Few people understand the magic of libraries better than Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials, but all is not well when it comes to digital lending. As the soon-to-be president of the Society of Authors, Pullman is leading the charge against publishing houses that may be shortchanging writers on ebook loans. In a letter to major publishers like Random House and Bloomsbury, Pullman argues that selling ebooks to libraries as single sales rather than licenses costs authors up to two-thirds the income they receive from print loans. The Society's brief calls for the industry to reconsider existing models for compensation so that writers can continue producing books with which to line library shelves. After all, without authors, there would be no books, and as Pullman himself wrote, "Without stories, we wouldn't be human beings at all." Filed under: Misc Comments Via: The Guardian, The Telegraph Source: The Society of Authors (PDF) Continue reading at 'Engadget'
[ Engadget | 2013-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 17/10/2011 - 09:18 Hot Key Books has hired HarperCollins' head of children's sales as its new sales and marketing director. Kate Manning will join the publisher on 2nd January 2012 and will be responsible for a fiction list comprising between 30... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Thu, 06/10/2011 - 14:17 Google eBooks has launched its e-bookstore in the UK. The store can be found at Google.co.uk/ebooks with frontlist titles including The Fear Index by Robert Harris priced at £9.06 and Kill Alex Cross by James Patterson priced... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 05/10/2011 - 12:08 Random House has acquired the autobiography of Grammy Award-winning rock 'n' roll singer and musician Rod Stewart, with Stewart promising to "hold nothing back". The Random House Group UK and Random House US jointly... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Fri, 30/09/2011 - 08:15 Librarians have warned that the year-long stalemate with the major publishers over the terms of ebook lending could damage the already beleaguered service. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Swiftly and at little cost, newspapers, magazines and sites like The Huffington Post are publishing their own version of ebooks. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 16/09/2011 - 09:21 Virago has bought rights to a satirical novel set at a top-class university. Associate publisher Ursula Doyle bought UK and Commonwealth rights to Penelope by Rebecca Harington from Jane Finigan at Lutyens &... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Random House is the latest publisher to replace paper catalogues with digital editions. Random will begin the transition with its Random House Children's Books division's summer 2012 list which reps will start selling in January. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-09-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Tue, 06/09/2011 - 11:18 Previous Man Booker Prize for Fiction winner Alan Hollinghurst has missed the shortlist for this years prize, which includes two debutsStephen Kelman and A D Miller and a wealth of titles from indies. Bookies favourite and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If there is one topic that stands out at all nine regional bookselling conferences this year, it's getting back to basics, both the traditional ABCs of book retail and newer ones like creating an effective Web site and selling ebooks using QR codes. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Wed, 10/08/2011 - 15:07 Granta Publications has put its books onto the iBookstore, with all digitised titles from Granta Books and Portobello now made available. Marketing and digital development director Iain Chapple said: "We are committed to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 29/07/2011 - 11:22 Random House has acquired the memoirs of long-time US Vogue creative director Grace Coddington, in a Transatlantic deal for a reported $1.2m (£700,000). The memoirs will be simultaneously published by Random House in the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 08/07/2011 - 08:40 Will Sulkin will be retiring from his role as publishing director of The Bodley Head in April 2012, with Stuart Williams, editorial director at Harvill Secker, to step into the position. Sulkin's retirement in 2012 will... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ever since Borders Group filed for Chapter 11 in February, one of the overriding concerns of the major publishers has been that the bankruptcy process not be dragged out. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 03/06/2011 - 09:58 Hodder & Stoughton has signed a three-book deal with thriller writer Tom Harper, marking the author's move from Random House's Cornerstone. Associate publisher Oliver Johnson signed the deal for world rights through... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bonnier showed the biggest jump in ad pages (up 19 percent) while Meredith showed the largest drop in ad pages (down 10 percent) among six major publishers in the first quarter of 2011, according to data from MagazineRadar. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 26/05/2011 - 08:47 Random House Digital director Fionnuala Duggan is to leave the publisher for digital learning company CourseSmart, where she has been appointed managing director for international. The California-based company, which provides... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 16/05/2011 - 09:06 The Bodley Head has acquired a title looking at the operation that searched for, and finally killed, Osama bin Laden, by al-Qaeda expert Peter Bergen. Publishing director Will Sulkin acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The editor Robert Loomis, who is retiring from Random House after 54 years, is known for nurturing writers including Maya Angelou, William Styron, Shelby Foote and Calvin Trillin. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 09/05/2011 - 08:51 Random House is publishing its first "instant ebook exclusive" with William Heinemann's rapid response to the death of Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. Beyond Bin Laden: The Future of Terror will be published tomorrow... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 06/05/2011 - 08:55 Random House has hit the landmark of two million ebooks sold in the UK, with other leading publishers reporting a first quarter explosion in digital sales. E-books currently account for 8% of RH's overall sales, with... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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