The Battle is Won! And what did I learn?

Parallel Import Restrictions on books in Australia are here to stay.

Today the Australian Labor Party Cabinet and Caucus decided not to accept the Productivity Commission’s recommendations. This decision shows their support for the Australian book industry and the people who work in it. I applaud them for understanding the complexities of this issue.

http://www.booksellerandpublisher.com.au/articles/2009/11/13936/

As a member of Saving Aussie Books action group I have learnt a great deal about the impact standing up for what you believe in can achieve. I know now I have a voice and that voice can be heard. Through this campaign I wrote my first letter to a Prime Minister, a Premier, many Senators and politicians both federal, state and local. I spoke on radio and left my very first comments on local and international digital media sites. I had my first letter to the editor published in the Courier Mail and hand painted my first protest placard. My voice could be heard loud and clear at my first street rally outside the Dymocks store, Brisbane and I answered my first live interview by a national journalist in between handing out leaflets. And then there was the petition. It is a wonder my friends are still speaking to me. At BBQs, birthdays, school fetes, evening classes, P & C meetings etc the petition was always being passed around.

I’ve learnt so much on this journey. I’ve learnt we all truly have a voice and an opportunity in this great country to be heard. Thank you to the politicians who listened and understood. Thank you to everyone who posted, emailed, wrote, phoned and spoke in support of our cause. I am elated. It was indeed a privilege and an honour.

But best of all I have made some life long friends.

Three cheers for the Warrior Women of the Book.

WWOBs rule!

http://savingaussiebooks.wordpress.com/

NEW ONLINE PETITION TO SAVE AUSSIE BOOKS

NEWSFLASH !!

There is now an online petition available in support of Aussie Books.

To register your vote, go to: http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/no-parallel-importation-of-books-into-australia.html

Please forward this link far and wide amongst your contacts...

Thanks!

PS The online petition does NOT replace the paper petition. Paper petitions carry more weight (of influence) and are therefore still preferred.

The paper petition can be downloaded from http://savingaussiebooks.wordpress.com/. Paper petitions close 1 September 2009.

C'mon, We can do this!

NZ proves lifting PIRs does not reduce the price of books

Parallel Importation Restrictions on books were lifted in New Zealand ten years ago and yet books there have not dropped in price, especially children’s books.

A hard back copy of one of Lynley Dodd’s famous Hairy Maclarey picture books recently cost me NZ$25 in New Zealand and yesterday I saw the exact same copy in an Australian independent bookshop for A$21.95.

Children's books in NZ by a NZ author are now so rare that they carry a small triangle in the top corner of the front cover stating: ‘NZ author.’

Why do you think this is so?

Well, the NZ Society of Authors and the Book Publishers Assn of NZ sent their own submissions to the Productivity Commission in Australia against the lifting of the PIRs. Here are the points they made:

"Lifting PIRs has had a detrimental effect in NZ."
“The consumer has not benefitted from lower prices in the shops.”
“Retailers actively increase the selling prices of books above the RRPs.”
“The chains are also limiting the range of titles they offer.”
“A number of large multinational publishers withdrew their distribution infrastructure.”
“Resulting in reduced employment within the industry.”
“Local authors receive reduced royalties or no royalties at all on re-imported overseas editions of their works.”
“Overseas publishers supply remainders (especially children’s books) directly to NZ booksellers when local publishers represent those titles.”

In spite of these submissions the Productivity Commission’s report states:
“The effect of the NZ reforms on book prices, if any, is less clear.”

What is clear is that the children’s book industry in NZ has suffered the most.

I'm taking the petition to the Byron Bay Writers Festival

I'm off to a workshop tomorrow at the Byron Bay Writers Festival. Like a good music folk festival it is one of the richest experiences you can have creatively in Australia. The writings, the readings and the discussions are all music for the soul and the intellect.

What a pity then that such festivals will be reduced in size and will potentially fizzle out as fewer and fewer Australian publishers are able to invest in homegrown talent and nurture their local authors. Should the parallel import restrictions (PIRs) on books be lifted, there is every likelihood that this may happen.

Australian editions of books like 'Harry Potter' (published here) provide Australian publishers with the financial rewards that enable them to continue to invest in Australian-authored books which may have a smaller print run. Without this help many Australian stories may not be told.

If PIRs are lifted the foreign editions of Australian books will be sold here side by side with the Australian edition. However, the Australian author will receive a reduced royalty and if the foreign book is a remaindered copy the author receives no royalty at all.

The Productivity Commission admits that the foreign edition may displace the opportunity for the author to 'sell' his Australian published book, thereby directly affecting his income further. Not only does he receive no royalty on the 'remaindered' copy, but he misses out on selling the local edition - a no win situation.

It hardly seems worth spending years writing a book, then re-writing and editing it for no reward.

So tomorrow I will be going to the Byron Bay Writers Festival armed with a petition.

You can download your copy from http://savingaussiebooks.wordpress.com

It will be my way of stopping this madness.

Join me.

CHEAP QUALITY BOOKS

In today's Courier Mail, regarding the parallel importation debate, Suzanne Clarke had this to say about the myth of cheaper books:

"Surely the question is which books will be cheaper? The latest Dan Brown and myriad other American bestsellers, or offerings with a lower print run from Australian authors? You can bet we will be bombarded with the former. It's the equivalent of saying an abundance of fast food outlets is a victory for cheaper food."

Here, here. These low quality books will be found at your local giant supermarkets and multinational mega retailers, where you will see the following advertising slogans:

Cheap quality books - the fast food meal of words
Cheap quality books - the drive-through literary experience
Cheap quality books - the take away wrapped in a dust jacket
Cheap quality books - do you want fries with that?

http://savingaussiebooks.wordpress.com/

is the TAKE ACTION blog for those of you who wish to take action immediately against the recommendations of the Productivity Commission re the lifting of The Parallel Importation of Books.

