The NGC Bocas Lit Fest is back! Port of Spain, Trinidad comes alive from April 25 to 28 with more than 60 literary events.

CaribLit is excited about the launch of our online Caribbean publishing directory, but that’s just one of the highlights.

This year’s festival features dozens of readings, lectures, film screenings, workshops for writers as well as the announcement of three major prizes: the 2013 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, which recognizes Caribbean writers of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction; the inaugural Hollick Arvon Caribbean Writers Prize, which supports an emerging Caribbean writer in completing a book; and the inaugural Henry Swanzy Award for Distinguished Service to Caribbean Letters, an annual lifetime achievement award recognising service to Caribbean literature by editors, publishers, critics, and broadcasters.

The month-long KFC Children’s Bocas Lit Fest, which features storytelling events for young people reaches its peak during the festival weekend, with readings by children’s authors, writing workshops and storytelling sessions. 

See the full Bocas schedule.

As part of the Kingston Book Festival, the Book Industry Association of Jamaica (BIAJ) hosted a session entitled The Business of Books: Business and Investment Opportunities in the Jamaican Book Industry . Along with Jamaica Trade and Invest, CaribLit was a co-host of the session, with its guests, English publishers, Michael Williams from BIS Publications and Jeremy Poynting from Peepal Tree Press sharing their insights on publishing Caribbean books for the English market.

High on the agenda: ebooks. Jamaican publishers have begun to embrace the digital revolution both as a means of lowering the cost of providing books to the local market and as a way of tapping into the wider international market. The BIAJ noted that several of its member publishers including the University of the West Indies Press, Pelican Publishers, Ian Randle Publishers and LMH Publishing have made major strides in launching their ebook catalogues, while Jamaican self-publishers are independently launching ebooks in growing numbers.

Christine Randle from Ian Randle Publishers and Ronald Robinson from the Office of the Deputy Principal at the University of the West Indies gave updates on their digital publishing initiatives.  Robinson outlined UWI Mona’s initiatives which began with a project in the Faculty of Medicine. The University licensed ebooks from the publishers of the textbooks used and now offer them to students on a UWI-branded electronic reader. The project has expanded to include smart classrooms and a library app that allows electronic borrowing.

UWI is now doing a pilot with Jamaica College to provide sixth form textbooks electronically.

Read the full story in the Jamaica Gleaner.

Publishers and booksellers in Jamaica got a rare chance to interact with representatives from the finance and investment community during a business session organized as part of the Kingston Book Festival.

Billed “The Business of Books: Business and Investment Opportunities in The Jamaican Book Industry” the session was co-hosted by the Book Industry Association of Jamaica (BIAJ), Jamaica Trade and Invest (JAMPRO) and CaribLit at the JAMPRO offices on Thursday, March 8.

“We realize that many decision makers in the finance and business community don’t understand the business side of the book industry,” said BIAJ Promotions Director, Tanya Batson Savage. “The goal of today’s session was to bring everybody to the table -- explain how the book industry works, how money is made and to talk about opportunities that we’re missing because of access to capital.”

Batson Savage and fellow BIAJ Directors Frank McGibbon and Kellie Magnus (CaribLit Coordinator) presented an overview of the global publishing industry and a detailed breakdown of the Jamaican industry, looking at the number of local publishers and booksellers as well as challenges facing local companies. Key among these were access to capital, high operating costs, inconsistent editorial quality and marketing and distribution support. 

The BIAJ presented a range of potential models for private sector partnership with the local book industry bulk purchases for donations of books, commissioned works, customized publications (including business memoirs and publications based on the content generated by local companies) and joint marketing campaigns.

The association plans to hold follow up meetings with representatives from the participating agencies, including Jamaica’s ExIm Bank and the Jamaican Business Development Corporation to forge more collaboration between the publishing and finance communities. 

See related story in the Jamaica Observer; download the full BIAJ presentation.

As part of the Kingston Book Festival 2013, CaribLit organized an industry networking session bringing together publishers and booksellers from Jamaica and the Diaspora. Co-hosted by Jamaica Trade and Invest and festival organizers, the Book Industry Association of Jamaica, the networking session has already yielded one tangible result: Peepal Tree Press (based in Leeds, UK) and Brooklyn, New York-based Akashic Books have announced their intent to create a joint imprint to publish the work of new Caribbean writers.

