October 1, 2024 In book markets, Digital, Global50 Ranking

Global Ranking 2024 is out

What Drives and Shapes the Global Book Business in 2024?

Global 50 Publishing Ranking 2024

The Global 50 Publishing Ranking 2024 provides a deep dive into today’s international book industry, using many of the world’s leading publishers as examples. The companies listed generate over 60 billion euros in revenue – more than half of the global publishing market value.

Since its first edition in 2007, the Global 50 Publishing Ranking has provided a comprehensive and in-depth annual overview of the global book business, with a ranking of the industry leaders, analysis of key trends and strategic developments, and detailed company profiles, rich with key data on financials, mergers and acquisitions, structural business developments such as changes in top management, corporate restructuring, and digital and AI-related innovations.

The report reflects surprising continuities and profound shifts in an industry that is experiencing highly dynamic consolidation as well as transformative forces that are radically reshaping business and distribution models for consumer books, educational materials, and scholarly and professional information services.

The Global 50 Publishing Ranking is researched by Ruediger Wischenbart Content and Consulting and published by leading international book industry publications, including Publishers Weekly (USA), The Bookseller (UK), Livres Hebdo (France), dpr Digital Publishing Report (Germany) and Bookdao (China). 

The Ranking is supported by Bookwire.

Today, book publishing has become a true part of the global content business. Yet books have retained a unique quality because publishing has created the most diverse manifestations of what can be neatly summed up by those 4 letters – B O O K:

Books can be printed on paper, listened to on a smartphone, packaged as an educational course, subscribed to as a globally branded academic journal, or snacked on as a serialized animated story. Books are embraced by audiences in multiple formats, physical or digital, picked up in a bookstore or on an online platform, presented by a small but highly creative independent press or by a global publishing conglomerate.

The Publishing Ranking 2024 documents and analyses this industry in a comprehensive global perspective.  

September 4, 2024 In book markets, Digital, Global50 Ranking, Publishing Beyond Publishers

Global 50 CEO Talk 2024 at Frankfurt

Simon & Schuster's Global Expansion and Digital Transformation Spotlighted at Global 50 CEO Talk 2024

Portraits of Richard Sarnoff (KKR Private Equity) and Jonathan Karp (Simon and Schuster)

Prominent Guest Speakers, Jonathan Karp, CEO of Simon & Schuster and Richard Sarnoff, Chairman of Media for KKR's Private Equity platform in the Americas to discuss Simon & Schuster’s Strategic Vision and Growth Opportunities at the Frankfurt Book Fair’s Premier Industry Event

The Global 50 CEO Talk 2024, held in partnership with the Frankfurt Book Fair, will take place on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, from 14.00 to 15.00 at the International Stage (between halls 4.1 and 5.1). The session will explore the strategic vision of Simon & Schuster, the iconic global publishing company celebrating its 100th anniversary. Jonathan Karp will highlight Simon & Schuster’s evolving role as a global publishing powerhouse, expanding its reach internationally while embracing digital transformation and innovation in publishing.

Simon & Schuster, acquired by KKR in 2023, continues to grow its global footprint, with recent acquisitions of leading Dutch publisher Veen Bosch & Keuning (VBK) and Australian publisher Affirm Press, marking its international ambitions. As the company continues to diversify across print and digital channels, Karp will explore the opportunities and challenges of scaling internationally and how Simon & Schuster is positioning itself for sustained growth.

Richard Sarnoff, Chairman of the Board of Simon & Schuster and long-time KKR investor and former senior publishing industry executive, will provide additional context on Simon & Schuster’s successful transition under new ownership and how the company is poised to lead in both established markets and new growth areas within the evolving publishing landscape.

Jonathan Karp and Richard Sarnoff will be interviewed live on stage by the editors of by Bookdao (PR China), The Bookseller (UK), dpr – Digital Publishing Report (Germany), Livres Hebdo (France) and Publishers Weekly (US) in a conversation moderated by Rüdiger Wischenbart.

The Global 50 CEO Talk is prepared in conjunction with the Global 50 Publishing Ranking, which has mapped the 50 largest publishing corporations each year since 2007. The world’s 50 largest publishing companies included in the latest ranking report generated publishing revenues of over 60 bnEUR (65 bnUSD) in 2023. The ranking has been researched and updated annually since 2007 by Ruediger Wischenbart Content and Consulting.

The Global 50 Ranking and CEO Talk are supported by Bookwire (www.bookwire.de).

The full Global 50 report, with the big list, an analysis and data-rich company profiles will be available as a digital publication of around 250 pages from late September 2024 at www.wischenbart.com/ranking.

About Jonathan Karp:

Jonathan Karp, Chief Executive Officer of Simon & Schuster, leads the company’s numerous publishing groups as well as its international companies in Australia, Canada, India, and the United Kingdom. Karp first joined Simon & Schuster in June 2010 as publisher of the company’s flagship imprint, and was named President and Publisher of Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing in 2018. Prior to joining Simon & Schuster, Karp was Publisher and Editor in Chief of Twelve, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, which he founded in 2005, following his tenure as Editor in Chief of Random House, where he began his publishing career. Karp serves on the Board of Directors of the Association of American Publishers and the Advisory Board of NYU’s Center for Publishing and Applied Literary Arts.

About Richard Sarnoff

Richard Sarnoff, Chairman of the Simon & Schuster Board of Directors, brings a wealth of experience in publishing, media, and education. His illustrious career includes serving as a senior executive and Supervisory Board member at Bertelsmann, where he held leadership roles both at Random House and Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments. In addition, Sarnoff served as Chairman of the Association of American Publishers during a key time in the evolution of the publishing industry as it adapted to the growth of eBooks and digital audiobooks. He currently serves as Chairman of Media within KKR’s Americas Private Equity business and in addition to the Simon & Schuster Board currently serves on the Boards of OverDrive, Teaching Strategies, Chegg, AST SpaceMobile, Lightcast, and numerous not-for-profit organizations.

Logo Publishing Beyond Publishers
June 25, 2024 In book markets, Digital, ebook, english, Publishing Beyond Publishers

New! >> What is “Publishing Beyond Publishers”

A new report explores the many surprising facets of how authors and their readers have reinvented the book business on digital platforms. Click here > Free download for a limited time!

There is so much more going on in the international book business then what fits between two covers.

Self-publishing – platforms that target highly segmented target audiences – multi-format publishing – multi-channel distribution – serialization – readers (and listeners) who have taken on the role of book ambassadors.

There are so many ways for books to be created, produced, picked up by consumers – and devoured!

And amazingly, most of this is not represented in the book and publishing statistics and bestseller lists that we look at to make sense of our industry. 

Download the full report here.

The library at the headquarter of Yuewen China Literature in Shanghai.
The library at the headquarter of Yuewen China Literature in Shanghai. (Photo: Ruediger Wischenbart)

“Publishing Beyond Publishers” provides a global overview of the rapidly expanding universe of publishing models.

Most of these go well beyond the traditional value chain of authors working through traditional publishers (as gatekeepers and producers of their work).

Instead, content can be created and disseminated in a variety of formats (print, digital), media (books, audio, films, games), distribution channels (communities, platforms, streams) and business models (unit sales of products, subscriptions, streaming, freemium, paid models) in mostly digitally defined supply and marketing chains.

This study maps representative cases of these new models and adds evidence-based indicators to assess the scale of these sectors and sub-sectors.

The report has been written by Ruediger Wischenbart, with Thad McIlroy.

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