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 ]
Amazon is forcing publishers to start negotiations over ebook prices exclusive of the full 20%... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Man Group, which also sponsors the Man Booker Prize, has withdrawn its support from the Man Asian Literary Prize, which will be unable to go on after this year if another sponsor isn't found. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon has been approaching UK publishers ahead of the launch of its Kindle lending service, with... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Asian Literary Prize is on the lookout for a new sponsor as Man Group plc, also the sponsor... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Haynes Publishing is launching its first range of ebooks and selling them independently through... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon contacts some US customers to detail partial refunds for ebooks as part of a settlement regarding price fixing. Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2012-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon will offer partial refunds to customers who bought ebooks between April 2010 and May 2012 a result of the settlement in a price-fixing case between publishers and the attorneys general of most U.S. states. The retailer is notifying eligible customers by email. Compensation ranges from... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2012-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon has announced it will give Kindle owners refunds on past ebook purchases if a settlement with publishers accused of fixing prices is approved. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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I bought my first ebook in 1999 and in recent years stopped purchasing print altogether. My wife is a relative ebook newbie, so I am surprised that she and not me received surprising email today from Amazon about a forthcoming purchasing credit. Perhaps you got similar message. In April, the... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2012-10-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tribune Company has kicked off an ebook initiative in partnership with Agate Publishing, collecting stories and photos from the Chicago Tribune and two other newspapers and selling them as digital long-form features. Tribune, which has already relea ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bulgarian author Miroslav Penkov has won the £15,000 BBC International Short Story Award,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An erotic novel has become Penguin's most successful ever ebook in terms of weekly sales,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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US publisher SourceBooks has developed a new range of interactive ebooks for Apple devices based... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Some readers were upset by the font size of early releases of the ebook version of 'The Casual Vacancy,' in addition to concerns about its price. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-10-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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JK Rowling's novel, The Casual Vacancy, suffers a formatting error in the US making it near-impossible to read on some e-readers. Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2012-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon and Sony are continuing to offer ebooks at 20p, with further titles added to their... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Government-appointed panel to consider what role can ebooks play in our libraries in future. Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2012-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Spain's increasing involvement in the Eurozone crisis, along with government austerity... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Since the publisher’s launch in early 2009, the Experiment’s biggest success has surprised even its staff: Forks over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health has become a smash hit, selling 127,000 copies since its publication in summer 2011 (it’s also the #47 bestselling book of the year so far... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple and four major publishers have offered to let retailers such as Amazon sell ebooks at a discount to settle an EU antitrust investigation into their pricing deals and avoid possible fines. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2012-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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