=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-2364/39_paper
|storemode=property
|title=Conservatism in an Innovative Field.
Children’s Digital Books in Sweden
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2364/39_paper.pdf
|volume=Vol-2364
|authors=Ann Steiner
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/dhn/Steiner19
}}
==Conservatism in an Innovative Field.
Children’s Digital Books in Sweden==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2364/39_paper.pdf
Conservatism in an Innovative Field.
Children’s Digital Books in Sweden
Ann Steiner [0000-0002-4237-1243]
Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Abstract.
The study intention is to understand the nature of digital publishing for children
in Sweden and showed, among other things, that digital publishing to a large ex-
tent is reproductions of print books. The paper argues that results of the case study
can be explained by long-time structures in publishing of print books for children
but also that there are barrier breakers.
In order to map digital book publishing for children data was gathered from a
number of sources and covered digital children’s books published in Swedish
2015–2018. The preliminary results of the study points towards severe gaps in
the statistics of children’s digital books and digital publishing in general. Despite
the lack of exact statistics observations can be made on the nature of the digital
children’s book market in terms of publishing formats, development, publishers
and distribution.
The results of this study showed a print-based publishing structure of digital
books. I argue that this contradiction can be explained by five factors: publishing
as a business, copyright, production, authors and audience. These five are linked
but provide different perspectives and explanations.
Keywords: Children’s book, E-books, Audiobooks.
1 Introduction
Children’s literature is often described as edgy, innovative, creative and experimental.
The same can be said for digital literature – it is new, investigative, pioneering and
breaking boundaries. Thus, a possible conclusion would be that children’s digital liter-
ature should be in the forefront of creativity and experimentally testing opportunities.
This has been suggested in several studies of digital publishing for children, for exam-
ple by Junko Yokota in an article on the traits in digital stories for children where it
appears to be the natural evolution of children’s literature [1]. This case study of chil-
dren’s books in Sweden instead shows that digital publishing to a large extent is repro-
ductions of print books. The paper argues that results of the case study can be explained
by long-time structures in publishing of print books for children but also that there are
barrier breakers.
427
1.1 Mapping Children’s Digital Books
In order to map digital book publishing for children a case study was performed. The
initial project was a full-scale study of all digital book publishing but as it turned out
that available statistics and facts were sketchy at best. Instead a test case study was
performed in order to understand the basic nature of digital book publishing for children
but also to provide enough knowledge for a later larger study. The full study requires
not only a gathering of data but also interviews and contacts with all major producers
of children’s books, book distributors and digital publishing as there is no complete
information on the extent of this production.
The study was performed by gathering data from a number of sources: Bokinfo, the
database for books on sale including e-books; online public library catalogues; Adlibris
and Bokus, the national internet booksellers, audio and e-book streaming services (Sto-
rytel, Nextory and BookBeat); facilitators of apps as well as websites of five major
Swedish children’s book publishers. Searches of web based digital literature for chil-
dren in Swedish was also performed. The study was narrowed down to cover digital
children’s books published in Swedish and focused on the years 2015–2018 as there
was little published before that time period.
Digital books in the study was eventually defined as e-books, audiobooks in mp3-
format, book apps, e-picture books in Epub3-format, and enhanced e-books. It does not
include games with a fiction-like narrative, games based on books, or literature pub-
lished on open websites. The distinction between digital books and digital literature had
to be defined to understand different literary contexts. Digital book is a term for a dig-
itally published work and a closed unit that is distributed and borrowed or sold as a
‘book’. Digital literature is a broader concept that both includes digital books and a
wide variety of digital publishing of literature, for example literature on self-publishing
sites such as Wattpad and the Swedish Poeter.se, fanfiction and on authors websites [2].
A legitimate objection is that object ‘book’ as a starting point will limit the study
and that the results would have been different if the research had had a wider scope.
