By Trasvin Jittidecharak
In his recent Publishing Perspectives column, Richard Charkin offers an optimistic view of publishing’s future. He argues that publishers are essentially managers of intellectual property rather than manufacturers of books, and that digital technology, particularly print-on-demand (POD), has made publishing more efficient, profitable, and globally accessible.
I agree with much of his argument. Many independent publishers, including my own company, Silkworm Books in Thailand, have long operated on these principles. We manage intellectual property across formats and languages, combine traditional printing with POD, and focus on profitability rather than sales volume.
What concerns me is Charkin’s assumption that technological advances have made global publishing more accessible to everyone. His perspective is largely that of the Anglo-American publishing industry, particularly the English-language trade market. But global availability is not the same as global market access.
A British or American publisher can make its books available internationally through IngramSpark or similar platforms. But these publishers already benefit from established distribution networks, English-language markets, media exposure, and relationships with booksellers and libraries.
For publishers in Southeast Asia, Africa, or Latin America, the situation is quite different. We may be able to print our books in London or New York, but who will sell them? Who will review them? How do we persuade booksellers to stock them or libraries to acquire them?
POD may solve a manufacturing problem. It does not address the problem of market access, or the commercial logistics of international publishing. While printing locally eliminates international freight, it does not eliminate bookseller discounts, distribution fees, payment arrangements, or marketing costs. Nor does it guarantee that a book will be discovered by its intended readers.
More importantly, globalization in publishing today is largely a one-way street: Western publishers have become increasingly successful at selling books and licensing content into emerging markets. But how much do the United States, Britain, and Europe actually buy from publishers in the Global South? How many books originating in Southeast Asia are acquired by Western publishers? How many receive serious reviews, bookshop placement, or sustained marketing support? How many independent publishers outside the West have meaningful access to these markets?
These are questions that cannot be addressed by the availability of digital printing technology.
I do not dispute Charkin’s optimism about the resilience of books, or the opportunities created by technological change. Indeed, independent publishers in smaller markets have compelling reasons to embrace these developments. They allow us to remain viable despite limited domestic readership, high distribution costs, and increasingly difficult market conditions.
But technological efficiency does not mean equality of opportunity. And if we are to speak seriously about a global publishing industry, we must look beyond how easily Western publishers can reach the rest of the world. We must also ask how willing and able Western markets are to receive books, ideas, and intellectual property from elsewhere.
The future of global publishing should not simply be about making books available everywhere. It should be about making books from everywhere accessible to everyone.
Trasvin Jittidecharak is the founder and publisher of Silkworm Books, an independent press specializing in Southeast Asian studies and literature. She is also Secretary-General of the ASEAN Book Publishers Association.
