The bookseller

Joel Rickett on the latest news from the publishing industry

· Amid the swirl of speculation about the coming e-books revolution, you can rely on Gail Rebuck for a dose of common sense. The Random House chief executive this week addressed the Stationers' Company, a historic City guild of printers and publishers, on the very big subject of "publishing books in a digital age". Unsurprisingly, her message was upbeat: "Far from seeing the demise of the book, digitisation frees books to reach audiences in new ways." But she backed this with a coherent, occasionally lyrical, case. Books are "part of the essence of our humanity", she argued, and they represent "discrimination against the indiscriminate information-gathering of the net". This was not a Luddite's charter - Rebuck applauded the ways that technology is already transforming publishing with "dazzling, inventive, creative compositions" such as travel guides with integrated video, and mobile phone novels. Instead she urged us to move beyond the e-books versus p-books (printed books) debate, calling for a "new conception of the book as an unbroken body of text, which can be delivered in any one of a multitude of forms". Inevitably she moved on to a manifesto for the continued legitimacy of publishers, whose role is to extend literacy, nurture creativity and protect copyright. "This isn't special pleading for publishers," she, er, pleaded. "Those most affected by a mass degradation of the power of copyright would be the creators of books - their writers."

· If you know anyone aged between five and 15, the chances are they've caught an Ology bug. This enthralling series of illustrated books uses elaborate fictional stories to bring history and legends to life - Dragonology, Egyptology, Pirateology, Wizardology and Mythology have now sold 15 million copies around the world. It's hard to believe they all come out of Dorking, but that's where Templar, the edgy independent publisher responsible, is based. Because the company began life as a "packager" - designing books for other publishers - all its titles are labours of love, usually with rich layers of text, illustrations and pop-up or pull-out sections. One fan is Carol Ann Duffy, who sought out the firm to handle her new take on a fairy tale (The Princess' Blankets is due later this year). Parents of younger children will recognise Templar's addictive "Amazing Baby" series and the wild Calm Down Boris!, in which a ginger-haired hand puppet springs from the centre of the hardback. The passion poured into such picture books earned Templar the overall publisher of the year prize at the 2008 Independent Publishing Awards this week. Founder Amanda Wood says the secret is creating books that are "not cheap or throwaway ... but that children treasure and keep under their pillows". Other victors at the awards dinner in Brighton were Snowbooks, Willan Publishing, Rising Stars, Michael O'Mara, Alastair Sawday, Salt Publishing, Berg and Arcadia. They were praised for their achievements over a tough 12 months in the industry. "What comes very clearly through is the energy, innovation, creativity and community of independent publishing," the judges said.

· Another indie was celebrating this week. Dedalus, the translated fiction specialist, had been facing a bleak future after losing its public funding in a bitter battle with the Arts Council. But Routledge Books has ridden to the rescue. The academic imprint, part of the Taylor & Francis and Informa group, has pledged to "sponsor" the struggling small press for two years as part of its corporate responsibility programme. Grateful Dedalus boss Eric Lane says he'll now "be able to honour commitments to authors, translators, cultural institutions and other publishers". It's an intriguing development, showing how a highly profitable, digitally savvy educational and professional publisher can keep a struggling literary house alive, almost as an afterthought.

· Speaking of philanthropic gestures, here's one of a different magnitude. Julian Blackwell, patriarch of the family bookselling chain, is donating £5m to Oxford's Bodleian Library. The cash will go towards the renovation and rehousing of the 400-year-old Bodleian's collections. These include originals of the Magna Carta - and they may even find a few more copies if they delve deep into the labyrinthine shelves of Blackwell's shop across the road.

· Joel Rickett is deputy editor of the Bookseller.

· This article was amended on Saturday March 29 2008. In the article above we said that the £5m donation to Oxford's Bodleian Library by Julian Blackwell is the largest sum ever given to a university library, but Newcastle University has asked us to point out that its Robinson Library was left £8m in the will of Marjorie Robinson, widow of the late Philip Robinson, in whose honour the library was named in 1989. This has been corrected.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/mar/15/featuresreviews.guardianreview32
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