Another objection is that it is problematic to use print-based ideas of literature to un-
derstand digital change. The reason for the limitations was that I wanted to understand
what was accessible to children through retail, libraries, schools, streaming services and
published by established producers of children’s literature. These books are sanctioned
by different institutions but they also will be the most visible, discoverable and wide-
spread. The initial project’s intention was to include all published literary works for
children but apart from methodological difficulties in tracking literature published on
open websites it is also clear that there is plenty of literature published by children and
teenagers on many websites but it is uncommon with children’s books published for
children. This obviously requires a more in-depth discussion, but the methodological
issues combined with a main focus on literature that has a ‘published’ status and circu-
lation warrants the chosen limitations.
428
1.2 Children’s Book Publishing in Sweden
Children’s books in Sweden has ever since the Second World War had a strong posi-
tion. The publishing has been extensive and different publishers and authors have been
able to produce a large number of books, internationally sold and nationally appreci-
ated. The status of Swedish children’s book publishing goes back to what is generally
described as the breakthrough of children’s book publishing in 1945 and the following
years termed ‘the golden age of children’s literature’. The foundation of a new publish-
ing house for children’s literature, Rabén & Sjögren in 1942, and three influential au-
thors – Astrid Lindgren, Lennart Hellsing and Tove Jansson – are still the backbone in
the story of children’s literature in the country. Due to the elevated position of chil-
dren’s publishing it has become a rich, constantly developing literature that has at-
tracted many authors and illustrators [3–5]. The international sales and translations of
Swedish children’s literature has been successful and together with the 21st century
Nordic Noir crime fiction they stand for most of the international rights sales. A na-
tional as well as an international strong market have provided a solid base for further
and increasing publications leading up 2017 figure of 2 532 published children’s print
books.
Reliable statistics from the last 25 years gathered by the Swedish Children’s Book
Institute have shown a continuing rise in the number of published print books for chil-
dren and Young Adult and in all the number of titles has more than doubled from the
late 1990s. This rise continues and only between 2016 and 2017 the number of pub-
lished titles for children increased by five per cent. The 2 532 children’s books in print
can be compared with approximately 2 036 books of adult fiction or 9 344 books for
adults in Swedish the same year [6, 7].
Sweden has high scores in many digital charts measuring internet saturation, readi-
ness to embrace new technology and high degree of innovation, but despite this interest
in new technology digital publishing and sales has been a slow development [8]. Only
after 2015 there has been any major production of e-books and even if the production
has grown the sales of single e-books is almost non-existent. Instead the market has
been made up by library loans (for free) and in more recent years subscription streaming
services. The digital books for children follow the same pattern as other digital publish-
ing and sales. The first e-book for children was published in Sweden already in 2000,
however most digital publishing has been produced after 2014.
2 Counting Children’s Digital Books
The study gathered information on digital books for children, formats, distributors and
producers as there is no official statistics encompassing digital publications. The first
part of the study focused on gathering information from different sources on published
titles, accessible titles and publication year. A first set of information was collected
early 2018 and a second set of searches was performed in early 2019.
429
There are three principal forms of digital books for children: e-books including var-
iations such as Epub3-format and enhanced e-books, audiobooks in mp3-format and
apps. The three publication forms were mapped individually as well as overlapping.
The first part included testing of different databases and their reliability. The online
data retail system Bokinfo – which should be the most comprehensible – had the least
dependable figures that included only a small part of accessible e-books and audio-
books. Publishers instead use different digital mediators such as Axiell Media and Pub-
lit. The national library system for public libraries had a wider array of 3 631 e-books
and another 808 streamed audio books in early 2019. However, this covers only the
digital books that the libraries have chosen to offer not the full range and their statistics
was not useful either.
The two major internet bookstores – Adlibris and Bokus – showed almost identical
figures which indicates that these are almost all books accessible for sale in early 2019.
