Bookbuyer's

Bookend

Review of the Year

January — The principal officers of publishing's very own union (ASTMS) were elcted. Five out of seven worked for Longman Penguin.

February — Longman Penguin announced that they would not be proceeding with their splendid new warehouse at Bury St Edmunds. The directors of the firm's parent company, Pearson Longman, heaved a well-practised sigh. The same month Penguin's chairman Mr Christopher Dailey departed "in order to be free to move into a wider field of business activity." Not much wider, it transpired. He ended up six months later somewhere in the book division of IPC.

March — The US Copyright Office announced the results of an important inquiry into the problems of inter-spatial copyright. Among its more illuminating conclusions was the sad observation that the American 28-year copyright term would cause great hardship to those authors domiciled at the other end of the galaxy, since it takes more than 28 years to reach Earth from those areas.

April — Phaidon Press, the distinguished art book publishers, celebrated their golden jubilee. Within a few weeks their American owners agreed terms to sell them to Granada, the distinguished television rental people. But signatures were a long time coming.

May — nothing at all happened in May.

June — In their annual report, specially written for children, Crowell Collier Macmillan disclosed that in Claude Gill they owned the biggest bookshop in London. Miss Christina Foyle was not amused.

Mr Bill Luscombe, boss of Pelham Books, left the Thomson organisation.

July — Mr Anthony Cheetham, editorial director of Sphere, left the Thomson organisation.

August — Mr Robert Maxwell (ex-MP) and Mr Harold Wilson (also an MP) visited the Liverpool printing firm of Tinting Which was threatened with closure. Those with good memories recalled Mr Maxwell's old North Bucks campaign slogan "Let Harold and Bob finish the job." It did not seem to make much difference. The fate of Tinlings is still undecided.

September — The National Book League launched a £30,000 appeal for the Mark Longman Memorial Library.

October — Mr Edward Young, managing director of George Rainbird, left the Thomson organisation.

November — Mr Gillon Aitken, managing director of Hamish Hamilton. said that he was not leaving the Thomson organisation.

The Poetry Socibty launched a £275,000 public appeal.

Mr Gillon Aitken left the Thomson organisation. .

December — Bookbuyer was beaten up.