A group of writers are quids in following an experiment to sell a bundle of DRM-free ebooks. Sales of The Humble Bundle, which included works from authors Cory Doctorow, Neil Gaiman and the much-loved xkcd comic strip, have been anything but humble, with over 84,000 bundles sold, earning the authors $1.1 million in sales. What made the experiment so extraordinary was the fact that buyers could choose what they paid for the bundle, and how much of their price went to charity. WIth the average price coming in at $14.18: anyone who paid more than that got extra content included. One user even paid $1,238 for his 13 books which, if bought separately, would cost $157. One of the writers has been left gobsmacked. Lauren Beukes, author of Zoo City, initially saw the concept as a crazy experiment. "I didn't realise there would be over 75,000 of them spending more than a million dollars in two weeks on books!" she said. "This is New York Times bestseller-level sales." The online publishing industry will have been given a real fillip by this - especially authors who choose to publish their own work by themselves. Larger publishing houses and retailers such as Amazon, both of which swear by the draconian DRM, will be looking to see how future bundles, already in the Humble Bundle pipeline, fare. Continue reading at 'Fast Company'
[ Fast Company | 2012-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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On the 125th anniversary of “J’Accuse,” a picture book for older kids places the lives of Alfred Dreyfus and Émile Zola side by side. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-01-06 07:36:52 UTC ]
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This past summer, an auntie of mine dusted off an old cardboard box of books from a cluttered storage unit, and handed me a slim blue and gold paperback with soft, slightly frayed corners and a creased spine by Octavia E. Butler. I had never read science fiction that featured a Black girl being... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-12-28 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Poets, literary fiction authors, and other unexpected writers are taking their shot at sci-fi and fantasy. Here are some of the best, including Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-12-20 11:35:00 UTC ]
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As an author whose own books never find their way to supermarket shelves, it’s frustrating work – but it puts food on my family’s tableOnce a rare species, celebrity authored children’s books have become stalwarts of supermarket books aisles. Perfect for a grandparent hunting a last-minute... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-12-16 10:41:27 UTC ]
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Pluck any classic novel from a bookstore shelf and it will most likely feature an introduction by a contemporary writer. Especially inspired pairing of authors can imbue an old text with new relevance, highlight its enduring influence, or even become a new selling point for a backlist title. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-09 05:00:00 UTC ]
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As part of a companywide effort to reduce costs, Amazon has eliminated an unspecified number of jobs in its Books business. Word of the reductions came in a letter sent yesterday to employees from CEO Andy Jassy describing “role eliminations” in the company's Books and Devices units. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
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We've rounded up the 15 best fiction books published this year to gift any lover of novels or story collections in your life this holiday season. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-11-02 16:00:00 UTC ]
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It is a truth universally acknowledged that there are as many definitions of “feminism” and “science fiction” as there are people who identify as feminists and science fiction enthusiasts—in fact, that is part of what makes both of these communities attractive to many people. However, by 1981,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-11 08:53:20 UTC ]
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More than 2 million children just became eligible for free books: California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed Senate Bill 1183 to establish Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Program in the state and specify how it will operate. The program will use money from a dedicated fund “to provide... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-06 18:35:28 UTC ]
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It was announced yesterday that Josh Hawley, the senator from Missouri who will always be remembered for fleeing the very crowd he’d recently egged on with a fist, has written a book called Manhood.* The book, to be published by Regnery, purports to call on “American men to stand up and embrace... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-09-09 14:22:03 UTC ]
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What makes for a good book club question? Here are some tips to consider before your next book club meeting. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-09-09 10:37:00 UTC ]
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Much of his work was imbued with a sense of the end, so it is fitting to look back at three of his best works to mark the illustrator’s passing Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2022-08-11 15:31:10 UTC ]
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His portfolio included the adventures of Richie Rich and graphic treatments of 9/11 and torture by the C.I.A. He also wrote dozens of songs. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-08-06 15:16:54 UTC ]
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BRZRKR becomes the first comic book to feature in Comic-Con's prestigious Hall H. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2022-07-23 23:09:26 UTC ]
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Casey McQuiston's 'I Kissed Shara Wheeler' will be the first title featured in the Walmart Live Book Club, with McQuiston appearing on the TalkShopLive platform tonight. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Forefront Books and the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives are teaming up to form Frederick Douglass Books, a publishing imprint meant to “establish a pathway for Black and Brown authors” into the publishing industry, the two organizations announced in a press release last week. The imprint... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-06-16 13:04:40 UTC ]
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As we’ve noted over and over again, the hottest new book trend sweeping the country is to ban them and/or burn them if they don’t align with your weird, paleoconservative, theocratic prejudices. Not great! But as ever is the case with this strange nation, when one group of Americans starts doing... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-06-10 17:01:27 UTC ]
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As part of its summer programming, the New York Public Library is giving away 500,000 free books to kids and teens this summer! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-06-10 15:19:28 UTC ]
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We’ve said it many, many times before and we’ll say it many, many times again: libraries represent the best of America. Today’s entry: the New York Public Library will give away 500,000 books this summer to help kids, teens, and families build their at-home libraries. In addition to English,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-06-09 14:17:10 UTC ]
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The U.S. Book Show's opening keynote featured Ukrainian novelist Andrey Kurkov, speaking from his home in Kyiv, who provided the history through a literary lens of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict that culminated in war. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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