The violent state arrest Tuesday of Georgian opposition leader Nika Melia prompts a message of alarm to the world publishing community from Tbilisi.
Nika Melia, November 2017. Image: European People’s Party, CC-by-2.5
‘The Threat We Are Facing’
In the aftermath of today’s (February 23) early-hours arrest of Georgian opposition leader Nika Melia, the Georgian Publishers and Booksellers Association and PEN Center Georgia have issued an urgent joint statement made available to
Publishing Perspectives.
“The current government of Georgia,” the statement reads, “has embarked on a path of dictatorial rule and after the usurpation of state institutions, began prosecuting and arresting its political opponents.
Coming in March: A New Platform for the Pubeasy Ordering System
‘A streamlined modern interface’ and ‘tighter integration with related systems’ are promised in the coming rebuild of Pubeasy, the Web-based international book ordering system.
Shopping at Walthamstow in East London. Image – iStockphoto: Victor Huang
‘Efficiency Gains’ for the International Book Trade
An announcement from Nielsen in Woking–that’s in England’s northwest Surrey near London tells us that by the end of March, a newly developed Pubeasy system will be in operation. That sounds like a big promise, but what Nielsen and its partner, Germany’s MVB, are describing is “a fully rebuilt, state-of-the art technology infrastructure.”
Government must tighten rules to end shopworker abuse, retailers urge
Retailers are urging the Government to improve laws to protect staff from abuse (Dominic Lipinski/PA)
The Government must take urgent action to tackle violence and abuse towards shopworkers, more than 65 retail leaders have demanded.
In a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, bosses from high street names including Aldi, McDonald’s, Boots and the Post Office, said stronger laws were needed to protect against shopworker abuse.
It comes after recent data found an increase in the verbal abuse of staff at “essential” retailers, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
Losing its physical fair within days of opening because of a new COVID-19 outbreak, Taiwan’s biggest book fair extends its online run by four months. (Sponsored)
Taipei International Book Exhibition chair Robert Lin speaks in the show’s grand opening video. Image: TIBE
Robert Lin: ‘The Fortifying Power of Books’
With its online evocation offered in English as well as Chinese, the Taipei International Book Exhibition is off to an energetic start, seemingly no loss of spirit because of the COVID-19 virus outbreak that has scuttled its physical elements.
Originally planned for both digital and physical presentation, the show is annually the kickoff to world publishing’s new year of public-facing fair events and Frankfurter Buchmesse’s professional programming for the book trade. But on January 20, when Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center swiftly revised its crowd guidance as several cases were confirmed, the administration of the moved quickly to quell a series of
Hungary’s government has issued an order that will require disclaimers for books with LGBTQ+ related content, according to
The move came after the publication of the fairytale anthology
Wonderland Is For Everyone by the lesbian publishing group Labrisz, which features a doe who wishes to become a buck and a poem about the marriage of two princes. As
Reuters reported, the author, Boldizsar Nagy, a 37-year-old gay Romani, told
Reuters the book was intended to “teach children to be respectful of people of all backgrounds,” including racial minorities and disabled people, who are also depicted in the anthology.
Despite Nagy’s assertion, the Hungarian government defended its order by saying the book “hides the fact that it depicts behavior inconsistent with traditional gender roles.”