Came across this article by Robert Booth in The Guardian yesterday. I have mixed feelings about Picador’s move–I do enjoy the tactile experience of a well made hard-bound book, and I generally prefer hardbacks for their durability.
However, the quality of paperbacks has improved greatly in the past decade, and they are significantly more portable than hardbacks. But the bigger question facing publishers would appear to be how they will adapt to the digital world . . .
Now Picador, an imprint of Pan MacMillan, the 8th largest publisher in the UK, which has authors such as Helen Fielding, Don DeLillo and Cormac McCarthy on its books, has called time on what it describes as “a moribund market”. From next year it will launch almost every new novel as a £7.99 paperback, with other large publishers expected to follow.
