Amazon ebook pricing battle intensifies after 'Authors United' ad

Compares Hachette dispute to past paperback fears, but partially quoting George Orwell is a risky moveAmazon has hit back following an open letter from more than 900 authors criticising its licensing dispute with publisher Hachette, which was published as an ad in the New York Times.However, the latest blog post from the Amazon Books Team is raising eyebrows within the publishing industry due to its use of a partial quote from George Orwell in support of its cause.We have made Amazon many millions of dollars and over the years have contributed so much, free of charge, to the company by way of cooperation, joint promotions, reviews and blogs.This is no way to treat a business partner. Nor is it the right way to treat your friends. Without taking sides on the contractual dispute between Hachette and Amazon, we encourage Amazon in the strongest possible terms to stop harming the livelihood of the authors on whom it has built its business.With it being so inexpensive and with so many more people able to afford to buy and read books, you would think the literary establishment of the day would have celebrated the invention of the paperback, yes? Nope. Instead, they dug in and circled the wagons.They believed low cost paperbacks would destroy literary culture and harm the industry (not to mention their own bank accounts). Many bookstores refused to stock them, and the early paperback publishers had to use unconventional methods of distribution places like newsstands and... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #status quo #penguin books #market share #big businesses #reading public

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L.A. Times Festival of Books Partners With Amazon

When the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books unveiled its list of participating authors on Tuesday, the event caused a stir among local booksellers who immediately noticed the list featured buy links to Amazon. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital Ad Growth About to Offset Print Decline

News websites and online publishers saw advertising soar 18 per cent in Britain last year, fuelling hopes that digital growth has reached a long-awaited tipping point where it will offset print decline. Figures from the Association of Online Publi ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tracking Amazon: '12 Years a Slave' Has Lock on Entire Category

Thirteen of the top 20 19th century U.S. history books on the site share a title in common. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Award-Winning Authors Struggling to Make Ends Meet

Writing for The Guardian, Robert McCrum observes that “the credit crunch and the internet are making writing as a career harder than it has been for a generation.” Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How the Meat Industry Keeps Chicken Prices High

This essay is excerpted from The Meat Racket: The Secret Takeover of America’s Food Business, by Christopher Leonard, published by Simon & Schuster. Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2014-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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VIDEO: Cherub author begins a Rock War

A decade after beginning his successful Cherub series, best-selling children's author, Robert Muchamore, publishes his new book, Rock War. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2014-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors on the Air March 4, 2014: Jaron Lanier

Jaron Lanier, author of "Who Own the Future" (Simon & Schuster, 9781451654974), will appear on the "Colbert Report" on Tuesday, March 4. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Author Fair’s Debut: Change Agents

Porter Anderson reports on the inaugural London Author Fair conference in Covent Garden and looking at the role agents might play for self-publishers. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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UK Startups Tackle Ebook Gifting, Data Mining

Tech is returning dividends to publishing, with Valobox's 'Gift an Ebook' program and Bookseer's advanced social media data mining and price analytics. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Hungry Girl Diet' Tops Amazon a Month Before Pub

The upswing in preorders followed a promotional email sent by St. Martin's to the Hungry Girl subscriber list of 1.2 million. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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German Author Christoph Hein Honors US Publisher Sara Bershtel

In this speech, German author Christoph Hein examines the importance of literature and honors Metropolitan Books' publisher Sara Bershtel for her work in bringing German literature to the USA. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Living wage petition handed to Amazon

Demonstrators will descend on Amazon’s headquarters in London later today (28th February)... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Indian STM Publishing Worth $200m, 20% Growth, 2% Ebooks

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In appeal, Apple says ebook ruling will harm consumers

Apple had no knowledge that publishers were engaged in a conspiracy in December 2009 or at any other point, the company said in its appeal against a district court ruling which found Apple and five major U.S. publishers had conspired to fix ebook prices.The district court’s findings show that... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2014-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors on the Air February 25, 2014: Lisa Bloom

Lisa Bloom, author of "Suspicion Nation: The Inside Story of the Trayvon Martin Injustice and Why We Continue to Repeat It" (Counterpoint, 9781619023277), will appear on the "Today Show" and the "Leonard Lopate Show" on Wednesday, February 26. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Should More Top Authors Give Back to Indie Bookstores?

Love him or hate him, you can't fault James Patterson for his generosity, as he's giving some $1 million of his money back to independent bookstores. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jack Higgins's name used by writer of 'erotic' ebooks

A Little Friendly Orgy and other porn stories have been sold as work by the author of The Eagle Has LandedReaders fancying a journey into the world of the bestselling thriller author Jack Higgins may be getting a different kind of thrill, courtesy of another writer selling erotic novels under... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Why Amazon's Next Conquest Will Be Your Television

Amazon started as an online bookseller and transformed the entire publishing industry. Now it's assembling the pieces it needs to do the same to an even bigger medium: television.     Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2014-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors on the Air February 24, 2014: Mayim Bialik

Mayim Bialik, author of "Mayim’s Vegan Table" (Da Capo Lifelong, 9780738217048) will appear on the "Wendy Williams Show" on Tuesday, February 25. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon takes on Netflix with rebrand of LoveFilm video-on-demand service

Online retailer will fold film and TV rental arm into its Prime subscription service for combined price of £79 a yearAmazon is hitting back at Netflix in the UK by rebranding its LoveFilm video-on-demand service.LoveFilm, bought out by Amazon three years ago in a deal worth nearly £200m, will be... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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