1. Nina Andiana Gramedia Pustaka Utama Indonesia
Future of Children’s Book Presentation to the Asian Publishers Fellowship Seoul 2019
Nina Andiana
Gramedia Pustaka Utama
Indonesia

2. Gramedia Pustaka Utama (GPU)
Group of Retail & Publishing
114 Bookstores;
1 online platform (gramedia.com)
5 other publishers
General Publisher
Founded in 1974
Publishes +/- 1,200 titles a year, 60% of which are translated titles
Genres: children’s books, teens, novel, dictionary, self improvement, nonfiction, business & economics, entertainment, etc.

3. Indonesia 2019 Population: 267 million
24.78% of the population are children
age 0-14 years (66.18 million )**
*Profile of Indonesian Children, 2018, Ministry of Women Empowerment & Child Protection

4. Indonesia Book Market Indonesia Publishers Association:
1,368 members (60% School books,
40% general and specific-content)
Only approx 700 active publishers
Indonesian University Press Association:
Approx. 200 university presses
36,082 titles were sold in Gramedia bookstores in 2017, while only 19,308 titles were sold the previous year
First print run is usually 3,000 copies
An Overview of Indonesian Publishing Industry,
Presentation to the London Book Fair 2019

5. Market share in Gramedia bookstores
based on department.
Jan-Apr 2018
Jan-Apr 2019
Novels
19.08%
18.09%
School Books
13.80%
13.59%
Religion & Spirituality
12.55%
11.90%
Children’s Book
12.52%
12.76%
Comics
9.90%
8.64%
Business & Economics
4.40%
4.72%
Self Improvement
3.42%
6.64%
Reference
5.45
6.79

6. Children’s Book Market
Monthly sales
(in billion Rp, Gramedia bookstores)
Best-selling titles:
Educational comics
Science books for children
Books with famous characters (TV/show-related)
Junior novel (mainly local titles)
Recent trend: ghost stories for children
2016
2017
2018
12.21
12.49
14.75

7. Internet use in Indonesia’s elementary school children (2016)**
Challenges
Internet use in Indonesia’s elementary school children (2016)**
Imported paper  expensive
Distribution challenges
Increasing use of smartphone and internet
90.27% school-age children prefer watching TV*
only 18.94% likes to read*
*Indonesia’s Ministry of Education and Culture, 2017
**beritatagar.id

8. Reading in Indonesia School/Community Literacy Movement
Study by UNESCO in 2013: out of 1,000 Indonesians, only 1 is passionate about reading*
61th place of the 62 countries studied in the World’s Most Literate Nations by the Central Connecticut State University
2015 PISA-Programme for International Students Assessments’ score: 62th out of 70 countries studied
Verbal tradition in relaying information
School/Community
Literacy Movement
Establish/improve school libraries
15 minutes of reading before school starts
Make sure reading materials are available
E-library
*Jakarta Post, March 2016

9. Govt Initiatives 15 Minutes of Reading Before School Starts Publisher:
Work with school libraries to provide books with special discounts
Donate books to local libraries

10. Results
Late 2014: e-libraries in 33 provinces, and 120 e-libraries in the regency/city level.
More comprehensive studies are needed, but independent and smaller studies in school or city-level show that 15 minutes of reading have positive impacts in increased reading motivation and better comprehension*
The next PISA result will be announced late 2019
*in Surabaya, a research by Ira Uffa Dwi Ratih Fijayanti.

11. Children’s Book in GPU
Until recently was part of the Fiction department
Publishes titles a year, 65% of which are translated titles
Translated titles accounts for more than 70% of the top-selling titles
Holds major licensing brands (Disney, My Little Pony, Harry Potter, Tayo, Cloud Bread, etc)
Major categories: Storybooks, Junior Novel, Nonfiction (science, activity, religious books)

12. In 2015, 2016, and 2017 experienced major decline in sales.
In quarter 4/2017, five editors shifted their focus on children’s book.
2018  improvements.
What we do:
Interact with readers
Digital initiative
Find & modify old gems
Sales Growth (2017 vs 2018)

13. Interact with Readers Events for Readers: Coloring Competition
Science Olympic Day
Fashion Show Competition
Reading Time

14. Collaboration with local movies

15. Collaboration with local movies

16. Helps connect us to parents, direct conversation
Social Media Presence
Helps connect us to parents, direct conversation
A tool to inform new books and programs directly to readers
Connects
publisher – readers – bookstores
Joined in early ‘16
123K Friends
Facebook Ads
first post Nov ‘16
5K Followers

17. Digital Initiative
AR Books
Book with audio file

18. Learn to Read, Write & Color 365 Bible Stories for Children
Find & Modify Old Gems
Learn to Read, Write & Color
2017  copies
2018  copies
Learn to Count & Write
2018  copies
365 Bible Stories for Children
First published: 29 Nov 2013
s/d Okt 17: 68 eks
Nov 17-Des 17: 682 eks
2018: eks

19. Top-selling Translated Titles
Mainly are fiction, activity (coloring, stickers), and encyclopaedia.
Storybooks don’t usually sell well
10,044 copies
4,395 copies
3,171 copies
2,800 copies
2,764 copies
2,641 copies
2,430 copies
2,066 copies
2,243 copies
1,944 copies

20. Top-selling Local Titles
1,122 copies
1,988 copies
1,961 copies
1,025 copies
Mainly are learning how to read titles, junior fiction

21. Plans Publish educational yet fun books:
Applied science books, board books, activity books (coloring, stickers, etc), and junior novel (7+) – must relate to local children.
Develop a reseller program
Lots of products use this method in Indonesia, and mothers usually have vast circle of friends.
Continue to seek new opportunities for digital initiative
We are looking forward to hearing new ideas from the fellowship

22. Future of Reading for Children
Tech acceleration is not going to slow down
start with something familiar
collaborate with others to develop up-to-date contents (movies, game developer, apps developers)
provide contents that are educational but fun, something that relates with children
develop IP
Movie to book or book to movie. Maybe to/combine something else?
At the same time, the “traditional” book is still relevant, especially for children – developmental stage-appropriate
Today’s parents realize this, so they will still try to find good books.
Baby books that are appropriate for children’s developmental stages (tactile, fine motor skills, learning purposes)