While the Rapture isnt scheduled to occur until Saturday, according to members of certain religious fringe groups, it looks like doomsday has come early for publishers of print books. Amazon announced Thursday that sales of ebooks on the site have finally surpassed combined sales of hardcovers and paperbacks. For every 100 print books sold since April 1, the company said, it sold 105 digital ones, and credited the surge in ebook sales to its new ad-supported, lower-priced Kindle. We had high hopes that this would happen eventually, but we never imagined it would happen this quickly, said CEO Jeff Bezos. Weve been selling print books for 15 years and Kindle books for less than four years. The vice president for Kindle content, Russ Grandinetti, claimed that the digital trend is actually good for publishers. Even though some digital sales may be substitutions from print, one of the great impacts . . is people spend more minutes a day reading. They make reading more of a habit, and thats good for the total book business. But Mike Shatzkin, CEO of the Idea Logical Company, which advises publishers on digital matters, isn't buying it. [Amazon is] taking print sales away from others while their own devices are taking print sales away from them. Thats the real import of those numbers. Its one more nail in the coffin of brick and mortar stores, he told The New York Times. Still, publishers shouldnt lose hope just yet, some analysts say. According to Forrester... Continue reading at 'AdWeek'
[ AdWeek | 2011-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with:
#mike shatzkin
#mortar stores
#forrester research
#e-book reading
#big deal
#forrester analyst
Tunisia’s ISLAMeBooks, one of several new digital start-ups in the Arab world, is looking to help explain Islamic practice and theology to a wider readership. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-11-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#digital start-ups
#arab world
Sales of children's books soared last week as schools broke for the first holiday of the new... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#schools broke
The United Arab Emirates is punching above its weight in terms of the development of its book... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Evidence suggests that the most successful ebook retailers build on the mistakes of the predecessors and being first-to-market isn't a key to success. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-11-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#evidence suggests
Like Kobo, Amazon's Japan ebookstore is hampered by limited title selection, but the recent launch will motivate publishers to finally digitize their catalogs. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-11-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#recent launch
The short list for the 1962 National Book Award in fiction was remarkable, including a number of works today regarded as classics, like Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates, and Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger. Yet the prize went to an obscure first novel by a... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2012-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#short list
#joseph heller
#richard yates
Penguin Press title Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power has won the Financial... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
According to a study released recently by the Pew Research Center, 60% of Americans aged 16-29 still use their public library, and 83% read a book in the past year. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#young americans
#public library
By Dennis Abrams Want to create and publish an interactive children’s book but don’t have a lot of technical expertise? Now there’s help. New York ... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#kids books
#interactive children
A consumer campaign targeting Amazon for “abusing” its power as a market leader is... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
If the e-reading platform wars do turn out to be a land grab for a mature, low growth market, publishers will find themselves at a major disadvantage as businesses. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#land grab
Naval book publisher Maritime Books has opened its first bookshop in the Historic Dockyard in... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Epubli, the Holtzbrinck-owned German self-publishing platform, reflects on its methods and motivations for running a book prize suitable for the 21st century. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-10-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book awards
#german self-publishing
#21st century
A debut novel translated from French is among the six titles shortlisted for the inaugural... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#waterstones book
#year shortlist
#titles shortlisted
Barnes & Noble's arrival in the UK has been so well-telegraphed, you might be surprised to learn that today's the day the units actually launch. You'll be able to pick up a Nook Simple Touch or awkwardly-titled Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight from retailers such as John Lewis, Sainsbury's... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#uk site
#barnes noble
#john lewis
High-speed inkjet printing has been described as the biggest development in book publishing in the past 50 years. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#digital printing
#book publishing
Barnes & Noble's Nook e-readers, the Nook Simple Touch and Nook Simple Touch GlowLight,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#nook e-readers
#barnes noble
For decades, large and small publishers alike have wrestled with one simple but crucial question about their books, on which success and failure often hang in the balance: How many copies should we print? Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#digital printing
General George S. Patton Jr. once famously said that "A good solution applied with vigor now is better than a perfect solution applied ten minutes later." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#digital printing
This week's issue of Publishers Weekly magazine includes a feature on how digital printing is changing book production and the printer-publisher relationship. There is also a supplement on Kodak's role in that transition. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#digital printing