Publishing in Hard Times

Abstract

The former head of Pearson Education, McGraw-Hill Book Publishing, and Harcourt Brace Jovanovich presents an assessment of the state of publishing during this recession. The paper analyses actions taken by publishers in previous downturns, recommends approaches to dealing with recessions that maintain long-term health of the business. Recessions can mask more profound problems, such as happened in the newspaper industry and as is occurring in trade publishing. The paper also analyzes outlook for college and school publishing.