The book business as we know it will not be living happily ever after. With sales stagnating, CEO heads rolling, big-name authors playing musical chairs, and Amazon looming as the new boogeyman, publishing might have to look for its future outside the corporate world.
So opens a cover story in New York Magazine. Headlined The End, there is no doubt about the writer’s view of the book business. The article chronicles challenges faced bybook publishers. Many of these challenges face newsagents and this is what market the article compelling reading.
It’ll be rough going in the meantime; some publishers will transform, some will muddle through, some will die.