Can a one-size-fits-all, low-price, consumer-dominated sales model support a diverse, innovative, challenging literary output?It is either an existential threat to intellectual freedom or a rustbelt media industry meeting its comeuppance at the hands of disruptive technology. The battle between the multibillion-dollar publisher Hachette (and now the Scandinavian publisher Bonnier) and the even more multibillion-dollar Amazon is usually discussed in high-minded tones, particularly by publishers and their authors. But at heart, it is merely another collision between producers and consumers that has a particular significance only if you ascribe a value to books as cultural artefacts. It is perfectly possible, instead of Hachette and Amazon, and the 900 writers who took out a two-page ad in the New York Times to protest, to substitute supermarkets, dairy farmers and the price of milk.Although books account for only 7% of the sales of the Everything store, Amazon sells a lot of them. In particular it has 60% of the ebook market. It believes a flat-rate sales price for new books and bestsellers delivers higher sales and bigger profits. Hachette disagrees. Amazon is forcing the issue by disadvantaging Hachette books (no buy button, no discounts and so on). Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After snapping up most of Murakami's latest book to thwart Amazon, Kinokuniya bookstore chain plans to try monopolizing more titles. The post To Defy Amazon, Kinokuniya Plans to Monopolize More Titles appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon is not as good at publishing as it is at retailing, Charlie Redmayne, c.e.o of HarperCollins has said. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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"I’d be unable to distinguish between what is me and what is Lizzie in the book; Lizzie’s memories appear in my mind as vaguely and as vividly as my own." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The number of bookstores in Sweden is declining, but those still in business are now getting out of the red, benefitting from poor online competition. The post Swedish Bookselling Stabilizes, as Amazon Stays Away appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-10-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Labour’s shadow chancellor John McDonnell has said the party has “aggressive” plans to make corporations such as Amazon, Google Starbucks and Vodafone pay their “fair share of taxes”. In his first speech as shadow chancellor at the Labour Conference taking place in Brighton this week, McDonnell... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One thing's for sure, Amazon's thinner new Fire HD tablets aren't iPad killers. Instead, they're being positioned as the ideal budget tablets for consuming video, ebooks and music. To that end, Amazon didn't even upgrade their hardware much -- bot... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2015-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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OpenBooks.com lets the customer download an ebook and the pay what they feel the book is worth. However, is this business model sustainable? The post Poland’s OpenBooks.com Asks, Is Pay-After-You-Read Sustainable? appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Initial focus will be on the magazine he helped build, Men’s Health. The post Mike Lafavore Returns to Rodale in Newly Created Editorial Director Position appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2015-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Quercus Children’s will formerly integrate into the Hachette Children’s Group 1st January 2016, as Niamh Mulvey leaves the children’s team to join Quercus' adult department. The children’s division, which already operates from the Hachette building in London, is led by its publishing director... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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We asked our readers which traditional book authors they'd like to see writing comics. Here are a few of their suggestions. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Prime is a good deal to begin with, bringing two day free shipping, video streaming of movies and TV shows, as well as original content, music streaming and even a Kindle lending library for those books you've been meaning to read. For all of that you pay an annual fee of $99, which is... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2015-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lately, lots of traditional book authors have been writing comic books. What author do you wish would write a comic? Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Children’s Books Ireland (CBI) is hoping to get kids across the country reading in October through the "Read Everywhere in 2015", campaign. For the campaign, also known as "Níl Turas Níos Fearr Ná Turas le Leabhar!" in Irish, CBI will run a range of activities, including a "The Danger is... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mexico's publishing industry has great potential, but the lack of organized government is a persistent problem, argues Déborah Holtz of Trilce Ediciones. The post Mexico Needs a Government Policy to Promote Publishing, Reading appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon has launched a new budget tablet for under £50. The device will be priced at £49.99 and will include a 7 inch IPS display, “all-day” battery life and the new Amazon content ecosystem – Amazon Underground. Through Amazon Underground, customers can shop for items including books and movies... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has revealed plans to build a rocket manufacturing plant and launch site from Florida’s ‘Space Coast’, the area around Kennedy Space Centre and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Bezos’ space start-up, Blue Origin, will invest $200m in new manufacturing facilities and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon has come under fire from the NSPCC after a 12-year-old girl stumbled across explicit material on its website while searching for free ebooks. The girl’s mother, referred to only as Nicola, has complained to Trading Standards and The BBC her daughter typed “free Kindle books for... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon publishing imprint Thomas & Mercer has acquired three more novels by Mark Edwards. Emilie Marneur, editorial director of Amazon, signed world rights to the three books with agent Sam Copeland of Rogers, Coleridge and White. The first book, The Devil’s Work, is a psychological... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Slate piece on first-person writing has prompted debate in the digital media community. We asked editors at BuzzFeed, Jezebel and other leading sites to weigh in on the importance of such pieces – and why there is a gender divideOn Monday, Laura Bennett’s Slate piece on the boom of... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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EPub is a popular format for eBooks, but PC viewing support is still a little patchy, and the files can be hard to open. Fortunately there are plenty of free ePub readers around which make it easier to build and browse your own eBook library. FSS ePub Reader is very simple and straightforward.... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2015-09-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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