Madam, - I have been following the recent debate on the state of Irish publishing with interest and a little bemusement. It is true, as both Tony Farmar and Steve MacDonogh note (Arts, June 20th and Letters, July 7th), that book publishing faces serious challenges in this country, particularly in the strong competition from the UK: witness the trend for major British publishers to set up permanent offices in Dublin.
Nonetheless, this shows that large publishers believe that Ireland, with its high levels of book-buying and disposable income, is a fruitful market for investment - offering benefits for Irish publishers too. Meanwhile, recent moves by publishers away from particular genres (notably serious non-fiction, and adult and children's fiction) present opportunities for enterprising publishers to lay claim to new territory in these areas.
As an example, Liberties Press was founded four years ago to publish principally high-quality non-fiction titles. Our notable successes include a best-selling collection of essays by Michael D. Higgins and a history of Kilmainham Jail, a building of more than merely national importance.
The problems faced by Irish publishers are not chiefly, as Desmond Fennell argues, a lack of enterprise or imagination on the part of publishers themselves, but the limited public visibility of the industry, erratic State support for the sector, and a trading environment in which bookshop chains hold the upper hand. - Yours, etc,
SEÁN O'KEEFFE, Editorial Director, Liberties Press, Taylor's Lane, Dublin 8.