Books, Before and Beyond: Publishing in the 21st Century

Barbara Peters and Robert Rosenwald, owners of Poisoned Pen Books and Poisoned Pen Press in Scottsdale, Ariz., discussed both the mystery genre and the state of publishing in America. Drawing on their longtime experience in bookselling, publishing and editing, Peters and Rosenwald ask, "How does the medium influence the message?" Their program takes a brief look at book and print technology past, present and future, and how electronic manuscript submissions, e-books, digital ink and wireless reading devices have affected the industry. The publishers also talk about the potential of digital rights management. Other trends in the industry, such as the interplay of Web and print media, the use of video trailers for books, the popularity of the graphic novel and gaming based on books are a part of the program. Peters and Rosenwald founded the Poisoned Pen Bookstore in 1989. Peters also serves as editor and Rosenwald as publisher of Poisoned Pen Press, which has published more than 100 authors and has more than 600 titles in print.