Asian Tsunami Hits Home for NY Houses

by Steven Zeitchik, PW Daily for Booksellers -- Publishers Weekly, 1/5/2005

Joe Braff remembers what he first thought about when he heard about the tsunami over Christmas weekend. The US head of Imago, the multinational printer which serves clients as varied as Harper and Harry Abrams, had sent its entire 14-person Singapore office to the coast of Thailand on a company-sponsored vacation. But it didn't initially worry Braff. "The coverage mostly centered on the earthquake [whose epicenter was closest to the coast of Indonesia]. I thought 'How could this have anything to do with a holiday in Phuket?'"

Over the coming hours, though, it became clear there was plenty to worry about. By the time Braff got official word the night of December 26th, he had learned that three of the company's senior people, along with spouses and children of various staff members, were missing. Two who were out snorkeling were eventually found unharmed, but the company wound up losing one senior staff member and four relatives of staff members--two wives and two children--in the disaster.

The tsunami would not, on its face, seem to have the most immediate consequences for the book industry. But the tragedy for Imago is a poignant reminder of how quickly in a global publishing world disasters on one continent can ripple to another. "It's been pretty devastating for us," says Braff, who adds that the bodies were identified before they could be buried unidentified by local authorities. "I guess in that sense we were lucky," he added.

Though grieving Imago employees have taken time off, the company's Singapore office--which accounts for about 10% of staff of the U.S.- and U.K.-based printing firm--have not suspended operations. Braff acknowledged that publishing's Asian expansion--a hot topic in recent months--may slow down for U.S. publishers as countries on the continent channel billions into recovery and an economic slowdown could begin. But Braff says that, in part because this is a slow time for printing, he doesn't expect any backlog in printing on the part of his company, nor does he expect most publishers to feel any immediate effects. After all, most printers are centered in countries that weren't hit. Even the printing center of Indonesia, which did heavily endure the impact, didn't have printers in the affected areas.

None of which has stopped the American publishing community from jumping into the relief effort. In a move that highlights travel publishers' growing role as community builder, Lonely Planet has seen more than 500 threads go up since it created the Missing Persons branch of its popular Thorn Tree bulletin boards (and eliminated the need for users to register). Some are more general inquiries, about hotel operators and the like, but others are painfully specific. "Looking for anyone who has seen my father, Pedro Salcido. He is an American military retiree living in Thailand....If anyone has any information about my dad, please let me know," reads one. The company has since started a Found Persons branch.

"People's needs are going to evolve as the disaster evolves," said Tamar Lowell, the company's global online products manager who helped create the board. "Last week was about grieving and about missing persons. This week is about recovery and information."

At Harry N. Abrams, publisher Michael Jacobs has announced a company donation to a group called Architecture for Humanity, encouraged charitable contributions from his employees, and expressed his hope of forming a pan-industry group to help out with relief. Pearson says it will match donations from employees to any group with its own contribution to the Red Cross. "There comes a time when you need to assess the situation not from a business perspective but from a human one," says Jacobs, when asked about donations amid a difficult climate for parts of the book business. "This is one of those times."