Three people in suits looking at an ebook reading device
June 5, 2025 In AI, book markets, ebook, Politik und Kultur, publishing, Publishing Beyond Publishers

What is a book

What is a book, really? 

Most would agree that the digital copy of a printed book fulfills all the requirements to be called a book, as it was defined by UNESCO back in 1964:

 

 

“…a non-periodical printed publication of at least 49 pages, exclusive of cover pages, and published in a country and made available to the public.”

But are all these items in the showroom of Yuewen – or “China Literature” – in a show room in Shanghai books as well?

Yuewen evolved over more than 20 years from a tiny, experimental writing platform to a 1 billion US$ company, the largest and hugely popular self-publishing platform in Shanghai, China. 

Many stories were started here, and subsequently appeared in other format – as printed books, or animations, serialized stories, feeds on the smartphones of kids, you name it

The show room at Yuewen - or "China Literature" - in Shanghai

In late May 2025, I had the pleasure to explore that simple question of “What is a book” – and why does this matter? – at the Readmagine conference in Madrid.

A short version of my presentation can be downloaded here.

A video of my presentation and an extended version of my slides will be added to my reports later on. 

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.

September 3, 2024 In book markets, Global50 Ranking, Publishing Beyond Publishers

Our projects in fall 2024

What is driving the global Book Business in these turbulent times? We help you to find out!

Cover of the Global 50 Publishing Ranking 2024

3 big research questions are framing our approaches in this year’s Global Ranking and 2 related events:

  • What is driving change in the global book business?
  • Why are there so many new faces in publishing leadership positions around the world?
  • How big and how impactful are all these new platforms, startups, and channels from a consumer perspective?

With our reports and events this fall, we want to provide insights and solid information to back up your decision making in these turbulent times.

We plan to

To never miss an update on our releases, subscribe to our newsletter!

Check out as well “All About Digital Distribution“, the Digital Summit 2024 on September 19, organized by our longtime partner Bookwire.

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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