Jeremy Poynting, Managing Editor of Peepal Tree Press and member of the Caribbean Literature Action Group, who attended the festival as a guest of CaribLit, noted that the decision came from having the opportunity to interact with Jamaican writers and to brainstorm possible solutions with Akashic’s Publisher, Johnny Temple. In addition to the networking session, the two spoke at the festival’s Industry Workshop, participated in a story-pitching session with aspiring writers during the festival’s book fair and attended an arts mixer with writers, publishers and other representatives from Jamaica’s cultural and creative industries.

Both companies have made significant contributions to the Caribbean literary landscape. Peepal Tree is widely known for its work in publishing Caribbean fiction and poetry, and is home to Caribbean Modern Classics Series – new editions of major, out of print, Caribbean works.  Akashic’s growing line of Caribbean Interest titles includes the work of Kwame Dawes, Thomas Glave and Anthony Winkler and the popular Noir series. 

Poynting noted that both publishes houses are keen on having local input in the editorial  direction of the planned imprint. Further details will be announced at the NGC Bocas Lit Fest, which runs April 25-28, 2013. 

Jamaica’s leading publishers and booksellers turned out in full force for the Kingston Book Fair – the highlight of the nine days of activities of the Kingston Book Festival. Among the sixty exhibitors was tech venture eBooksCaribbean, on hand to launch its downloadable ebook card – a marketing tool for publishers and authors.

eBooksCaribbean is a social commerce platform for Caribbean publishers and authors. The company offers publishers and authors a turnkey service for digitizing and selling ebooks in multiple formats through eight of the web’s largest ebook distributors. The company also creates online stores for authors and publishers who wish to sell ebooks through their own sites.  

The downloadable ebook card is an extension of the social commerce platform, allowing authors and publishers to sell their digital publications in brick and mortar retail points of presence. The cards can also be used in off-line marketing campaigns. Similar in size and format to pre-paid phone cards, the download cards carry the cover art of the book on the front, while the back has a PIN code that the reader uses to redeem and download the book from the author’s or publisher’s website or from the eBooksCaribbean site.

“The download card is a tangible representation of a digital product,” says eBooksCaribbean co-founder, Lloyd Laing. “It allows the publisher to have a physical product for customers to touch and feel. They can distribute the cards at book festivals and major events and it gives them a product to sell in real world bookstores. One of the challenges for authors with ebooks is getting attention for their books in the offline world. The card gives them a solution.

“It also gives traditional bookstores a way to participate in digital sales. For everybody in the industry it’s win win.”

The cards come in different grades of paper and plastic, to facilitate publishers who want to promote their cards as collectibles.

The cards were launched at the book fair with Pelican Publishers’ Caribbean Calorie Counter, which first appeared as a print book, is now available as an ebook and will soon be converted into an interactive app.

“We want to make this book available as widely as possible,” says Latoya West Blackwood, Senior Assistant Manager at Pelican. “But identity theft and credit card fraud are issues that Caribbean publishers trying to sell online have to deal with. The download cards allow us to reach the segment of the market that’s afraid to use credit cards online as well as  people who don’t have credit cards but have access to online books.”

For more information on the download cards, visit ebookscaribbean.com.

Cuba’s book market is very different from that of other Caribbean islands – the publishing houses are state-run and books are heavily subsidized, sold at rates far below the costs of production. Yet, the Havana Book Fair has many lessons for Caribbean publishers, booksellers and governments. Here’s our top 10.

1.     Make Books a National Priority
Every decision concerning the Havana Book Fair – from the programming to the funds committed – is based on the central belief that books and reading are critical to national development. “The mission of the Havana Book Fair is to give people access to books,” says Aida Bahr, Vice President of Cuba’s Instituto del Libro (Book Institute) and member of the Caribbean Literature Action Group. “[It is for] cultural purposes, not commercial purposes. It’s a cultural investment.” Cuba also sees the presentation of its books and authors on the international stage as a critical element of defining and extending its national identity and brand in the international arena. “The book is the main [channel] of communication and human knowledge,” says Edel Morales of El Instituto del Libro. “We must make sure that Cuban voices are heard.”

