A conference in Edinburgh has discussed what the future is likely to hold for publishing in Scotland. Publishing has been hard-hit by the recession and the effects have been felt all over the UK, including Scotland.

The conference was aimed at addressing fears that funding for the publishing trade organisation Publishing Scotland would be cut amid recommendations from the Literature Working Group of Scotland. A report from the LWG also suggested Publishing Scotland should be restructured to become part of the Independent Publishers Guild.

The LWG stressed that their report was intended to spark discussion on the topic of Scottish publishing and that they are open to other suggestions regarding its future.

Authors published by Penguin have all voted on the Penguin book they admire the most and George Orwell has come out on top. Fifty authors took part in the poll, which was part of Penguin’s 75th birthday celebrations, each selecting one title from Penguin’s back catalogue.

A total of four novels chosen were written by George Orwell. Including in the selections were his famous dystopian novels 1984 and Animal Farm.

The final list can be seen at Penguin’s website, providing a small insight into the tastes of some of today’s best writers. Other novels selected included works by such literary giants as Vladimir Nabokov, Leo Tolstoy, James Joyce and John Steinbeck.

The publishing industry has been hard hit by the effects of the economic downturn and last year saw staff within the industry endure pay freezes as part of publishers’ strategies to cope with the struggle.

It looks as though 2010 will be a little easier however as some of the larger UK publishing houses have announced they will be increasing employees pay in line with inflation. HarperCollins and Penguin are among those whose strategies have eased up and Macmillan is set to announce its plans in April.

Recruitment agencies for publishers have also confirmed that the job market within the industry appears to be improving.

Publishers in the United Kingdom have another difficulty to face in the coming months and years as it appears that the lucrative business of co-editions is on the wane.

Co-editions constitute separate publications of the same edition of a piece of work. A good example of a co-edition would be a foreign language translation – a publisher in France, for instance, could publish a French book and a separate English publication could be released with an English translation of the same book.

These used to contribute to publishers’ income, but 2008 figures show that co-edition income fell a massive 29% from 2006 figures.

Recent reports have suggested that Google is moving to push ahead its Google Books venture by submitting a court brief to try and convince the US District Court to approve its revised settlement terms with American publishers and authors.

Google Books would be an online platform for digitising and selling books, but opponents have raised concerns about copyright law and monopoly issues that would surround the deal.

With the publishing world already struggling because of the selling power of supermarkets, who are able to sell books at reduced prices thereby circumventing the efforts of dedicated bookshops, could it be that Google will add to publishers’ woes with their digital venture? Or will Google Books signal something of a new age in publishing?