Frankfurt Draws Curtains On FBF, Marks Successful Performance Of Malaysian Publishers

From Nor Hasliza Abdullah FRANKFURT, Oct 25 (Bernama) -- The world's biggest annual Frankfurt Book Fair (FBF) draws its curtain on Sunday, after being held for five days at the Frankfurt Messe here since Oct 19. The participation of 30 Malaysian publishing companies has been described as "very successful", especially with the signing of a memorandum of agreement between Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM or Science University of Malaysia) and Snapplify, a digital publishing solutions provider, for the distribution of almost 200 titles of e-Book for South African and Kenyan markets. Also, the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP or Institute of Language and Literature) and Pustaka Obor Foundation from Indonesia to collaborate in the publication of 10 short stories involving Malaysian and Indonesia writers. Penerbit USM director Akhiar Salleh said as Malaysia's leading scholarly eBook publisher, Penerbit USM had managed to establish a global distribution platform through various market leaders of online and print distributor, with Snapplify being its latest strategic partner. "Our other strategic partners for marketing and licensing of books published by Penerbit USM include Amazon.com, Google, Barnes and Noble, EBSCO Publishing, ProQuest, Buqu, Lazada and Ingram-Lightning Source," he said. Akhiar said a meeting with an agent from France during a business match-making exercise at the Malaysian pavillion also turned out positive. "There is also a demand for books on special-need education from the United Kingdom, but the process of closing a deal will take time," he added. According to Director of the Permanent Secretariat for the National Book Council of Malaysia, Ministry of Education, Abd Wahab Ibrahim, based on the meetings and business matching activities which had taken place at the Malaysian pavilion at the FBF this year, the value of contract negotiated at the FBF might surpass the initial target of US$1.55 million (RM6.5 million). "That is why I really encourage our publishers to bring and showcase their books which are written in the Malay language or those containing elements of Malaysiana because if they can sell it, they will not only sell the copyrighted books, but can also sell the right to translate those books," he told Bernama. Karangkraf chief finance officer Akmal Eirfan Mohamed Fauzi, on the other hand, said Karangkraf participated in the FBF mainly with the aim to assess the trend and the development of the world's book industry, hence to be able to improve the competitiveness of national book industry’s products, especially in the digital era. He said a meeting with an agent from France during a business match-making exercise at the Malaysian pavillion also turned out positive. "I’m confident that the national book industry will continue to grow and flourish, and that more publishers will participate in the FBF with the cooperation of the relevant government agencies. "Nevertheless, there will be a continuous change in the world's book trend and publishers must always be on alert about the change in readers' preferences," added Akmal Eirfan. The sentiment was shared by PTS Media Group Publishing Director Fauzul Na’im Ishak who said the participartion at the FBF would give publishers a massive opportunity to meet potential buyers for their books and copyright. "The book and translation industry is very open, very wide and without borders. It is up to the publishers to really take up the game. They have to have the mindset to go global," he said. Sheikh Faisal Sheikh Mansor, founder and owner of Shakespot Sdn Bhd which provides publishing and consultancy services to self-publishers, and is also secretary of the Malaysian Book Publishers Association (MAPOBA) said the FBF was also the best platform for Malaysian publishers to learn from and create a network with international book industry players. "It's a long-term investment and I think the Malaysian book industry players are still in the developing stage, especially in terms of the artistic value and content, be it contemporary or educational. This is the place where they can learn," he said. The FBF is the international publishing industry's biggest trade fair – with 7,100 exhibitors from more than 100 countries, around 275,000 visitors, over 4,000 events and approximately 10,000 accredited journalists – including 2,000 bloggers - in attendance. It also gathers key players from other media, including the film and games industries. --BERNAMA