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Book Ecosystem Vision Forum - the 3rd

The Birth of An Author

 

2018.06.28

 

The third part of the 〈Book Ecosystem Vision Forum〉 called ‘The Birth of An Author’ was hosted at a hall inside the JU center, a cultural space for young South Koreans on May 31. “What do publishers need to do in order for authors to feel the actions of publishers are a form of ‘beautiful interference’? This is a place where we will discuss how to increase the number of local writers,” said Jeong Eun-sook, head of the forum’s executive committee. This section of the webzine aims to summarize what was discussed at the forum regarding the birth of new authors while introducing what lies ahead for the forum and its content.

 

ⓒ www.book2018.org

 

 

A short brief on the panel discussions(in chronological order)

“Becoming a writer and living as a writer”
- Author Park Chun-hong(Nermer Books)

The completion of an author is his readers but at the same time, the readers are the future of writers. If there were no readers there would be no writing and if there was no writing there would not be any reading. Like Moebius’ infinite loop, reading and writing are one and cannot be divided from one another.

 

“Excellent writers can come about if non-literature is not alienated”
- Kim Hyung-bo, head of Across Book

“What would generate more interest, foreign books or Korean books?”
From many aspects, Korean books are easier to profit from as no translation costs are required. When looking at yearly bestsellers from Kyobo Book Center, Korean books take up more than 60 percent of the books on the list when excluding books on science. There is only a small chance for foreign books to become bestsellers in South Korea, but publishers are still actively publishing foreign books. This is because of problems regarding steady manuscript output from local writers and the difficulty in securing good manuscripts from authors in South Korea. However, when considering a publisher’s long-term sustainability, there should be many local writers who can work together with publishers to create books for them to share values and maintain friendly relationships.

 

“Now is the time to think about author management businesses”
- Hong Soon-cheol, head of BC Agency

Many believe the signing of Korean authors Kim Young-ha, Kim Yeon-su and Kim Joong-hyeok by entertainment agencies last year as ‘creators’ was a big turning point for the industry. Author management businesses provide a stable environment for authors to continue writing while the companies can profit from their work and expand their influence on society and culture to the fullest. This was done out of trust that the writers would not only be able to create text but also generate other content as well. Outside South Korea like in the Americas and Europe, author management is not a new thing. If writers who have already become famous through their books can create additional value, then profit from that could easily be returned to the publishing market and right now is the time to seek ways to establish a virtuous cycle.

 

“Securing a base for authors to create”
- Pyo Jeong-hoon, a publishing critic

There is a need to secure a base for intermediate writers and the importance they carry in delivering professional information and knowledge to the general public. Currently intermediate writers are not covered by government subsidies like others are privy to, like the welfare law for artists, the literature promotion law and support for writers. The publishing industry must make efforts to create a base for these writers to enjoy the benefits from government support.

 

The Year of Reading Together, Forum schedule for the year

 

The Book Ecology Forum was launched for the discussion of innovating publishing policies and preparing substitute measures. From March when the forum began, the speakers have been diagnosing the present of all parts of the ecology of books every month and going forward, they will offer visions for publishing and reading policies based on their findings. The following is a schedule for the forum and brief summaries of why the themes were selected.

 

2018 Forum Schedule(June through December in bold)

March. 29

(First session) [Forum Launch] Discussing the now in book ecology

 

April. 4

(Second session) The new face of the book

 

May. 31

(Third session The birth of new authors

 

June. 22

(Fourth session) Publishing business models
Discussion on profit models for publishers and their growth engines

Linked to the Seoul International Book Fair

July. 26

(Fifth session) Bookstores meet readers

 

August. 30

(Sixth session) Libraries talk of tomorrow

 

September. 27

(Seventh session) Those who read, those who don’t
Discussion on how to narrow the gap between people who read and those who don’t

 

October. 25

(Eighth session) The science of reading
A session on how our brains change when we are reading and now reading and discussion on the values of reading

International Forum

November. 29

(Ninth session) Curating the world through books
Recommendation of books for readers, the biggest issue for the publishing industry worldwide

December. 13

(Tenth session) Closing the Year of Books and challenges ahead

Closing forum

 

 

Related links on the 2018 Year of Books and Reading Together

 

link  Official website: http://www.book2018.org

link  Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/together2018book

link  Instagram : http://www.instagram.com/together2018book/

link  Youtube : http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1uD4gpJaQvQSadk8sVITDQ

 

 

 


Written by Gwon Ji-hye

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Gwon Ji-hye

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