How Minecraft has bewitched 40 million of us

The worldwide domination of Markus Persson's building-blocks game is a triumph for the power of human imaginationA funny thing happened on the way to this column. Browsing idly through the Publishers Weekly site, I came on the list of the Nielsen bestselling books of 2014 (so far) in the US. The Top 20 list was dominated by "young adult" fiction, books such as Divergent by Veronica Roth and John Green's The Fault in Our Stars, plus the usual movie tie-ins. At No 9 ,there's a religious book, Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence by missionary Sarah Young. At No 11 is Heaven is for Real ("A little boy's astounding story of his trip to Heaven and back").Two slots further down there's a "junior novelisation" of the Disney film, Frozen. At No 15 is an "activity book", complete with 50 stickers, based on the same film. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #young adult #veronica roth #john green #jesus calling #activity book

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After Copyright Win, GSU Seeks $3.3 Million from Publishers

The request comes after GSU defeated a publisher lawsuit over the university’s use of digitized e-reserves for a second time last month. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The E.W. Scripps Co. Buys Cracked for $39 Million

In an effort to court millennials and invest further in key content categories, The E.W. Scripps Co. has acquired the iconic humor brand Cracked from Demand Media. The purchase price was $39 million."We always look for brands that have an eye toward high quality," said Scripps Chief Digital... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2016-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Audible's Harry Potter audiobooks hit one million unit sales

Sales of J K Rowling’s Harry Potter audiobooks through Audible have already reached one million copies, according to the company. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Look Inside Books-A-Million's Used Bookstore

PW visited the Gainesville, Fla., location of BAM's 2nd & Charles used bookstores. There, children's books are hot and romance is cold. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Judge shaves $2 million off sale price for Orange County Register owner

Newspaper publisher Digital First Media is getting a discount on its purchase of the Orange County Register and Riverside Press-Enterprise. A federal bankruptcy court judge this morning approved a final purchase price of $49.8 million for the assets of bankrupt Santa Ana publishing company... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-03-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Getty Foundation to issue $8.5 million in grants for Latino and Latin American-themed shows across SoCal

A show about the boundary-pushing art of radical Latin American women and another devoted to the science fiction of the Americas are just two of 43 exhibitions and events receiving $8.5 million in grants from the Getty Foundation as part of Pacific Standard Time: Los Angeles/Latin America,... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-03-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In 10 months, Quartz has gone from zero to 200 million video views

Quartz’s dedicated three-person video team has been experimenting with what works since May 2015. Since then, it has gained 200 million views across platforms, mainly Facebook. What it has learned is that quality is a more effective yardstick than length of time. Also, according to... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2016-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Spotify agrees to pay millions for unmatched royalties

Spotify has come an agreement with NMPA (National Music Publishers Association) over unpaid royalties for music on the streaming service that didn't have copyright owner information. According to The Verge, the company will pay $21 million. Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2016-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sony is betting on love for the Beatles lasting in a new $750 million deal

For a 2012 episode of the popular TV show "Mad Men," Lionsgate paid an estimated $250,000 for the sound recording and publishing rights to use "Tomorrow Never Knows." Money may not buy love, but the steep price for a single Beatles song helps explain why Sony Corp. would be willing to make a... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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B&N Education Takes $12 Million Charge In Digital Revamp

Barnes & Noble Education is closing its Yuzu educational platform and replacing it with a longterm deal with VitalSource and the purchase of LoudCloud, a digital platform and analytics provider. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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16.9 million viewers for rowdy Republican debate is 2nd biggest audience ever for Fox News

The raucous Republican primary debate gave Fox News its second largest audience ever on Thursday. Nielsen data show an average of 16.9 million viewers tuned into the 11th meeting of the contenders for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination held at the Fox Theatre in Detroit. Only the first... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Discovering how Elizabeth sold a million copies

After five years of writing, how did Emma Healey’s Elizabeth is Missing go on to become a bestseller? Amy Lankester-Owen finds out. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How this Phoenix software startup is spending its $1.2 million in funding

ClearVoice Inc., the Phoenix-based content marketing software startup, has raised $1.2 million in its seed round. The company will use the money to hire about 15 people in sales, marketing and product development by the end of the year. ClearVoice will use the extra help to publish data-driven... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2016-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Egmont plans new Minecraft titles

Egmont is to release two new Minecraft books this year, including the first fiction title in its tie-in roster. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BuzzFeed's Audience Spends Over 100 Million Monthly Hours On BuzzFeed

Video views versus video engagement: Which is more valuable? BuzzFeed's publisher weighs in.Back in October, BuzzFeed reported that it had crossed five billion monthly content views—a number that encompassed not just BuzzFeed's site and apps, but also the swaths of content it publishes directly... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2016-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More than 2.5m Minecraft books sold by Egmont Publishing

Book titles which tie in with the game include Blockopedia, a bestseller in the children’s nonfiction category in 2015More than 2.5m copies of books spun-off from the Minecraft video game have now been sold across the UK, it has been revealed.The series of books, which launched in 2013 with four... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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24.95 million viewers watch the Grammys, a slight decline from last year

The Grammy Awards averaged 24.95 million viewers on CBS, off slightly from last year's telecast, according to Nielsen. The TV audience for the ceremony held at the Staples Center, which featured performances by Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Adele and Kendrick Lamar, was 1.5% below the 25.3 million... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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‘Jesus Storybook Bible’ Sells Two Million Copies

Sally Lloyd-Jones’s retelling of the Bible from Zonderkidz found a surprising readership beyond children, with teens and adults among its millions of fans. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cheryl Strayed and Elizabeth Gilbert help raise $1 million for Syrian refugees

There are still some people who believe it's better to give than receive. And thousands of them joined together this week to raise $1 million for Syrian refugees in just 31 hours, through a donation drive arranged by five bestselling authors. The Compassion Collective, comprised of writers Cheryl... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-12-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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