 Publishers hailed Jesus Christ and Harry Potter on Tuesday as saviors of their industry in tough economic times.
The search for spiritual sustenance after last year's September 11 attacks has boosted the profits of religious publishers while children have demonstrated an insatiable appetite for the exploits of a boy wizard. With the industry hit by the current global downturn, the number of companies attending this year's Frankfurt Book Fair has dropped four percent -- but there are still 6,375 exhibitors from 110 countries. Spiritual advice was in demand, Dr. Hubertus Schenkel, chairman of the fair's supervisory board said, particularly in the United States. "Especially after the attacks of September 11, religious publishers around the world have been able to make gains." "Anything to do with trying to understand the meaning of life is also doing well -- from the Bible to esotericism and psychology and including how-to guides on keeping the peace in the family," he added. In a media age where so many children's lives are dominated by Pokemon and PlayStation, the industry lauded author J.K. Rowling （the author of Harry Potter）for re-introducing kids to the joys of reading. "And just how much the market is waiting for Harry Potter was revealed by the reaction when author Joanne Rowling hit the headlines in September with reports of her pregnancy and that she had almost finished number five in the series," Schenkel said. He forecast that publishing companies will in future depend even more on the pulling power of their best-selling authors. Book Fair Director Volker Neumann, bemoaning the slight drop in companies attending, said: "We are going through difficult times -- but we are confident that after this decline, things will be better again this year." (Agencies) | 在經濟形勢較為嚴峻的今天，所有的出版商都由衷地感謝兩位拯救了他們的英雄--耶酥基督和哈里·波特。 遭受了"9·11"的痛苦以后，大人們紛紛把目光轉向宗教類書籍，想要從中尋求精神的寄托，而孩子們則表現出了對魔法世界冒險的無窮渴望。這些，都為出版商帶來了巨大的收益。 由于全球經濟正處于低迷時期，圖書出版業也迎來了嚴冬。參加今年法蘭克福圖書博覽會的公司數目就比去年減少了百分之四，不過屆時仍將有來自110個國家的6375家公司前來參展。 博覽會監事會主席休伯特斯·申克爾認為，目前人們廣泛需求的是一種精神支柱，尤其是在美國。"特別是在'9·11'之后，全世界宗教類書籍的出版商都可以憑這個獲利。"  他還說，"除此以外，只要是關于理解生活真諦的書，--不論是圣經，還是神秘主義、心理學，乃至如何維持家庭和睦的書籍，銷量都很好。"
今天的傳媒時代，孩子的童年被掌上游戲機和游戲網站所充斥著。由此才更顯得《哈里·波特》系列叢書的作者J.K.羅琳是多么功不可沒，是她幫孩子找回了閱讀的樂趣。 申克爾說："如果想知道市場對《哈里·波特》的期望值有多高，只要看一看9月羅琳懷孕和她快寫完叢書第五部的消息傳出時，媒體鋪天蓋地的宣傳和讀者對此的關切程度就可以了解了。" 他還預言說，接下來的日子里，出版公司還將繼續依靠暢銷書作家來贏得市場，走出困境。 圖書博覽會負責人弗爾克·諾意曼則抱怨著參加此次博覽會的公司數量的下降。他說："我們目前正處在困境之中，但我們仍然抱著這樣的信念：這一年在衰退過后，一切又會重新好起來的。" (中國日報網站譯) |
Updated: 2002-10-14 01:00
