Pelican’s new browser-based reading website takes flight with grace

With subtle interactive features and simple, bold design, Penguin’s resurrected non-fiction imprint places the focus on the reading experienceAfter reading Economics: The User’s Guide by Ha-Joon Chang, published by Pelican Books, I feel confident enough to explain the word “disintermediation”. This catchy term means cutting out the middlemen from a supply chain, and it’s crucial to an understanding of modern publishing. Amazon has been trying to cut out publishers for two decades, in the hope of achieving a more efficient ecosystem. Publishers, once they got wind of this, started thinking of clever ways they could turn the tables: that is, cutting out Amazon and going direct to consumers.A new front in this literary conflict has opened at pelicanbooks.com, although it looks less like a battlefield than a boutique in an online Marylebone High Street. Penguin’s original non-fiction imprint relaunched earlier this year, its predictably covetable paperbacks glowing with turquoise nostalgia for the days when people bettered themselves rather than slumping in front of Gogglebox. Pelican’s digital incarnation is stunning, its flat design bold yet understated, with a studied simplicity reflected in the intuitive user experience. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-11-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #supply chain #modern publishing #started thinking

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Winnie-the-Pooh and Penguin take the stage in ebook trial

Apple enlisted the services of Winnie-the-Pooh in trying to show a court that it did not tinker with ebook prices when it opened its electronic bookstore in 2010, according to the Associated Press.Apple enlisted the services of Winnie-the-Pooh on Tuesday in trying to show a court that it did not... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ebook trial #ebook prices #electronic bookstore


Steve Swartz Takes Helm at Hearst

Steve Swartz is a veteran of Hearst’s print business, but as he takes over as CEO this week, he underscored ways the leading magazine company is adapting its products to digital formats. Swartz, the former head of Hearst’s newspaper business and for the past two years, its chief operating... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital studio #business information #global expansion #publishing partners


Lampard pushes Summer Reading Challenge

England footballer Frank Lampard has become a champion of The Reading  Agency’s Summer... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #reading agency


Dedicated website launches for Amazon Publishing

Amazon has unveiled a dedicated website for its Amazon Publishing platform, www.apub.com. The... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #amazon publishing #dedicated website


Penguin and WHS partner on charity summer reading campaign

Penguin and W H Smith have partnered for a new summer reading campaign, which will raise money... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #raise money


German online copyright law to take effect in August

A German online copyright law that will give publishers the exclusive right to the commercial use of their publications on the Internet will come into effect on Aug. 1. The law was published in Germany’s Federal Law Gazette (Bundesgesetzblatt) on Tuesday. After a law is published in the... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2013-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #google news #give publishers #news snippets #parts thereof #single words


Innovation Taking the Publishing Business Beyond Borders

Smart publishers are thinking of their business as global instead of local. This may come as a surprise to some who see it as a novelty instead of the norm. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishing business


Children reading more on screen than print, NLT finds

The growth in children’s digital reading is an “opportunity for publishers rather... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #children reading #digital reading


W&N signs Amy Grace Loyd

Weidenfeld & Nicolson has acquired an "extraordinarily gripping" debut novel by US... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An App That Turns Digital Reading Into A Social Activity

Dotdotdot imagines its users as one big book discussion group, with everyone wielding the same highlighter. Instapaper and Readability have both found success offering a simple, core interaction: save an article online to read somewhere else later. With both you can also follow what friends... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If Microsoft Takes Over Nook, What Next?

Microsoft is said to have offered Barnes & Noble $1 billion to buyout the Nook Media business. Where would that leave the retailer going forward? Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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NLT evaluates Reading Stars scheme

More than half of the pupils taking part in the National Literacy Trust's Premier League... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Would Someone Take Advantage of America’s Most Beloved Author?

Author Harper Lee, now 87-years-old, is suing the son-in-law of her former literary agent after he "duped" her into signing over rights to her beloved classic "To Kill a Mockingbird." Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #beloved author #literary agent #beloved classic


E-Reading Rainbow: Hachette to bring entire ebook catalog to public libraries

If you're still balking at the cost of download-to-own ebooks, and would rather stick to the tried-and-true library lending system, then this Hachette news is for you. Come next Wednesday, the entirety of Hachette's ebook catalog -- over 5,000 titles -- will be made available to nonprofit... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #physical counterparts #hard copy #pricing scheme #company plans


Reagan Arthur Takes Over at Little, Brown

Coming from the West Coast, Reagan Arthur was not always surrounded by people who thought much of a career in books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New York Times' Google Glass App Reads Stories to You

The New York Times is one of the initial major publishers to unveil a Google Glass app, which will allow the currently scant number of users of the wearable device to access stories on the go. The app's audio component reads headlines and story summaries aloud and provides breaking news alerts. ... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Egypt’s Ibrahim Issa on Reading and Writing After the Arab Spring

Egyptian journalist and bestselling author Ibrahim Issa believes the Arab Spring has added religious oppression to the existing political hardships of the region. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-04-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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SpinMedia buys Vibe magazine and websites

SpinMedia has bought Vibe in a deal that could prove to be the end of the print edition of the famed hip-hop culture magazine.Vibe magazine was founded in 1993 by legendary producer Quincy Jones. The company has changed hands several times and like many publications, has turned its focus to its... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2013-04-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Are you as well read as a college sophomore?

Based on the pre-college reading lists, freshmen syllabi, and core programs of more than 100 US colleges and universities, here are 60 books the experts believe that you should have read by sophomore year of college. How does your own literary experience stack up? Take our quiz and find... Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-04-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Stop Saying That Men Don’t Read Women

It has become a truism that “men don’t read women.” The assertion is taken as self-evident by feminist publications like Salon (“while women read books written by men, men do not tend to reciprocate”) and shown anecdotally by blogs. It is also perpetuated by male bastions like Esquire, which... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2013-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #recently released