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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SoA takes short story campaign to BBC chief

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 04/08/2011 - 09:20 The Society of Authors, the Writers' Guild of Great Britain and actors' union Equity have jointly sent letters to both BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten and director general Mark Thompson, asking them to stop the BBC Radio 4... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #great britain #short story


Government backs Hargreaves, rows back on blocking filesharing websites

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 03/08/2011 - 09:35 The Government has largely endorsed the recommendations of the Hargreaves Review, though, according to reports, business secretary Vince Cable has admitted that the website blocking clauses of the Digital Economy Act are... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rebuck urges more space for Quick Reads

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 22/07/2011 - 08:34 Random House c.e.o. Dame Gail Rebuck has urged retailers to devote shelf space to the Galaxy Quick Reads promotion, as its 2012 line-up of authors is revealed. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Tries Taking the Kindle To School, Again, With Textbook Rentals

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 ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #kindle platform #textbook rentals #ebook market


Summer Reading scheme "critical" for children's literacy

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Mon, 18/07/2011 - 15:00 The Reading Agency director Miranda McKearney has called for the annual Summer Reading Challenge, which launches its 2011 run today (18th July), to be on every head teacher's school improvement plan. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fragmentation threat to Summer Reading scheme

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Wed, 13/07/2011 - 15:35 The Reading Agency has warned library service cutbacks could challenge its Summer Reading Campaign, as it revealed 97% of library authorities will participate in this year's scheme. It will be launched on Monday at the House... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Headline takes two from Tuffers

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 08/07/2011 - 11:09 Headline has signed two books from former England spin bowler Phil Tufnell, with the titles to be compendiums of his cricketing anecdotes and stories. Headline non-fiction publishing director Jonathan Taylor acquired... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Just The News That's Fit to Read: Summify Launches an iPhone App

Sometimes keeping up with the Internet can seem like an endless assignment. The tweets and Facebook posts scroll infinitely, the email piles up, and news sites and blogs publish around the clock. That's why Summify seems so different. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Aardman Digital to redesign Walker website

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 29/06/2011 - 09:14 The digital wing of the company responsible for Wallace and Gromit is to redesign and relaunch Walker Books' website. The site is due to go live in early 2012 after a revamp by Aardman Digital. Among the features, Walker Books... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing Vet Opens Oakland-based Speakers Bureau

Oakland-based book publicist Lorna Garano has opened an eponymous speakers bureau with business partner Peter Handel, who also has a track record in public relations for Bay Area authors and publishers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-06-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tony Blair picks Trotsky biography among his Desert Island Reads

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 24/06/2011 - 11:46 Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has demonstrated an affinity with political outsiders, fantasy worlds and religious prophets as he revealed his choice of favourite books for a new magazine. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Confirmed: J K Rowling to sell Harry Potter ebooks exclusively from Pottermore website

Written By: Philip Jones and Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 23/06/2011 - 11:53 J K Rowling has confirmed that she will release paid-for ebook versions of her incredibly successful Harry Potter books from her new website Pottermore "in partnership with J K Rowling’s publishers... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Grahame Baker-Smith takes CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal

Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Thu, 23/06/2011 - 11:15 Grahame Baker-Smith has won this year's CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal for his novel FArTHER (Templar). In his acceptance speech today he attributed his award to "a complete change of style" after 15 years in the field, and in... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J K Rowling prepares to take Harry Potter digital with Pottermore

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Thu, 23/06/2011 - 07:30 E-book versions of the seven Harry Potter novels are likely to move a step closer today with the launch of an immersive website based on the Harry Potter universe. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rowling launches "mysterious" website

Publication Date: Thu, 16/06/2011 - 09:21 Harry Potter fans have been reacting with excitement to a mysterious website launched by J K Rowling. Pottermore.com features a pink holding page with the description "coming soon" and Rowling’s signature underneath. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Obreht takes Orange Prize

Written By: Katie Allen and Philip Stone Publication Date: Wed, 08/06/2011 - 19:15 Debut author Téa Obreht has won the Orange Prize for Fiction for The Tiger’s Wife (Weidenfeld & Nicolson), beating Man Booker-shortlisted bookies’ favourite Room by Emma Donoghue (Picador). Obreht, aged 25,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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You're Next voted best R&J Spring Read

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 04/05/2011 - 15:53 WH Smith customers have voted You’re Next by Gregg Hurwitz as the best read from Richard and Judy’s Spring Book Club titles. The thriller, published by Sphere, came top of an online poll asking readers to judge which of the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Argos takes on Amazon with book push

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 03/05/2011 - 08:30 High street retailer Argos intends to increase its online book range from 500 to 5,000 titles over the next month. The chain store, known for stocking a large range of non-food products, launched its books category on its... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Judge Takes Dim View of Righthaven

A newspaper publisher’s copyright attack dog got a swat on the nose last week. Righthaven LLC has filed over 250 infringement lawsuits in Nevada, Colorado, and California on behalf of Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Denver Post, and other newspapers. But a federal judge has declined to indulge its... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2011-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Advertising: Tales of Reading in Reintroducing a Color Device

Barnes & Noble’s advertising campaign for the Nook Color, an e-reading tablet, features no company stores in the ads, a nod to changes in the publishing industry. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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