THE CURSE OF PUBLISHERS AND BOOKSHOPS

A typical display of magazines in a Thai bookshop

The increasing number of bi-monthly, quarterly and even half-yearly magazines on the shelves in Thailand is bad news for newsagents and other publishers alike. And I can't imagine readers are particularly happy either.

The cost of having one title occupying valuable and increasingly scarce real estate on the jam-packed bookshelves is a considerable one for retailers. It's also a bad thing for publishers of weekly, bi-weekly and monthly titles who have to battle for space with these long term residents.

Perhaps retailers in Thailand should impose a 'one month maximum' limit on magazines with a shelf life of more than 30 days? After all, a significant number of publishers don't care how many copies they sell - they'd rather have the exposure on the shelves for marketing purposes.