From January 2012, Scribe will publish most of its trade paperbacks in B+ format (210 x 135 mm) rather than C format (234 x 153mm).
Scribe's CEO and publisher, Henry Rosenbloom says, 'This is a significant decision, which will enable us to lower the RRPs for most of our titles to under $30.'
'I feel we have to do this to meet the market and try to help local booksellers as well. The continuing high Australian dollar, combined with fierce competition from offshore online booksellers that aren't subject to GST, has driven the Australian book trade into a profound slump -- the worst I've known during my 35 years in the business.
'Something has to give. We can't keep pumping out books at prices that seem high by international standards, and that consumers aren't prepared to pay. On the other hand, given our local costs, we can't just keep lowering our RRPs on the traditional trade paperback.
'The solution we've come up with is to trim the format enough to lower our costs and prices, while still producing an attractive physical object that book buyers will appreciate.
'We'll still produce C-format paperbacks occasionally, when it's appropriate to do so, but essentially I've come to the view that, as a default format, it's become a luxury that we -- and the book trade -- can no longer afford.
'If the Australian dollar magically dropped to its long-term average and stayed there, and the Australian government did its duty over the GST, we would revisit this decision. But, for the foreseeable future, it's, “Bye bye, C.â€
'This decision will create a flow-on benefit of lowering our e-book prices, too, which will become an increasingly important factor for us and the trade in general.'