Amazon's suggestion that the ebook and paperback revolutions are comparable has sparked scorn, satire and indigationWhen Amazon published their rather extraordinary "Message from the Amazon Books Team" at readersunited.com last week, they got a few things right and a few things wrong. Alongside a realistic analysis of ebook pricing and a rather aggressive plea to bombard the CEO of Hachette with threatening emails, the letter noted that "Just ahead of World War II, there was a radical invention that shook the foundations of book publishing". This was the paperback, and apparently it was opposed by publishers who "dug in and circled the wagons". Which is a bit odd, as the person most widely credited with the popularisation of the paperback (but not its invention) was Allen Lane, who, as founder of Penguin Books, introduced paperback classics to the British public.Amazon's other bizarre decision, alongside the somewhat unnecessary second world war reference, was to quote George Orwell selectively on the subject and accuse him of "collusion". In fact, Orwell was making a sarcastic dig in favour of the paperback, and Amazon has been accused of doublespeak by the Orwell estate. The parody page booksunited.org, created by online writer Dan Hon in the voice of the books themselves, smartly notes that "We are not fighting for our existence. We know that as long as you humans exist, you will write, and you will read." Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 18/07/2011 - 15:22 Amazon.com is giving students the ability to rent textbooks on Kindle e-readers. The company said students can save up to 80% off textbook prices with the new initiative, which launched today. Kindle Textbook Rental will also... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon, which dominates the ebook market, has stayed out of the electronic textbook market. Until now: The company has opened up a textbook store for its Kindle platform, where it is renting "tens of thousands" of titles for the upcoming school year. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Fri, 15/07/2011 - 08:50 Borders could cease to exist by the end of next week although the retailer's lawyer said it has received other inquiries that could result in a takeover. On Wednesday a committee of unsecured creditors rejected a takeover... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 13/07/2011 - 15:32 Amazon.com has dropped the price of its advertising-heavy Amazon 3G Kindle to $139 (£86.91). Telecoms company AT&T is sponsoring the Kindle with Special Offers, which will include campaigns for customers and sponsored... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hachette Filipacchi is expanding its Elle brand onto the mobile platform with the launch of a magazine iPhone app. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2011-07-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 11/07/2011 - 08:45 Amazon.co.uk is creating 900 jobs by opening its seventh fulfilment centre in Rugeley, Staffordshire. The 700,000 square foot centre will begin fulfilling orders from September and aims to employ more than 900 permanent and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 08/07/2011 - 08:27 HarperCollins has bought four books by Louise Voss and Mark Edwards, whose self-published novels have been Amazon bestsellers, in a six-figure, pre-empt deal. Commissioning editor Kate Bradley bought world rights from agent Sam... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 07/07/2011 - 09:06 The Booksellers Association has announced it will formally oppose the merger of Amazon and The Book Depository, with the BA saying that Amazon already had a "de facto monopoly". Meanwhile, the PA is actively considering... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 07/07/2011 - 09:06 The Booksellers Association has announced it will formally oppose the merger of Amazon and The Book Depository, saying that Amazon already had a "de facto monopoly". read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publication Date: Wed, 06/07/2011 - 15:47 Hachette Livre has acquired a stake in Moscow-based trade publishing group Azbooka-Atticus. The publishing giant now owns a 25% interest (plus one share) in the publisher, which is owned 94.6% by Alexander Mamuts A&NN Group, which recently acquired... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon.com has acquired The Book Depository International, a seven-year old online bookseller based in the UK, which also republishes titles that are no longer in print or poorly available. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-07-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon is making a move to become even more international. The online bookseller has just acquired the Book Depository International, a U.K. bookseller that distinguishes itself as being home to "the largest range of titles in the world." The terms of the deal have not yet been released, but the... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2011-07-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 04/07/2011 - 16:00 The Book Depository has said it will continue to operate independently of Amazon, as the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said it was "too early" to say if today's takeover of the online bookseller would trigger an investigation.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Mon, 04/07/2011 - 12:29 Amazon.com has reached an agreement to acquire The Book Depository, the fast-growing online retailer founded by Andrew Crawford in 2004. Greg Greeley, Amazon's vice president of European Retail, said: "Customers in more... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As awesome as Kindle Direct Publishing is, it will be crushed by spam if Amazon doesn't take some action to control the amount of junk titles being dumped on it. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Times Higher Education and publisher Hachette Filipacchi were among the big winners at the 2011 PPA Awards last night, hosted by Scottish comedian Kevin Bridges and with a special appearance by 'Happy Days' actor Henry Winkler. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2011-06-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 07/06/2011 - 11:40 Amazon.co.uk has announced that Orange Prize shortlisted author Emma Donoghues Room (Picador) is leading sales on the website ahead of rival contenders for the award. The Orange Prize for Fiction is revealed tomorrow (8th... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hearst Corp. announced today that it has completed the U.S. portion and the majority of its $919 million acquisition of Lagerdere SCA's nearly 100 magazines outside the French market. The deal, which had been undergoing regulatory approval in 15 different countries, was expected to close in the... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Gayle Feldman Publication Date: Thu, 26/05/2011 - 08:52 Thriller writer Barry Eisler, who turned his back on a two-book deal for half a million dollars from St Martins Press, has decided to accept six figures from Amazon and become one of its first frontlist authors. The Eisler... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch announced the new Nook, aimed at "those turned off by buttons." Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2011-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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