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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Sir Norman Bettison, the former chief constable of both Merseyside and West Yorkshire Police, has defended his book about the Hillsborough disaster, saying he is “entitled" to tell his story. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New books releasing this fall through January feature spiritual practices and insights for finding hope, solace, and a new way forward in a divided and hectic world. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky's comic series, Suzie and Jon can stop time by having orgasms. And that's just the beginning. The post WIRED Book Club: Sex Criminals Titillates and Teases Us appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2016-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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YA author Melinda Salisbury has asked her publisher not to submit her books for review to newspapers such as the Daily Mail in support of the ‘Stop Funding Hate’ movement. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Anna Kendrick's new memoir, 'Scrappy Little Nobody,' was released on Nov. 15. One of the actress's most famous roles is as the protagonist in the 'Pitch' films, which became an unexpected hit. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2016-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a year plagued by racial tensions, Colson Whitehead took the National Book Award for fiction for his novel "The Underground Railroad," a visceral and creative imagining of a female slave's escape from slavery. Although it takes years to write a book and bring it to publication, the National... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amid 'rhetoric of animosity and intolerance and the growing support for right-wing politicians,' a new conference examines the publishing community's accelerating drive for diversity. The post London Book Fair’s ‘Building Inclusivity’ Conference Explores Diversity appeared first on Publishing... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Members of the publishing industry gathered at Cipriani Wall Street for the 67th National Book Awards, where John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell won for 'March: Book Three.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In an evening of references to the US general election, the National Book Award ceremony brought to the fore writers of color, the Civil Rights movement, and joy as 'an act of resistance.' The post The 2016 National Book Awards: Lewis, Kendi, Borutzky, Whitehead and Politics appeared first on... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The author Colson Whitehead won the National Book Award for fiction this year for his novel “The Underground Railroad.” Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2016-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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On Wednesday evening, November 16, five finalists for the Young People's Literature prize headed to Cipriani Wall Street in lower Manhattan for the 67th National Book Awards. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At the 67th National Book Awards, held at Cipriani New York in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday night, the junction where politics and publishing meet was in the spotlight from the start. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales of adult trade books dropped 2.8% in the first half of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015, according to figures released by the Association of American Publishers. Sales in the children’s/young adult segment, meanwhile, rose 0.9% in the same period. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Last month, Apple unveiled new MacBook Pro laptops. While the machines were undoubtedly great, their prices were very high -- even for Apple. Despite the cost, they are apparently flying off virtual shelves, as shipping dates are now in late December. In other words, price be damned, people will... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2016-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An algorithm has been built to predict a book’s genre by its cover. Sadly for online booksellers, it doesn’t do a very good jobBack in September, a report suggested that robots will have eliminated 6% of jobs in the US by 2021. Fortunately for book designers, it doesn’t look as if androids are... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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"Designed by Apple in California" is a new book that commemorates 20 years of Apple design. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2016-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Could software someday design book covers that could be judged—correctly—by human readers? Research in Japan says...it depends. The post Machine Learning: Can a Computer Judge a Book By Its Cover? appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-11-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The University of East London is launching a new literary fiction prize for young adults, the CityLife Prize for Fiction for Young Writers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It's part of a collaboration between Emma Watson's feminist book group, Our Shared Shelf, and Books on the Underground, which leaves books all over the London subway system for riders to enjoy. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2016-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that lending of ebooks and physical books should be treated the same. Publishers immediately objected to the decision, fearing unrestricted ebook lending would cut into revenues. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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