Orwell estate hits back at Amazon's corporate 'doublespeak'

Internet retailer accused of using tactics from Orwell's 1984 in war of words with the publisher HachetteRepresentatives of George Orwell have described Amazon's selective quoting of the Nineteen Eighty-Four author as "dystopian and shameless" and "as close as one can get to the Ministry of Truth and its doublespeak".Amazon turned to Orwell for support in its long-running and public clash over ebook terms with the publisher Hachette at the weekend, comparing their battle over ebook pricing ("We want lower ebook prices. Hachette does not") to the fight Penguin had when it introduced cheap paperbacks in the 1930s. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #publisher hachette #ebook terms #ebook pricing

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The publishers' year: hits and misses of 2013

Publishers choose their books of the year, and the ones that got awayRobin Robertson Deputy publishing director, Jonathan CapeThe book that made my year: Many years ago, I was sitting in Blake's bar in Enniskillen with John McGahern and he recommended an American novel from the 60s, written by... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #annie proulx #eimear mcbride


Petition on Amazon warehouse wages

More than 40,000 people have signed a petition calling for Amazon’s chief executive Jeff... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's bestselling titles of 2013 include Dan Brown, Khaled Hosseini

Amazon's 2013 list of bestselling adult titles includes Brown's 'Inferno' and Hosseini's 'And the Mountains Echoed,' while Veronica Roth's 'Allegiant' tops the children's bestseller list. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-12-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #khaled hosseini #bestselling titles #mountains echoed #veronica roth #bestseller list


When will publishers wake up to the challenge of Amazon?

The books industry still underestimates the disruptive power of Jeff Bezos's awesome ambitionSo Amazon are the bad guys, again. At least according to Harper's Magazine they are. For the former Amazon employee James Marcus, Brad Stone "drops the ball" in his biography of Jeff Bezos, The... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary culture


HarperCollins' Murray on 'frenemy' Amazon

HarperCollins Worldwide c.e.o. Brian Murray has described Amazon as a "frenemy", and... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's new imprint StoryFront will publish short stories

The new imprint of the online bookseller has already released works by authors including William Lashner and Rebecca Adams Wright. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #online bookseller


Sir Harold Evans backs plan for new press regulator to rival Ipso

The Impress Project aims to attract newspapers and publishers that want a regulator 'independent of owners and politicians'The former editor of the Sunday Times, Sir Harold Evans, is backing an initiative to set up a press regulator to rival the body being launched by the publishers of the Sun,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #royal charter #lobbying hard


Amazon reveals quarter of Kindle ebook sales in US were for indie publishers

Figures from world's biggest bookseller trumpeted as sign of how self-publishing and smaller labels are changing the industryAs many as a quarter of the top 100 Kindle books on Amazon.com are from indie publishers, according to data revealed at a trade presentation by the retailer.A chart... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Newsweek to Bring Print Edition Back From the Dead

Newsweek's new owners think they can succeed at something its previous owners failed at: printing a weekly magazine in the United States. IBT Media, the obscure media company that bought Newsweek in August, said Tuesday that it intends to rev ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon launches short story imprint

Amazon Publishing has launched a new digital short story imprint in the US called StoryFront.... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon’s Australian Kindle store: an unhappy ending for the book industry?

Amazon has been prising open the wallets of Australian consumers for years – but what will its local push on Kindle mean for readers, writers and publishers?Ben Eltham Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Gone Girl' Finally Hits Paperback

With more than 6 million copies sold, and 71 weeks spent on the New York Times's hardcover bestseller list, Gillian Flynn's thriller, Gone Girl, is coming to paperback. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Supreme Court Won't Hear Amazon Appeal in NYS Tax Case

New York State’s collection of online sales tax has withstood a legal challenge by Amazon and Overstock, as the U.S. Supreme Court decided this morning not to hear an appeal of a March ruling by New York’s top court that found that the state could impose the tax. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #york state #legal challenge


Amazon plans drone delivery

Amazon is testing drones called "Octocopters" which could potentially deliver customers... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Is Government the Only Force Able to End Amazon Dominance?

Speakers at last week's UK Futurebook conference offered ideas for combating Amazon dominance, including advocating government intervention and ending DRM. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon now allows you to gift Prime, just in time for the holidays

If you're still looking for gift ideas for that special someone, Amazon is looking to lend a hand. The online retailer has announced that customers can now give a $79 one-year membership to Prime. Recipients will get an email on the day of the giver's choosing with instructions on how to get... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #kindle book #source link #online retailer #lending library #shopping cart


Chicago Review Press Hits Major Milestone

Forty years ago this fall, a University of Chicago graduate student named Curt Matthews and his wife, Linda Matthews, founded Chicago Review Press, naming it after the Chicago Review literary journal, for which Curt was then poetry editor. Operating initially out of the couple’s basement, CRP’s... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon brings digital currency to UK

Amazon has launched its own digital currency for apps and games in the UK, six months after the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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80 Years Later, Orwell’s “Burmese Days” Wins Award in Burma

The Burmese Ministry of Information announced that a new translation of Orwell’s 1934 novel, Burmese Days, won the National Literary Award’s informative literature award. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Avon Goes Back to School for Next Big Romance Author

Partnering with HarperCollins's academic marketing division, Avon (which is a trade imprint at HC), is opening its editorial doors to submissions from undergraduate and graduate students. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #trade imprint