Publishers booking solid gains

Publishers booking solid gains

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung

The country's publishing industry bounced back last year with the publication of some 6,000 titles, exceeding the previous record of 5,000 titles set in 1997.

Awod Said, a spokesman for the Indonesian Publishing Association (IKAPI), said over the weekend that the increase in the number of book published reflected an increased willingness to read books on the part of the public.

"We predict that this year we will publish some 7,000 titles," Awod told a press conference to mark National Book Day 2004 here on Saturday.

Of the total number of titles published this year, PT Gramedia from Jakarta accounts for about 45 percent, or some 3,000 titles.

Indonesia suffered a serious economic for a number of years after 1997, which resulted in a decline in purchasing power. This in turn affected the publishing industry.

Between 1997 and the start of last year, the largest number of titles published in Indonesia was in 2002 with 2,700 titles.

Awod said that the growth of the book publishing industry could also be gauged by the increasing number of IKAPI members. The association now has 565 registered members compared to 450 last year.

However, around 40 percent of the publishers confine themselves to producing Islamic religious texts.

Awod said that two titles, Jakarta Under Cover by Moammar Emka and the biography of noted Muslim preacher Abdullah "Aa Gym" Gymnastiar titled Apa Adanya (Just the Way I am), had sold more than 100,000 copies last year

IKAPI considers a book that sells more than 5,000 copies to be a best-seller.

Mula Harahap, a publishing executive, said the encouraging growth in the book industry was partly the result of an increase the number of book lovers around the country, who have frequently organized book discussion.

For example, he said, a youth group ran a bookstore on Jl. Juanda in Bandung and used their profits organizing book discussions.

"This did not happen when I was young 22 years ago," he said.

But he admitted that reading was still constrained by the lack of purchasing power of most of the country's people.

In observance of National Book Day, IKAPI will donate books to local libraries and reading groups.