Whilst the internet bookstores offered the most comprehensive information it is still not
complete. There are titles identified on the streaming services that could not be accessed
in any other system, for example Epub3 picture books such as Pija Lindenbaum’s Brid-
get and the Moose Brothers [Gittan och älgbrorsorna, 2003]. Another factor that one
should bear in mind is that there will be digital books published earlier that are no longer
for sale. The number of e-books on offer in Adlibris and Bokus for children in February
2019 were almost 6 300 titles and audiobooks 2 600 titles. While these numbers are
still low in comparison with print publishing it is interesting to note that the production
in 2018 was not that far behind the print production.
In order to track children’s book apps searches were made on different platforms and
on a website for children’s app reviews, Pappas appar [Daddy’s apps]. Surftablets and
apps are an integrated part of many young children’s lives in Sweden and the access for
children to surf tablets is high. Among children under one year of age half have this
access in their home and among children 5–8 years old 80% of all children have access
to a surf tablet and many also have their own [9]. Both the youngest children and older
ones use apps regularly and among children 6–7 years old 86% use a surftablet every
week [8].
Tracking the number of apps, identifying them as books rather than games was far
more difficult but one conclusion that could be drawn is that although there is no defi-
nite figure the number is low. The searches gave a list of under 50 book apps for chil-
dren in Swedish. The ISBN central at the Royal Library recommends that book apps
should have an ISBN but not one single app for children found in the study used the
book tracking code. There were surprisingly few apps that included a literary text and
most of these had been produced in the early 2010s and by now in disuse. The publish-
ers seem to think it too expensive and requiring too much knowledge. Instead the apps
found were mostly games based on literary characters such as Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi
Longstocking or Sven Nordqvist’s Findus and Pettson.
The book apps were almost all classics and produced by outside companies and not
the original publisher, for example Anna-Clara Tidholm’s Knock, knock, knock!
[Knacka på!, 1992] and Freddy Fixer builds a car [Mulle Meck bygger en bil, 1993] by
Jens Ahlbom and Georg Johansson. Exceptions to this pattern are classics produced by
organizations such as an app based on the artist Ivar Arosenius and his classic picture
430
book “The Cat’s Journey” [Kattresan, 1909] which is created by the archive managing
the estate. All in all, though, the book apps for children in Sweden are stunningly few.
The number of audiobooks in mp3 format for streaming has already been accounted
for above. The success of pay-per-month streaming services for audiobooks and to
some extent e-books in Sweden after 2015 have rapidly changed the business model for
digital book production. Two well-established streaming services – Storytel and Nex-
tory – and another two newcomers – BookBeat and Bokus Play – together offer a vari-
ety audiobooks and e-books for children although most are the same as the sales through
the internet bookstores. On the whole most audiobooks are chapter books for the age
9–12 but there are great successes in audio also for teenagers as well as very young
children, for example Carl- Johan Forssén Ehrlin’s picturebook The Rabbitt Who Wants
to Fall Asleep (2015).
A noteworthy aspect of audiobooks for children is how quickly the streaming ser-
vices has propelled a reproduction of audiobook backlist and a fast expansion of e-
books as well. One publisher in particular stands out that is the Danish company Saga
Egmont producing large quantities of e-books and audiobooks for the Swedish market.
In 2018 alone they published 208 audiobooks and 634 e-books. There is no other Swe-
dish publisher that comes near this figure and Egmont published under several imprints
(Egmont Publishing, Saga Egmont and so on) but together they dominate digital pub-
lishing for children. Almost half of all the e-books published in 2018 came from one of
the Egmont brands and in terms of audio they also dominate as they publish more than
double the number of titles than their next competitor, Bonnier Audio. Egmont’s audio-
book and e-book production are all backlist and most has been published previously by
other publishing houses. Egmont thus disrupts the traditional business model for pub-
lishing in which the rights to publish has remained with the original producer. As a
consequence, the large publishers have had to readjust their digital production strategies
particularly in terms of speed, backlist and fussing over authors who might be attractive
to other publishers.
