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Arts

My Lords, as my noble friend Lord Bragg has pointed out more lyrically than I can, we have all too few discussions of matters relating to the arts in your Lordships’ House. I congratulate him on his timely introduction of this debate. Since what I am about to say refers almost entirely to literature, I must declare an interest as a writer of fiction. When my first book was published 42 years ago, publishing was still largely what someone has called ““an occupation for the gentleman””. Marketing was in its infancy and, as far as the gentlemen went, almost all editors were men. The women who entered the industry were in the foreign rights department and known, I am afraid, as ““the rights girls””. Things are very different now, with as many women editors as men and women heads of publishing houses. In the 1960s, 50,000 books were published each year in the United Kingdom. At present, the number has climbed to nearly 120,000. Literary festivals existed in those days, but they were very few in number. In those 42 years, book festivals have multiplied in a way that no one could have foreseen. Now, almost every county, city and town in Britain has its own festival. Recent additions are the Oxford, the Cornwall and the Daphne du Maurier festivals. Basically, they consist of an assembling of authors who talk about their books to an audience, are interviewed on stage or take part in panels and discussions, again in front of an audience. Those who say that the book is moribund and will soon give place to electronic alternatives, to television and film, should attend one of those festivals and see the large audiences, packed halls and queues of people waiting to have their books signed. They should feel the enormous enthusiasm that is generated and seems to be palpable in the air. Those who attend are people of all ages and both genders, including tourists from abroad in large numbers. The bookseller retail chains have grown enormously. Since the ending of the net book agreement, which gave publishers the right to set minimum retail prices for their books, they have been free to launch full-scale retail marketing of books in UK supermarkets, thus reaching a very wide market. If small booksellers have suffered, as they have, at least they have benefited from the literal festivals to which they supply books for sale. Alongside festivals has been the innovation of the book club and the reading group. A huge mushrooming has taken place in their numbers, many of them the offspring of one particular television programme. The Richard & Judy Book Club has done wonders for publishing and authors. There are now Richard & Judy book clubs all over the country and each book mentioned enjoys hugely increased sales. A case in point is that of an author who, regularly selling 30,000 copies of a new book, sold 600,000 after it was featured by Richard and Judy. Creative writing schools, once confined to the Arvon Foundation and post-graduate courses at universities, have also greatly increased in number. They are a popular draw for those hoping to become published authors and for people who love books and want to learn how it is done. For those who know how it is done, the literary prizes exist. Winners and those on the short lists of the Man Booker, the Whitbread, the Orange and, recently, the Ondaatje prizes not only win considerable monetary rewards but also see their sales increase astronomically. Books which they might have expected to have modest sales mount to the top of the bestseller lists. So, do all those innovations contribute to the well-being of society? The argument is good: reading being contemplative and an escape, something which can be done in solitude while waiting or sleepless or bored, brings about a satisfying contentment. Reading makes you happy. It is also the cheapest of all diversions. Anyone attending a book festival or joining a reading group will be struck by the enthusiasm and excitement of those who read and passionately want to discuss with others what they have read. Unfortunately, as few as 3 per cent of non-English language books appear in translation in this country. Publishers say that there are reasons for this: among them, the cost of a good translator and the relatively small sales abroad of writers whose books, though possibly of great merit, fail to sell well. By contrast, British publishing retains an extremely robust export market. Literary stars from this country are translated all over the world. Ten years ago British authors were few and far between on the United States best sellers lists, but now many reach the top, including the prestigious New York Times best sellers list. British publishing is cash generative and enjoys steady growth. Ideas contained in books have been called the raw materials from which films, television productions and radio programmes are derived. The publishing industry leads the way in terms of a new digital future in ideas and in making sure that books in new forms can be downloaded to iPods. Let me end by saying something which will be a surprise to those who see the book as having no future. The export from this country of the works of British writers is currently exceeded only by that of Scotch whisky.