Publishing by Country - Publishing Scotland (Paperback)

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The Scottish Publishers Association (SPA), established in 1973 as the Scottish General Publishers Association with the support of the Scottish Arts Council, was the trade association of nearly 80 publishing companies in Scotland. Its members were principally book and academic publishers, local authority libraries and public bodies. In April 2007, The SPA changed its name to Publishing Scotland, extending its remit to support individuals and companies working within the publishing industry, such as freelance editors, illustrators, and printing firms. On behalf of its members, the SPA attended trade fairs throughout Europe; co-ordinated bookshop and library promotions, and other marketing initiatives; ran training courses and seminars; and implements joint research projects and surveys with organisations such as the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Enterprise. It ran its own library and published the Directory of Publishing in Scotland annually. The SPA was the majority shareholder in BookSource, a warehousing and worldwide distribution service for trade publishers, charities and other commercial enterprises. The SPA was based in Edinburgh, and its director as Lorraine Fannin, a trustee of the National Library of Scotland and of Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature. As the compiler of the official Scottish bestseller list, the SPA has come under criticism for the accuracy of this list. In an expos about a book reaching number four in the list with no sales according to Nielsen BookData, The Sunday Times described the SPA bestseller list at that time as "a sham." ... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=6715095