2.     Go Big (Or Your Audience May) Go Home

It’s been called a beast, a monster, a spectacle. By whatever name, the Havana Book Fair cannot be ignored. The sheer scale of the event is part of the secret of its success, making it a fixture both on the domestic cultural calendar and on the international publishing scene. Creating that kind of scale requires a delicate partnership between the public and private sector and local organizers, but the rewards in cultural and commercial terms are impressive.

3.     Plan Activities for Everyone

The Havana Book Fair’s programming isn’t just large. It’s diverse and deliberately so, designed to bring out a wide cross-section of the public. The mammoth schedule of 100+ activities per day includes talks, book launches, children’s events as well as conferences for writers, publishers, historians, social scientists, literature experts and other academics; and a staggering schedule of concerts and cultural events. Each year focuses on a guest country and two outstanding Cuban writers and the programme includes numerous panels and activities related to the literature and culture of the guest country and the work of each writer. The breadth of activities helps to ensure that Cubans of all kinds come out to the fair.

4.     Act in Unison

Every year, Cuban publishers plan their editorial calendars to release new titles at the fair. That collective effort drives anticipation for the fair, as the audience knows there will be many new books to look forward to. Bahr credits the anticipation and excitement for new books for the record turnouts to the fair each year.

5.     Offer Special Prices and Products to Drive Sales

Many of the participating international publishers at the Havana Book Fair use the event as an outlet for selling overflow stock. They come to the fair with steeply discounted prices designed to drive quick sales. They also bring the kinds of books they know will sell well in Cuba because they aren’t available in the local market, e.g. titles on American entertainment; hard cover or brightly illustrated children’s books, dictionaries and specialized books for professionals. Understanding what local buyers want and planning accordingly helps to ensure strong book sales.

6.     Take the Books to the People
The Havana Book Fair takes place at the Cabaña fortress as well as eleven other sites around Havana and then tours throughout the rest of the country for two weeks – a deliberate, though exhausting effort to make sure that activities are held in every single province of the country. The result: national awareness and participation and a month-long focus on books that has a spill-over effect for the rest of the year. “It’s the only cultural event that gets to everywhere and is respected by everyone,” says Bahr.

7.     Use Books to Drive Tourism
The diverse programming of the Havana Book Fair also helps to attract visitors to Cuba. This year, the visiting country focus on Angola brought more than 100 representatives from that country to the island; hundreds of other international publishing representatives come to the fair to participate in the many events or to exhibit and vend their books. It’s a chance for Cuba to attract new visitors, many of whom may end up returning for future visits.

8.     Think Regionally
Organizers of the Havana Book Fair coordinate closely with their Latin American counterparts to ensure that the schedules of their book fairs do not conflict with each other, allowing them to promote all the fairs at each event, increasing momentum and opportunities for regional networking. Their regional coordination also allows them to share best practices and market knowledge, helping them to raise book sales and reading levels across the region.

9.     Market Collectively
Cuba’s Cámara del Libro (Chamber of Books) takes the lead role in organizing the fair as well as a year round calendar of local book promotion activities. But it doesn’t stop there. The Chamber also plans Cuba’s participation in international book fairs, marketing the island’s authors in groups related to the genres in which they write and the interests of the target publishers and markets. Sure, that’s easy to do when the publishing houses are all state-run. But the collective efforts yield economies in research, event participation fees and marketing that Caribbean publishers can emulate.

10.  Have Fun!
The first thing you notice at the Havana Book Fair is that everyone seems to be having a good time. As Peter Gutteredge of the Caribbean Book Company puts it, “This isn’t a book fair anymore. [It’s] the largest Cuban social event of the year – with a book fair inside. It’s a fantastic setting where Cuban families come and [enjoy themselves].” That vibe is key for creating a generation of readers who associate books with fun and pleasure. 

“Some of the best parts of the book fair are the things we don’t plan,” says Jésus David Curbelo, another of the organizers. “They happen naturally when you put good books in front of people.”

Is there a market for English language books in Cuba? The Caribbean Book Company says yes.