This blog has been started by a group of writers, teachers, parents and readers passionate about supporting the Australian book industry and...

it has a wealth of information, with articles, news items, blog posts, politicians' email addresses and handouts for you to use and pass out to friends, colleagues, family and neighbours.

Go and check it out. Join the campaign to save our Aussie books.

While you're there, leave a comment.

SAVE AUSSIE BOOKS NOW!

I am rather chuffed today. You see my letter to the editor of the Courier Mail was published in yesterday's (Saturday) paper. They gave it an accompanying colour photo, a central position, a major headline and two columns. I'm glad to see that the Courier is open to reporting both sides of the debate.

I am taking action and I encourage you to do the same.

What can you do?

Follow my link to 'Saving Aussie Books' under 'Angela's Places' and there you will find all the email and postal addresses you need to make a difference, plus all the details of the impact the Parallel Importation of Books will have on our book industry and our children's literacy. I am so angry that not only did I email Mr Kevin Rudd, but I sent him a letter too. And it was so easy! Saving Aussie Books tells you how.

For your information I have included my letter to the editor below:

To the editor,

MARKET UP FOR GRABS

The market control that Woolworths and Coles now hold over petrol pricing and groceries will soon be extended to include books. Together with Dymocks, and under the guise of the Coalition for Cheaper Books, they have been lobbying for the lifting of the current restrictions on the parallel importation of books.

By hiding behind this collective name, the 'Coalition' has duped their customers, guaranteeing cheaper books.

There is no guarantee. These retail giants are not obliged to pass on any savings to the consumer. In fact, they have a history of not doing so.

In its submission to the Productivity Commission, Penguin Australia said: "At the moment two of our biggest chains are selling many titles significantly above the recommended retail price."

According to industry sources, Kmart and Target (Coles Group) demand up to 70% discount on the RRP from the publisher. (By comparison the author receives less than 10% of the RRP.) Then these mega-retailers add a few dollars over the RRP.
Does anyone really think they're about delivering cheaper books?
I don't.

The Productivity Commission gets it wrong

I am angry! I am amazed... I am at a loss to explain the reasons why the Productivity Commission has failed to take any notice of the 100s of submissions sent to them from concerned Australians .

Instead the Productivity Commission has published its report to the Government recommending that the current restrictions on the parallel importation of books be lifted.

(The current laws state that if a book is written, designed, edited and published by an Australian, an overseas publisher cannot sell their edition of it here. If it is produced overseas, Australian publishers must publish it here within 30 days of its foreign release, or it can be "parallel imported".)

Most at risk from the lifting of these restrictions are Australian published books, specifically children’s books, their readers, and the workers involved in their publication.

For this reason I strongly disagree with the Productivity Commission’s recommendations and wish to make the following points:
The USA, UK and Canada do maintain territorial copyright and restrict the parallel importation of books.
Foreign publishers will flood the Australian market with foreign edited versions of Australian books. These are called ‘remainders’. These remainders will undercut the Australian editions.

Small publishers will struggle and close, larger publishers will likely move off shore.

Jobs will be lost in publishing, printing, editing, marketing, distributing, bookselling, writing and illustrating books.

Independent booksellers (30% of the market) will be unable to compete with the multinationals. (Sound familiar?)

Resulting in fewer Australian books being published and our unique Australian culture will be put at risk.

There will be less choice for the Australian reader. The multinational booksellers will decide what they offer us. (Coles, Woolworths, Target, K-mart, Big W, Dymocks, Borders etc. are behind the push for the lift of PIR’s)

Quality Australian books will increase in price not fall, like a fine wine no one can afford.

Publishers will not invest in new talent. ie There will be no one to replace Mem Fox.

Australian children need books that reflect their world, their culture and history.

The effect on our children and students:Foreign published ‘remaindered’ editions of Australian children’s books will be ‘dumped’ here. These will have been edited with American spelling and idiom. Eg. Ute > Pick-up, footpath > sidewalk, footie > gridiron etc.

With diminished opportunities here, Australian children’s authors will be forced to de-Australianise their writing to suit the global market. Kate Grenville said: “If I had said no, I would never have been published overseas.”

Australian publishers will be unable to afford to invest in new picture books and new authors. Yes, no new Possum Magic.

Foreign editions will end up replacing the Australian editions, as fewer Publishers continue to invest in Australian talent..

Australian children already struggling with reading and spelling will be further confused with the foreign editions.

Australian humour in books will be edited out because the foreign market will not understand our jokes. This will then be sold back to us.

Our children need to develop a strong sense of self and an identity of who they are as Australians. Australian books by Australian authors, which display Australian content with Australian spelling and reflect Australian social and cultural values and indigenous beliefs are one of the few sources still available to them. Young people are already bombarded with more than enough popular American culture and language in the forms of music, movies and food without taking away the only resource left to them which reflects who they are – Aussie books.

Worth reading is the closing address by Richard Flanagan at the recent Sydney Writers Festival www.randomhouse.com.au/editor/documents/richardflanagansydneytalk.pdf). Flanagan says this issue is about Australians' rights and our need to have our own stories in our own voice.
What you can do now:


· Write to Kevin Rudd http://www.pm.gov.au/ and your local member before this becomes law.
Please feel free to use any of the above.

You may also like to read through some of the submissions to the Productivity Commission at www.pc.gov.au/projects/study/books (Two of them are mine)
I have to go now and have a herbal calmative...........fuming steam escapes my ears