AFR on eBooks threat to print

Writing in The Australian Financial Review, Rachael Bolton reports on the challenges facing traditional book publishing as e-book readers grow in popularity. She says 2009 was the watershed year for ebook readers and also for ebook sales.

Bolton said ebooks have yet to take off in Australia (story behind paywall) because of the poor range of available titles. This is also true in New Zealand.

She says experts expect sales to take off when ebooks arrive, possibly early next year.

So, ebooks are coming to Australia and New Zealand in volume. The AFR suggests their arrival will change the economics of publishing.

If anything, ebooks will see margins drop, at least for traditional publishers. They will trim their lists to compensate. Hopefully the disruption and lower cost of entry will see hungry newcomers emerge to replace them