Penelope Lively's recent short ebook for Penguin drew criticism for its brevity – but readers should not be put off the genre as a whole"Overpriced", "ridiculous", I feel cheated". Amazon reviewers haven't been wholly positive about a digital short Penelope Lively has written for Penguin Specials. On the evidence of the story itself, it's not Lively's fault. Abroad is about a pair of art students who travel to 1950s Spain in search of picturesque peasants and are disappointed when they don't live up to expectations. It's funny and evocative of a time when rural Europe was still exotic.It also peters out after just 4,000 words, so I sympathise with anyone who felt ripped off by its £1.99 price tag. These days you can buy two whole novels for that. The sad fact is, publishers don't make any money if an ebook costs less than £1.99. Amazon does, because singles are the literary equivalent of a gateway drug.This was brought home to me on finishing Susan Hill's latest effort, Printer's Devil Court (99p), a haunting tale about pre-second world war medical students who experiment with resurrection. More substantial than Lively's, it's a great, old-fashioned ghost story, whose chilling impact was somewhat undermined by turning the final page to find Amazon ordering me to rate, review, tweet, Facebook and buy more books by Susan Hill. Was the ebook I'd enjoyed little more than a trailer?Singles are a clever marketing tool. But it would be a shame if readers short-changed by one... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2013-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
With its reputation on the line, Apple vows to appeal the federal judge's ruling that it conspired with publishers to raise prices.SAN FRANCISCO — A New York federal judge's ruling that Apple Inc. conspired to raise electronic book prices cuts straight to the heart of the company's image as a... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#raise prices
#federal judge
#judge rules
US District Judge Denise Cote found that Apple was part of a conspiracy to increase ebook retail prices. An Apple spokesperson maintained that 'we've done nothing wrong.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
NEW YORK -- Apple Inc. conspired to raise the prices of ebooks, a judge ruled Wednesday morning, after a trial in which the Department of Justice accused the technology giant of aggressively pressuring publishers to raise prices and weaken Amazon.com. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#technology giant
#raise prices
A federal judge in America has ruled that Apple conspired to raise the retail prices of ebooks,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#retail prices
#apple conspired
#federal judge
Apple conspired with publishers to fix the price of electronic books, a US judge rules, but the company says it will appeal against the decision. Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2013-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#judge rules
#electronic books
#apple conspired
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Apple conspired with publishers to set the prices of ebooks and "played a central role in facilitating and executing that conspiracy."A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Apple conspired with publishers to set the prices of ebooks. Apple, the judge found,... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#pay damages
#judge found
#central role
#apple conspired
Apple Inc., the world's biggest technology company, violated antitrust law by engaging in a scheme to fix the prices of electronic books, a federal judge ruled in a suit brought by the U.S. government.U.S. District Judge Denise Cote, who tried the case without a jury, ruled against Apple in a... Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2013-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#random house
#pearson plc
#lagardere sca
#simon schuster
#cbs corp
#potential damages
In an interview with Guernica magazine, literary agent Nicole Aragi discusses the crisis of literary fiction, why translated books don't sell in the US, and more. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#literary fiction
At the Tokyo International Book Fair the focus finally shifted away from devices to actual ebooks, but hype of their immediately transforming the business was toned down. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#ebook market
For the next two weeks, you can snag four ebooks for whatever price you want with the second Humble ebook Bundle. As always, each contribution benefits whoever you prefer, be it the authors, charity, Humble itself or a combination of the three. If you want access to all six books, as per the... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#humble bundle
#humble mumble
The Russian ebook market more than doubled in 2012, to 250 million rubles (USD $8 million), but remains just 1% of market. Some 95% of ebooks downloaded are pirate editions. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
The Read Legally public awareness campaign was launched to discourage Russians from downloading pirated ebooks, equating it with stealing from authors. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Preliminary results from a new survey say that Japan's ebook market is valued at 72.9 billion yen ($740 million), a 15.9% jump over 2011. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#ebook market
#preliminary results
The UK and Germany were the top overseas markets for US print books in 2012, while Europe led the UK in consumption of US ebooks, according to the AAP. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#print books
The Justice Department’s ebook price fixing trial – alleging that Apple conspired to raise ebook prices – is scheduled to end this week. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#apple conspired
#justice department
Veronica Roth will release four short stories written from the point of view of 'Divergent' hero Four. The first will be released a month before the last book in the trilogy comes out. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#veronica roth
E-Libros, one Colombia's few digital publishers, is using the tarjeta e-libro, or ebook cards, to reach readers accustomed to only buying print books. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#digital publishers
The Apple/ DoJ ebook price fixing trial will enter its final sessions later today (20th June),... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Shakespeare & Co.'s Paris Literary Prize honors novellas written in English by an unpublished author. Judge Rebecca Carter reports on this year's festivities. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#unpublished author
The relaunched Commonwealth Book Prize continues to be a key conduit of exchange between underrepresented countries and regions to the UK publishing community. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with:
#underrepresented regions