For 14 years, Peter J. Guttridge and his wife have built a business exclusively on the Havana Book Fair. The company sells English-language books at the fair, tapping into the growing interest in English language content. It now represents more than 120 publishers and imprints including all the major UK publishers. For many of these publishers, it’s a chance to sell into a market that they would otherwise not be able to reach.

“The Cuban market can be difficult,” says Guttridge, noting that as the reason for limited competition in English-language books to Cuba. The large audiences (20,000 per day on average over 10 days) make it possible to run a viable business based almost solely on sales at the fair.

“This isn’t a book fair anymore,” says Guttridge. “The Havana Book Fair is the largest Cuban social event of the year – with a book fair inside. It’s a fantastic setting where Cuban families come and [enjoy themselves]. English is the second language here, so we have quite a following year after year. Especially those with children doing English language courses.”

In addition to its direct-to-consumer sales at the fair in February, the Caribbean Book Company sells English-language books in Cuba year-round through its arrangements with local importers, which in turn supply books to bookstores and specialty outlets. The company promotes its catalogs in Cuba and then takes orders.

 “There’s a thirst for books here,” says Guttridge. “After the basics of food, clothing and housing, books come pretty high up.” Guttridge cites the example of a dictionary that sold 5,000 copies in seven days. He notes that children’s books and specialty books on music, arts and the military have also done well.

To get into the Cuban market, Guttridge recommends that Caribbean publishers develop agreements with Cuban importers. 

“It’s not easy, but it’s an interesting market. People forget that this is the largest population in the Caribbean -- 11.2 million people. Plus there are 2.5 to 2.8 million tourists, which can only grow. A lot of them are English-language speakers. There is a huge tourist market that is completely untapped.”

What’s next for the Caribbean Book Company? Gutteredge is looking for an exit strategy. “This is a business we got into by accident,” he says.

“We’d love to find a buyer for it.”

Contact information for the Caribbean Book Company.

One of the highlights of this year’s Havana Book Fair was Lecturas en La Red (books on the network): an impressive digital collection of electronic books available for reading and download at the fair.

Organized by Cuba Literaria, Cuba’s digital publishing house, the collection boasted 1,500 titles available online for the duration of the fair. Visitors to the fair were able to download as many books as they liked to their jump drives or portable devices. The collection covers a broad range of disciplines including fiction, children’s books, science, arts, the social sciences, essays and journals as well as visual and audio projects. The works are classics from the public domain and original titles from contemporary authors who have made their work available for free. Some of the ebooks are also made available for sale through ruthtienda.com, a Cuban and Belgian company that serves as a partner to Cuba Literaria.

“Cuba’s participation in the world of new technologies is very recent, especially for writers,” says Paola Rigal Collado, Director of Cuba Literaria. “[ebooks] are a way for writers to promote their work.” The partnership with ruthtienda.com also gives Cuban writers a rare chance to promote their books in foreign markets. Thus far, Cuba Literaria has published 22 ebooks. Other Cuban publishing houses, including Letras Cubanas, have also begun to release digital titles.  According to Collado, Cuban publishers are increasingly embracing ebooks because they cost less to produce and have a lower impact on the environment.

The response from the Cuban public has been strong. “The general public is always happy with free access [to books],” says Collado. “People here are always willing to read.”

While private internet access is not common in Cuba, electronic books have long been popular. Cubans are able to access ebooks through the many computing clubs across the island.

Cuba Literaria also operates the website cubaliteraria.cu, a portal for Cuban Literature. Its goal is to promote the collective work of the island’s authors and to report on the most important happenings in the literary word at the national and international level.

Cuba Literaria plans to expand into the production of multimedia products, animation, audiobooks and educational video games – all subsidized by the state. The agency is also interested in bilingual books and products to meet the growing interest in English language content.

For more information on Cuba Literaria, visit cubaliteraria.cu.

Translators play a key role in making literature accessible across borders. As Caribbean publishers struggle to broaden their reach, selling into other language markets in the region opens up new possibilities. What are the keys to successful translation? Leading Cuban literary translators at the Havana Book Fair share their thoughts.

Master the languages 
“Translation is a mixture of artistry and craftsmanship,” say our experts. Capturing the essence of a text requires keen understanding of both the source language and the language of the translation. For example, language choices can reflect social class. Translators need to know how to make those distinctions.

