The End of Mass-Market Paperbacks Is an Issue of Justice | Nonprofit Quarterly | Civic News. Empowering Nonprofits. Advancing Justice.

"Mass-market paperbacks were dreamed up by an English book editor, frustrated by the lack of reading material at his local railway station. Initially, the slim paperbacks he published were sold at tobacco shops for the same price as a pack of cigarettes-and they were about the same size as one, too."

"One of the most brilliant technologies in the history of the world, precisely because you could shove it in your purse or your pocket. That made the mass-market paperback perfect for transit. The format was sold at train and bus stations, convenience stores, and supermarkets."

"Mass market paperbacks are being discontinued, as ReaderLink and other distributors and publishers of the format stop production, citing plummeting sales. That is both a loss for readers and writers, and an issue of economic justice."

Mass-market paperbacks, small affordable books with thin pages and low prices, have circulated for nearly a century. Created by an English book editor frustrated by limited reading material at railway stations, these books were initially sold at tobacco shops for cigarette prices. Their compact size made them ideal for transit, sold at train stations, bus stops, convenience stores, supermarkets, gas stations, and truck stops. During World War II, they were distributed to soldiers as official government rations. Today, distributors and publishers like ReaderLink are discontinuing the format due to plummeting sales, representing both a loss for readers and writers and an issue of economic justice.

Read at Nonprofit Quarterly | Civic News. Empowering Nonprofits. Advancing Justice.