3 Gaps and Structures in the Digital Children’s Book
Market
The preliminary results of the study points towards severe gaps in the statistics of chil-
dren’s digital books and digital publishing in general. This in turn affected the set-up
of this test project as its aim became to identify possible sources of information but also
where gaps and problems in the information was visible. In order to map the nature of
the field a full-scale multi-method study has to be performed and these will require not
only multiple statistical sources that are combined and compared but also interviews
with key companies and people. It will also have to be a wider study including different
open websites for digital literature, such as Wattpad, Poeter.se and fan fiction sites with
a focus on books that are published for children to read.
A second set of results of the study is that despite the lack of exact statistics obser-
vations can be made on the nature of the digital children’s book market. It showed
431
clearly that digital books for children are published by traditional publishers, it is all
print-first and there is little in terms of enhanced e-books or uses of the technological
capacity in digital publishing. Instead the examples of more advanced use of digital
technology for children tend to be exceptions and often produced by authors in outside
sources and not part of any book circulation such as bookstores, libraries or schools.
The one exception is books for learning but as these are rarely for private consumption
or a part of the general market these were not a part of the study. It would probably be
useful to compare digital learning material with the digital publishing for the general
market in terms of exchange, reading habits and parents mixing of the different arenas.
Learning is partly turning into a consumer market where publishers like Stabenfeldt
target parents wanting their children to develop cognitive and reading skills by offering
digital and print content combined.
Notably most of the digital books for children is print-first and almost always a blue-
print copy of the original. In the case of audio books obviously there was sound and
voice added which does change the character and experience of ‘reading’ but still fol-
lows the original work closely and without other additions. Furthermore, there is sim-
ultaneous production of new titles in digital formats of most books for children 9–12
and 13+ and some e-picturebooks although it is clear that the large children’s book
publishers do not focus on this publishing. For example, the catalogue of the largest
publisher, Rabén & Sjögren, for autumn 2018 does not include one single mention of
an e-book or audiobook version [10]. All titles have a description of the print publishing
format but there is no indication to other versions despite that almost all books exist in
en e-book version and several also as audiobook.
Most of the production of e-books and even to some extent audiobooks are backlist
titles. It is not possible to track the original publishing date of the titles but it should be
noted that in children’s book publishing in general backlist and classics are not only a
staple goods but an essential part of the business in all the established publishing houses
for children’s books. Bestseller lists always include older titles, for example the top 20
most sold books for children in 2018 included 5 titles published before 2016 [11]. In
digital book publishing the backlist is even more important and most titles published
are new productions of already published works. In many cases these are titles pub-
lished pre-2000 and since long out of print. It is easily accessible titles, cheap to publish
and where the authors are simply happy to have them in circulation again. All in all, it
means that the digital book publishing for children in many ways is not only traditional
in terms of print-focused but also made up of old material.
3.1 The Structure of Children’s Digital Books Publishing
Katherine Hayles has argued in Between page and screen (2012) that literature always
carries genres and convention when it moves between media:
When literature leaps from one medium to another – from orality to writing, from man-
uscript codex to printed book, from mechanically generated print to electronic textuality
432
– it does not leave behind the accumulated knowledge embedded in genres, poetic con-
ventions, narrative structures, figurative tropes, and so forth. Rather, this knowledge is
carried forward into the new medium, typically by trying to replicate the earlier medium’s
effects within the medium’s specificities. [12]
Although I agree with her argument, the underlying basis of this analysis is that litera-
ture does change to a large extent when it moves between media, but this study has
shown that in the majority of the digital books for children there is very little change.
It could even be argued that the publishers strive to make the changes as invisible as
possible and to disguise the digital as print. While programs like Storyspace and app
technique have affected the digital first and digital only it has had no or little impact on
the majority of digital publishing for children.
The results of this study showed a print-based publishing structure of digital books.
I argue that this contradiction can be explained by five factors: publishing as a business,
copyright, production, authors and audience. These five are linked but provide different
perspectives and explanations.
