Publishing industry roundtable plots a survival story Handy: is the Kindle is a challenge to book publishers? Serial entrepreneur and Financial Times columnist Luke Johnson could be excused for having a pessimistic outlook on the publishing sector, having "lost a fortune" following his purchase of the UK arm of Borders, the book chain in 2007. At a roundtable discussion to launch this year's Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award, the co-founder of private equity firm Risk Capital Partners says he "passionately" hopes books continue to prosper. FT & Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award But, in references to Google, Amazon and Apple, he warns that software "has become a very serious threat that may well eat" the publishing business. Victoria Barnsley, chief executive of HarperCollins UK, probably speaks for many publishing executives when she highlights "single platform domination" as "the risk." "I don't think it was good for the record industry nor will it be good for publishing," she says. The conundrum for publishers is what to do about it. Tim Harford, an author and also an FT columnist, says the industry needs to take action swiftly, especially in relation to the digital rights management (DRM) approaches of some ebook distributors that lock readers into their ecosystems. "If you let Amazon and Apple lock in their devices, they are going to slaughter all of you," he says, referring to book publishers and retailers. Santiago de la Mora, a director of print content partnerships at Google, points to key differences between books and music, where the digital disaggregation of tracks from albums heaped damage on the record labels. He adds that Google's policy is to adopt industry-wide DRM standards that allow content to be read on any device or platform. Sam Husain, chief executive of book chain Foyles, says he sees Amazon or Google as competitors, not "monsters," arguing that digital advances mean only that traditional retailers must continue to adapt. He wants to use tablet computers as a way "to allow our booksellers to interest and engage more with our customers." Publishers are also adapting. Elizabeth Baldwin, international sales and marketing director at the Harvard Business Review, says the publishing group is testing content online, listening daily to an "avid community." They are learning, too. Caroline Michel, chief executive of literary agents PFD, says some of the group's authors have achieved huge success in ebooks where it proved elusive in physical books. "We have authors who sell only 500 in hardback and sell 120,000 in ebooks," she says. Ms Barnsley predicts ebooks will reinvigorate the novel format, with readers able to select multiple endings or follow certain characters. For Mr Johnson, such innovation may be one way to stem likely continued migration of authors away to the growing self-publishing channels. Call for submissions Entries are invited for the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award 2013. The £30,000 prize will go to the book that is judged to have provided the most compelling and enjoyable insight into modern business issues, with £10,000 awarded to each runner-up. The closing date for entries, which must come from bona fide publishers, is June 28 and the prize will be awarded at a ceremony in London in November. To see the rules in full, to enter or to read more about the award, please visit www.ft.com/bookaward