Beautiful Books seminar

Posted on September 24, 2012 in Uncategorized

Physical books are quickly evolving to become artistic objects and items to be collected as mass-market paperbacks become a thing of the past.

With e-readers boasting the accessibility of a large quantity of books, it might be time for the physical book to flaunt its quality paper, striking illustrations, typography and high printing and binding standards. Now that eBooks are becoming cheaper, it is highly likely that readers will expect a lot more for their money when they purchase physical copies.

Books could potentially become aesthetic objects for the household and move in a different direction to the encroaching world of e-readers. This could be especially true as current e-readers are more suited for paperback titles and do not quite work for books that have been enhanced with illustrations.

Nonetheless, for the reader who enjoys the turn of a page and powerful illustrations that complement the text, printed books will continue to be the favourite over e-books.

Johanna Geary is Senior Editor at The Folio Society, a publisher of fine, illustrated editions whose publishing list spans a range of fiction and non-fiction titles. Johanna works primarily on Folio’s children’s, poetry and myth titles. Prior to joining Folio in 2007, Johanna worked in editorial roles in a variety of areas of the industry, including financial publishing and book packaging. An English graduate from the University of Toronto, Johanna has worked in publishing since 2002. Below are some questions that we asked her about beautiful books:

Will people continue to buy physical books if their digital counterparts are cheaper?

I don’t believe that physical books will ever disappear completely. The rise of the e-reader has led many industry experts to herald the death of the paperback, but hardbacks are expected to retain a place in the market. As digital products become cheaper, consumers will expect more for their money when buying a physical book. They will be books to keep and treasure, so readers will be looking for well-made products, with added value and a long shelf-life.

Will the industry move towards making digital content visually striking?

As e-readers become more sophisticated, visual content and interactive reading will undoubtedly become more common. This is already happening with the development of the iPad, and particularly in children’s publishing striking visual content has long been a key feature of the e-book format. With regards to non-fiction – reference books and travel guides, for example – visual digital content will make e-books more appealing and infinitely more useful, but it will be interesting to see what such developments could mean for fiction.

What makes a physical book an artistic object?

Care, craftsmanship and attention to detail. For a book to be an artistic object this needs to be applied to every aspect of the publication, from binding materials and design, to the choice of paper, typeface and visuals. My job at Folio is to bring this care and craftsmanship to the editorial approach. I compare editions to find the most authoritative text, ensure they are sensitively and knowledgeably edited and proofread, and commission new introductions from leading literary figures. What we aim for is a melding of form and matter, to produce the best, most attractive edition of a great work.