Firstly, publishing as a business explains the backstory to children’s book publishing
with its own narrative of their aim and ideals. Many children’s book publishers will for
example have strong ideals and ideas on the value of educating but also on the need for
creativity and artistry. Swedish children’s book publishing has long been based in print
and the majority of titles are produced by a small group of publishers. The two major
publishers of children’s books, Bonnier Carlsen and Rabén & Sjögren, are parts of
larger corporate structures but there are also a number of mid-sized and small well-
established children’s book publishers. Jointly these are all companies firmly based in
print publishing and while they might produce e-books and occasional audiobooks they
have no interest in developing digital narratives or testing new technologies. These
companies have great know-how in children’s literature that has little use for expensive
technological developments. Previous tests of new technology have also proven to be
costly, difficult and even hazardous. The British publisher Dorling Kindersley almost
went bankrupt in the 1990s trying to be the first publisher in digital for children and
many Swedish companies testing CD-ROMs, apps and enhanced e-books have returned
to what they know best. New ventures do exist but mostly these also has print publica-
tions as their principle aim.
The publishing system for print and digital is also a result of copyright. Almost all
children’s books that are of interest are still in copyright which has become more and
more of a business in Sweden [13]. The copyright is owned by the author and depending
on contract partly or fully shared with the publisher. There is nothing untoward in this
system but it makes children’s book content expensive. On the other hand, those com-
panies that has made use of children’s books and characters have seen the advantages.
Many children’s books have been part of a transmediation into film, tv, puzzles, board
games and educational material. Examples are the already mentioned Pippi Longstock-
ing and others such as Gösta Knutsson’s Pelle No-Tail [Pelle Svanslös] and recent years
enormous success of Martin Widmarck’s series about the children detectives Lasse and
Maja. Copyright in these cases seem to have not been an obstacle, but on the other hand
the mediations have been to completely other media and nothing resembling the origi-
nal books. Many children’s stories are well-established brands, market tested, with a
433
great pre-set narrative. When content has become the number one asset in digitally pro-
duced material children’s books are increasing in importance. One could argue that
copyright is not a hinder to develop the already published work into a different medium,
but there is a different situation when the transfer is from book to a book-like product.
A third element effecting children’s digital book publishing are production aspects
and particularly technology and costs. Developing new kinds of digital books is, to put
it mildly, extremely expensive and generally regarded as perilous. While the technology
is available the costs are high and the prospective incomes low. The copyright owners
– authors and publishers – generally have small incentives for developing more ad-
vanced digital products than e-book and audiobook. The business model has so far only
been based on print and while that is changing with the streaming services it has not
changed the literature that is distributed through these channels. The fear of making bad
judgments when it comes to new technology also makes publishers reluctant towards
anything too technologically advanced.
This is linked to the author position as copyright owners. Most children’s books au-
thors regard themselves as artists – text writers and illustrators – of books rather than
of digital content. While many are willing to transform their content to a digital file few
are interested in developing new kinds of hypertexts, multimodal literature or interac-
tive books. This means that established authors and illustrators focus on print rather
than on apps or digital publishing. This is evidently their prerogative as artists and pos-
sibly also where their strongest skills, experience and knowledge lies. It might be a new
generation of authors and illustrators or possibly a different group altogether that em-
brace digital literature and its technological potential.
The fifth perspective on digital books for children is the audience. While the primary
audience are children there is a secondary audience of parents, schools, and libraries.
Heated debates in many countries over digital and paper reading has visualized how
precarious digital books for children are and there is no consensus on the pros or cons
of reading books digitally [14]. The primary audience of children are indeed digital first
and as was shown in the introduction to this article most young children in Sweden
have access to and are used to digital tools. However, the secondary audience of par-
ents, teachers, schools and libraries are more reluctant towards moving reading to dig-
ital platforms. Instead there is a strong argument often repeated that learning to read
should be done via paper. However, a simplistic division between digital children and
paper parents is not accurate. There is a complex relationship between children and
adults involved in their book choices, reading situations and ideas of how reading can
and will develop positively. In an article on digital reading Adriaan van der Weel ob-
serves that there is a continuing preference for paper books also with young children
when the debate is on print versus digital. The results will however be different if an
analysis addresses reading as a whole [15]. There is a love for paper books as well as
digital reading devices among adults as well as children.
