A group of children's authors has announced that it plans to stage a protest outside Dymocks' central Brisbane store tomorrow (Thursday), protesting against the chain's support for an open market.
Sheryl Gwyther, author of Secrets of Eromanga (Lothian), is one of the organisers of the protest and she writes on her blog ‘We disagree with the Coalition for Cheaper Books' claims that removing the restrictions on the parallel importation of books will allow them to sell books cheaper. This is not guaranteed at all. Scrapping the protection of PIRs will cause much damage to the thriving Australian publishing industry; threaten the livelihood of authors by opening the gates to a flood of remaindered books from overseas; and risks losing books that Australian children will identify with.'
Gwyther adds: ‘We do not feel antagonistic towards the staff of Dymocks -- it is a difficult situation for all concerned because many of these caring staff love children's books and support the authors. But our continued existence in this industry is threatened by the push to lift the parallel import restrictions.' The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) has expressed its support for the protest.
Dymocks CEO Don Grover told WBN that ‘it's disappointing that they will be outside the store, but we'll certainly make everyone feel welcome -- the authors seem to be misinformed, as we want people to buy more of their books, and we'll continue to support them as we have for more than 130 years.'
The ABA has also written to the group, suggesting that ‘locating the protest at the bookstore level doesn't help the debate.'
