strategies. The material is delivered on the IPG “skills hub” and features a two-part training course.
In addition, participants in the training program are to get a “Book Fair Toolkit” that offers “practical advice for tasks [including] setting objectives, managing budgets, pre-show marketing, capturing and following up sales leads, and good sustainability practices. There’s also a directory of industry contacts and tips from previous exhibitors.
The guild makes the point that the materials in the program “will be tailored to the needs of smaller publishers and the specific activities of Frankfurt Book Fair.”
As Publishing Perspectives readers know, the rights trade—which is at the heart of the book fair—is anticipated to be a busy place, with all 456 tables sold out and a waiting list in place for Frankfurt’s Literary Agents & Scouts Center (LitAg) in Hall 4.2.
Bridget Shine
In a prepared statement, Bridget Shine, CEO of the Independent Publishers Guild, is quoted, saying, “The IPG has supported members at the Frankfurt Book Fair for many years now, so we’re ideally placed to deliver this new package of support.
“Independent publishers have always been agile and effective in identifying ways to increase their international sales via rights and exports, and these resources will help even more small businesses to make the most of the exciting opportunities.
“We’re grateful to the Department for International Trade for backing this support and encouraging [small- and medium-sized enterprises] at trade shows including Frankfurt.”
At the Department of International Trade in London, it’s the UK Tradeshow Program that’s designed to support UK businesses in attending overseas trade fairs and exhibitions. That government program also offers access to grants to companies, to help cover exhibition costs. It’s devised to support British businesses in working to break into international markets.
More from Publishing Perspectives on the work of the Independent Publishers Guild is here, more on Frankfurter Buchmesse is here, more on the international rights trade in book publishing is here, and more on the UK publishing market is here.
More from us on the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on international book publishing is here.