434
4 Market Disruptors & Barrier Breakers
A question looming in the background of this paper is whether or not e-books is a dis-
ruptive technology? Economist Richard J. Gilbert has argued that Amazon’s aggressive
e-book launch has shown the capacity to quickly change business models in the book
market [16]. However, later development indicates that while things have changed it
has been a slow process and the structure is still reliant on the established publishing
system and the way the market has been organised for a long time.
The study showed that children’s digital book publishing in Sweden is a print-based
but there are a few examples of companies and ventures challenging the backlist and
print-first dominance. A few of these were mentioned initially as they were not included
in the study and that is particularly the case with digital-first and digital-only self-pub-
lishing on sites such as Wattpad, Poeter.se and Sockerdricka. There have been discus-
sions on digital will create disintermediation and make publishers redundant [16] but
so far there it two separate circuits; one serving traditional book-like digital publishing
and one for digital-only online publishing. The fact that there are at least two separate
circuits begs many questions of social and aesthetic hierarchies, the ontological status
of online publishing and the interactions between these circuits. These will clearly have
to be addressed in detail in a larger study.
Barrier breakers are technology-focused companies working with augmented reality,
hypertexts, electronic literature, artistic performative projects, multimodal and interac-
tive. One example in the field is the recent success of the streaming service company
Storytel. Initially it was a subscription service distributing other publishers’ books but
in recent years it has also become publisher of original literature. They produce Storytel
originals for children where the audio is the primary format, followed by an e-book
version and sometimes later in print. The launch of Storytel Kids originals in 2017 in-
cluded only 6 titles published in episodes but already in 2018 they produced 35 titles.
When digital-first is the production mode it changes not only the text but also the man-
ner of dissemination and the audience’s habits. The success of Storytel is an example
of technological company that breaks barriers in the book market in producing literature
in small portions. Their way of publishing brings back the 19th century serial in combi-
nation with contemporary tv-series on streaming services.
Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin persuasive argument that remediation defines
any media change is still valid: “we can identify a spectrum of different ways in which
digital media remediate their predecessors, a spectrum depending on the degree of per-
ceived competition or rivalry between new media and the old” [17]. I think there is a
strong rivalry between print and digital books and that the e-book is the one barrier
breaker that appear harmless to many publishers as it imitates the print version. How-
ever, the digital book has characteristics that differ from a print book. It is in constant
flow and can be changed instantly. Speed is also an important feature in terms of pro-
duction and access. A digital book is easily copied despite all attempts by producers to
prevent it. On more positive note it can be shared on lists and forums. Shareability, the
idea of literature as free from business models and temporal aspects are promoting
change within the book market. Disruption of the traditional models forces publishers
to change production modes. The actions, strategies and media usage of children’s book
435
authors, publishers and other producers are always a part of the larger book market and
many reflect overall changes. But it is not a mirror, children’s literature in Sweden has
for a long time had a special position within both general society as well as educational
and cultural policies. Furthermore, in 2012 poor results in reading among children in
the comparative PISA-report in combination with a government report that promoted a
sharp target with improved reading among children [18]. This spurred efforts, money
and focus on children’s literature that cannot be compared with any similar develop-
ment in adult literature.
There is no doubt that literature for children is affected by digital change on a textual
level as well as when it comes to distribution, communication, socializing and reading.
Still the difference in terms of ‘books’ is slight in the sense that literature is part of a
greater system of stories, reading and culture. Margret Mackey has in several articles
pointed to the fact that the distinction between reading a book, seeing the film or hang-
ing out in a community is not that great if you are a child or adolescent [19, 20]. While
this paper has focused on a small part of the larger context of digital publishing it gives
a hint to the slow process of digital change in a 500-year-old print based industry.
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