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PUBLISHING IN CAMBODIA February 2003 |
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Publishing in Cambodia is a project aiming to survey
the current state of publishing in Cambodia and to offer a set of concrete
recommendations for its improvement. This report, also available in Khmer,
and the survey on which it is based will be discussed at a two-day
technical workshop (Siem Reap, February 1–2) and a one-day conference
(Phnom Penh, February 4). A revised version of the report, enhanced by the
proceedings of the workshop and conference, will be published later in
2003.
Writers & Writing
Our interviews with writers regarding their
background and experiences, as well as their impressions on the state of
writing and reading in Cambodia in general, confirm that Cambodian writers
are almost invariably unable to make a living from their writing. Many
conduct the whole process of “editing”, “publishing” and “marketing” their
works by themselves, principally photocopying their work and selling it
directly to friends and at market stalls. Despite poor living conditions
and the lack of return to be expected from writing,
the results of the survey of writers show that productivity amongst our
sample group was high, challenging the assertion that Cambodians do not
write!
The Print Media
Cambodia has an unusually high number of
registered newspapers and magazines. However no newspapers are published
outside the Phnom Penh region, and distribution is almost entirely limited
to the principal provincial capitals. Thus, newspapers generally fail to
reach the 80 percent of Cambodia’s population living in the rural areas.
A number of glossy new magazines are
being sold to an emerging market of urban, primarily young Cambodians.
These magazines are able to recover the costs of printing from sales and
advertising. Other magazines and academic journals that serve to advance
educational, social and governmental objectives depend almost entirely on
injections of funding from external sources (government, NGOs,
foundations, or individual entrepreneurs). Publishing & Printing
There are few “true” publishers in Cambodia.
The idea of what constitutes a publisher is not clear in the minds of many
authors, printers, and even those that proclaim to be publishers. The
skills that are required to be a publisher are lacking and this is
reflected in the quality of publications printed in Cambodia. There is
little support available for the few struggling independent publishers and
there is no programme to strengthen private publishing. Without
recognition by donors, authors, printers, and booksellers of the role of
the publisher in the book sector there is little hope for most publishers
to become self-sufficient or ever to rise above their dependence on
foreign donors.
Of those involved in the book sector, printers
have benefited most from Cambodia’s evolution to an open market economy.
There is no shortage of printers in Phnom Penh and it seems the capacity
and quality of their work is slowly improving. The same cannot be said for
the provinces, where printers are almost non-existent and photocopy shops
partly fill this void. The cost of printing is still unreasonably high due
to the high cost of paper and ink, as well as the small print runs
required by clients. Overall, print quality is poor with many printers not
carrying out adequate quality control of their output.
The Book Trade
Our interviews with bookshops, kiosks and
market stall sellers indicate that, apart from some book wholesalers,
booksellers cannot make a living from selling books only. Nearly all have
to sell other merchandise to supplement the small profits they make from
book sales. Sellers in general seem not to possess the necessary skills
for effective management of a bookshop, with many not keeping records of
stock or being aware of the value of effective book display and
arrangement. While some wholesalers are also involved in publishing, they
do not actively or openly promote their new publications.
Apart from word of mouth there is no way of
knowing what is being published and by whom. Publishing catalogues are not
being produced (with the exception of Sipar’s), there is no ISBN or ISSN
registration system in place, a legal depository law is yet to be passed,
and the National Library has only made sporadic attempts to compile a
Cambodian National Bibliography. It is thus very difficult for sellers to
know what books to order.
Distribution in Cambodia is still hampered by
poor postal systems, inadequate road networks, and a lack of reliable and
efficient means of transferring money and establishing credit accounts.
This situation should improve as Cambodia continues to receive funds and
loans to develop its communications, transport and financial
infrastructure, but at this point distributors are unwilling to distribute
outside of provincial centres. Distributors must look towards
co-ordinating their activities and perhaps investigate the possibility of
working with the MOEYS Distribution Office, which is at this time at a
crossroads as it attempts to become semi-autonomous. Readers and Literacy
The results of the readers’ survey partially
dispel the myth that Cambodians do not like to read. Many people do not
read because they are illiterate (62.9 percent
of the population 15 years and over is estimated to be not really
literate, particularly in the provinces). Many
of those that are literate want to read, and see it as a way of improving
their general knowledge. Generally, however, they do not have the funds,
time, or means to access reading materials.
Libraries were shown to be a popular place for
people to read, but there are few libraries, especially in the provinces,
and the majority are in poor condition, have no acquisition budget, and
are closed during those times when people are most likely to want to use
them, for instance, outside working hours.
Book and reading promotion and awareness are
lacking in Cambodia. While history books and novels are popular amongst
our surveyed population, it seems there is little familiarity with
Cambodian titles and authors except for bestselling novelists and for a
few novels printed during the 1940s-1960s. People report buying books,
both for pleasure and study, and book ownership appears to be high
although this may have been overstated by those whom we surveyed. There
seems to be a market for books, in particular books priced under 20,000
riel. However, people are likely not to be aware of what has been
published recently because of poor marketing and distribution. In
addition, small print runs due to lack of capital and of storage
facilities lead to books going rapidly out of print. Reading magazines is becoming increasingly popular, especially the new breed of glossy popular magazines that are now appearing. Newspapers, where they are available, are also read by many. Both magazines and newspapers, with their short and varied texts and images, are preferred to books and are often borrowed or rented.
Recommendations
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