Focus on the writing
Translators have to bear in mind that the reader doesn’t care that she’s reading a translation. She wants a good story, told well. Fluent, skilled writing is essential for a good reader experience.

Understand the cultures 
Translating literature is more than interpreting word by word. You have to translate from one culture to another culture, not just from one language to another. New translators need to immerse themselves in the culture of both the original language and the target, reading widely to understand the cultural context of the original and the fidelity of their expression. 

An inaccurate translation, or even the slightest cultural misstep, can ruin the spirit and tone of the work. The risk is particularly great in secondary translations (when a text is being translated from a translation, not an original.)  Referring to and understanding the culture of the original text is important for getting it right. 

Over time, good translators develop a wide understanding of the literature in which they work, opening up other opportunities.

Respect the form
Like writers, translators may not excel in every genre. Being good at translating essays doesn’t necessarily give you the skills to translate poetry. It’s important to have a strong relationship with the editor and, perhaps, a master in the genre. An exchange of ideas leads to a stronger final text. 

Respect the author
The golden rule of translation is this: respect what the author says in the given moment and the given historical context. As Julio TravIeso, one of Cuba’s literary translators tells us:  “I am not the author. I am just his tongue. You don’t have the right to violate the spirit of the author.” Where the full context of an idea or expression can’t be conveyed simply, Travieso recommends using footnotes to explain locations and important characteristics of the source language. 

It’s the attention to maintaining the integrity of the original that makes translators essential. Says Travieso, “Translations help us move past our local and national boundaries. [They’re] necessary for building a universal culture.”  

The organizers may not be focused on making a profit, but lots of business still gets done at the Havana Book Fair. Many international publishers come to the fair looking to acquire foreign rights to Cuban titles and/or to publish Cuban authors. Bahr estimates that about two thirds of the participating international publishers are selling heavily discounted stock into the Cuban market, while the others are looking for publishing deals and contracts. Here’s what Caribbean publishers need to know:

1.     Interest in Caribbean Culture
In 2012, the Havana Book Fair recognized “the Caribbean” as the country of honour; a generous conceptual definition of the region that swept from Louisiana in the North to Bahia in the South. “Cuba is a Caribbean country, but many of our readers are not familiar with the non-Spanish speaking Caribbean,” says Jesus David Curbelo. “For many of our readers, it was a whole discovery.” Many Caribbean titles were republished for the Cuban market, representing, for many, their first Spanish translations.


2.     Growing English Language Market
Cuba has 20+ universities with a large market for instructional materials. Regulatory changes now permit the licensing of private English-language tutors, also expanding the market for English materials.

3.     Demand in key areas
According to Bahr, there’s strong demand for titles in areas Cuban publishers don’t handle. (It’s worth noting that all of Cuba’s 172 publishing houses are state-run. That places certain limitations on the kinds of books published, which creates opportunities for external publishers to meet.

Bahr says that entertainment books, highly illustrated children’ s books, enhanced books (with CDs, sounds, puppets etc.) tend to do well. Dictionaries and specialized instructional books for professionals are also recommended. Sports books, especially football books, are also popular.


4.     Opportunity for South-South collaboration
The Havana Book Fair is a great place for making contacts both with the Cuban literary and publishing community and the large numbers of international visitors. Havana attracts large representation from South and Central America as well as Africa. Publishers seeking co-publishing arrangements that can’t make the hike to London or Frankfurt can take advantage of the networking possibilities in Havana.

 5.     Price sensitive market
While Cuba’s population of 11 million and its 100% literacy rate might make it attractive, the market is extremely price-sensitive. Local books are heavily subsidized and are deliberately offered to the public at well below the price of printing them. Bahr says it’s not unusual to see kids’ books on sale for less than 0.5 CUC (Cuban convertibles. The exchange rate is 1 CUC: 0.87USD). Foreign publishers are advised to offer deals, as in the example of the kids’ books, three for 5 CUC. Bahr notes that specialized titles can fetch higher prices.

6.     Prize available
The Alba Narrativa Literary Awards is now in its fourth year. The Awards honour works in English and republishes the winning book in Cuba. The Award has been undersubscribed each year. For more information, visit www.cubaliteraria.com.