Amazon's Russell Grandinetti: Kindle champ takes on the books trade | Observer profile

Why are some of the world's most widely read authors now at daggers drawn with Amazon? The answer lies in Jeff Bezos's chief lieutenant, now the most powerful man in publishingEarlier this year, Amazon threw a party at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to celebrate the launch of Alpha House, a political comedy TV series. It was an important moment for CEO, Jeff Bezos, signalling the global retailing giant's push into creating entertainment. Bezos's laugh pierced through the social din and his executives laughed along with him.But in less than six months, Amazon's mood has soured. Initiatives designed to establish the loss-making firm as a creative powerhouse have stumbled. The most bruising, an effort to push further into online book publishing, has pitched the book industry against the retailer it depends upon. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #important moment #book industry

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Cheapest E-Books Upend the Charts [Voices]

The nation's largest book publishers are facing increasing pricing pressure on the digital front as the number of cheap, self-published digital titles gain popularity with readers seeking budget-minded entertainment. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Promotions at Profile

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Thu, 21/04/2011 - 13:10 Profile Books has promoted five members of staff. Valentina Zanca and Anna-Marie Fitzgerald both become publicity managers, Niamh Murray becomes marketing director, Michael Bhaskar is promoted to digital publishing director... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publicity managers #marketing director #michael bhaskar #andrew franklin


'Los Angeles Review of Books' Debuts Preview Site

In the first step of a two-phase launch, the long-awaited Los Angeles Review of Books has debuted its preview site at lareviewofbooks.org with essays and reviews by Ben Ehrenreich, Geoff Nicholson, Jane Smiley, Jefferson Hunter, and Richard Prince. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Print Stumbles Early As E-Books Skyrocket

The two reports measure different aspects of the book market and one is far more comprehensive than the other, but figures released last week by Nielsen BookScan and the Association of American Publishers showed a trade market where ebooks are thriving and print books are struggling. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Genre authors attack "sneering" World Book Night coverage

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 18/04/2011 - 09:19 Authors including Iain M Banks and Michael Moorcock have written to the BBC's director general Mark Thompson, attacking the treatment of genre fiction in its recent World Book Night coverage. In total 85 authors, across the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Myriad's Haynes wins Amazon Rising Star award

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 18/04/2011 - 15:44 Police intelligence analyst Elizabeth Haynes has won the first Amazon Rising Stars award of 2011. The mother-of-one, who lives in Kent, came top in a consumer-review poll asking readers which one of four Amazon-selected... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Another Palin Book on the Way

Howard Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, announced on Monday that on May 24, it would publish "Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin," an account of Ms. Palin's time as governor and as a vice-presidential candidate, written by Frank Bailey, one of her former aides. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Murtagh to take over at HarperCollins Children's from Santos

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 15/04/2011 - 08:44 HarperCollins Children's Books m.d. Mario Santos is leaving the publisher at the end of June to "pursue other career opportunities". Publisher Ann-Janine Murtagh has been promoted to take overall publishing and business... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Book Fair: 'Back with a vengeance', say publishers

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Fri, 15/04/2011 - 09:05 read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Would You Sign My Kindle? [Voices]

Sitting at a table in a Barnes & Noble in St. Petersburg, Fla., T. J. Waters was signing copies of his book “Hyperformance” when a fan standing in line with the eBook version walked up and said, “It’s too bad you can’t sign my Kindle.” Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book spend cut "easiest" way to save library revenue

Written By: Benedicte Page and Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 14/04/2011 - 16:09 A libraries boss has admitted cutting spending on books is "the easiest" way to achieve savings, as wholesaler Bertrams reports its library sales have slumped by a quarter. Results put out by parent Smiths... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Profits up at W H Smith amid "soft" book market

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 14/04/2011 - 09:57 Like for like book sales at W H Smith have fallen by 3% in a "soft" market as the retailer reported a 3% increase in profits to £64m. In its interim management statement, for the six months to 28th February, the group's sales... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Heavy book buyers avoiding bookshops' says HC chief

Written By: Benedicte Page, Philip Jones and Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 13/04/2011 - 09:28 Bricks and mortar bookshops in the United States face a grim future, with the heaviest book buyers choosing to buy digitally, delegates at London Book Fair were told. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Beautiful Books signs Real Man cookbooks

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 12/04/2011 - 08:00 Beautiful Books has signed exclusive world rights at London Book Fair with The Real Man Pizza Company to produce a series of cookbooks. The deal was signed between managing director Simon Petherick and Real Man m.d. Tom... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Book Fair 2011: Keeping An Open Mind

In 2001, 81% of publishers were already preparing for the coming ebook (BML research March 2001). Indeed they thought it would come quickly, with half predicting ebooks would deliver more than 10% of total book income by 2006. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Bookseller Group to launch We Love This Book

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Mon, 11/04/2011 - 09:06 The publisher behind The Bookseller is launching an ambitious new quarterly consumer book magazine and website this June, We Love This Book. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Book Fair 2011: Selling Rights in Russia

With Russia the market focus country at the Fair, Russian publishers will be at Earls Court in force and there will be many associated literary and cultural events. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Book Fair 2011: An Evolutionary Phase

This year's London Book Fair is taking place at a time of unique change. The shift from the printed word to the downloaded text is accelerating; chains and standalone bookstores are closing down around the world; and the very future of the book "entity" is being challenged by commentators and... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Downloading Free Books to Your IPad

Reading reader Greg Jacobs is interested in putting books other than those available from the iBookstore on his iPad. He writes: Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Book Fair 2011: Social Networking for Bookworms

Until recently, reading a book had resisted technological advances, but like everything else, this has started to evolve and now we are embracing technology. Books are now more easily available in electronic format and sharing your opinion about a title – print or ebook – is more popular. So... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book lovers #social networking #electronic format