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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Booktrust will retain its existing government grant for bookgifting schemes for the next two... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A “beautifully designed” debut cookery book by London restaurateur Russell Norman has... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former soldier Kevin Powers has won the £10,000 Guardian First Book Award for novel The... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Politicians have backed the Reading Agency's Six Book Challenge in an attempt to improve... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tuesday: Slate staffers pick their favorite books of 2012. Wednesday: The overlooked books of 2012. Thursday: Dan Kois’ 15 favorite books. Friday: The Slate Book Review Top 10. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2012-11-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Slate Book Review runs but 15 pieces a month. Hundreds upon hundreds of books fall through the cracks! We asked SBR writers what 2012 titles they felt were criminally underappreciated. Check out the buried treasures they unearthed. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2012-11-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It used to be easy to give your loved ones books for the holidays. You went to a bookstore, browsed the shelves , and picked out something thoughtful: Jodi Picoult’s latest for your mom, Harry Potter for your niece, maybe a Bill O’Reilly rant for that uncle who never shuts up at Thanksgiving. ... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2012-11-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The largest children’s library in Mexico—Biblioteca BS-IBBY México—in Mexico City boasts some 25,000 titles, of which more than 3,000 are in digital format. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A couple of years ago, I embarked on a quixotic quest: I gave up the Internet. Surfing, emailing, YouTube-watching—it had taken over my life, eating into time I wanted to be spending with my family, my students, and my work. I documented my four-month Internet fast in a series of articles for... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2012-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In Latin America, ebooks are a huge opportunity for governments to provide their citizens with access to quality content while overcoming the problem of distribution. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mobile reading may revive entire genres of literature, such as mid-length novels and poems, which have fallen out of favor. Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2012-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hachette Children's Books has begun making its picture books available as ebooks from... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Children's publisher Nosy Crow has partnered with John Lewis to create a picture book of the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers remain deeply divided on ebook issues including rights, royalties and e-lending, this... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A patent, titled “Display screen or portion thereof with animated graphical user interface,” gives Apple the exclusive right to the page turn in an e-reader application. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tablets and other digital reading devices are expected to be big sellers this holiday season due in part to the growing number of devices available from a host of manufacturers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-11-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bonnier children's publisher Hot Key Books has become the latest publisher to join the boom... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hilary Mantel, James Meek, Stephen May and Joff Winterhart are in the running for best novel in the Costa Book Awards shortlists Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2012-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An unlikely band comes together to heroically achieve a goal. A writhing sequence of events beset with bloody struggles, mysterious moments, and difficult obstacles overcome. This is the story of how Houghton Mifflin, HarperCollins, and Yudu brought Peter Jackson's production of Tolkien's... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2012-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Perhaps the muse only came to you at the same time those first few gray hairs popped up on your head. But when you pick up the odd book review or magazine, you are disturbed by the cult of youth.You’re a writer of a certain age. Perhaps you started a family when you were younger, and now your... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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