Fantasy author accuses the online giant of using its market dominance ‘to control what we write and what we read’The grande dame of fantasy Ursula K Le Guin has weighed in forcefully to the debate about Amazon’s role in publishing. In a blogpost on the site Book View Cafe, entitled “Up the Amazon with the BS Machine, or Why I Keep Asking You Not to Buy Books from Amazon”, the American author has spoken out against what she describes as the company’s increasing influence not only on the bookselling market but also on which books get published, promoted and read. Her fierce conclusion is: “Every book purchase made from Amazon is a vote for a culture without content and without contentment.”After an analysis of how the “Best Seller Machine” has worked in the last decades, Le Guin writes that the online retailer is changing the culture of publishing. The Amazon model, she writes, is “easy salability, heavy marketing, super-competitive pricing, then trash and replace”. The ideal book, under this template, is “a safe commodity, a commercial product written to the specifications of the current market, that will hit the BS list, get to the top, and vanish. Sell it fast, sell it cheap, dump it, sell the next thing.” Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2015-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with:
#online retailer
#current market
The Policy Press (TPP) has revealed plans to increase its digital focus as the popularity of e-... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#digital focus
#policy press
#revealed plans
The Pottermore ebook store sold £3m-worth of Harry Potter ebooks in its first month, the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
The Reading Agency and the Publishers Association have launched a digital skills sharing... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#reading agency
#publishers association
Washington, D.C., May 2, 2012: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS) a leading IT services, consulting, and business solutions organization, today announced the launch of its Digital Publishing Platform (DPP) at MarkLogic World 201 ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#today announced
Nobody partners, or negotiates deals, like Microsoft. That's evident from today's stunning agreement with Barnes & Noble, which is sure to turn the ebook market on its head. The two will jointly invest in Newco, temporary name for ebook venture that incorporates B&N's digital and College... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2012-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#educational ebooks
#barnes noble
#ebook market
#decade ago
Byliner.com, a digital publishing company, withdrew the ebook “After Friday Night Lights” by Buzz Bissinger from Amazon because of a pricing dispute involving a promotional giveaway. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2012-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#media equation
#buzz bissinger
Corsair publisher James Gurbutt and editor Sarah Castleton are launching a "bijou imprint... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#ya imprint
Amazon.com has announced a 19% hike in worldwide media sales, which include books, DVDs... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#include books
Colin Midson, until recently an editor at Simon & Schuster, has launched a book... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#colin midson
#simon schuster
Almost a year after it was first announced 3M's Cloud Library ebook lending service is getting a proper rollout. Introduced today at a beta site in St. Paul, the system is now ready for its kiosks, e-readers and apps to hit the hands and eyes of library patrons. The touch-based Discovery... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-04-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#mobile device
#android device
#library systems
Amazon's policies may be unkind to many in the book industry, but that doesn't make them illegal. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book industry
On World Book Night thousands of volunteers in the US and Europe will hand out books, hoping to pass along their own love of reading. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Nature Publishing Group is trying to break into the future of scientific publishing with its new linked data platform—launched earlier this month; the new platform is designed to enrich search functions. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2012-04-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#scientific publishing
A brouhaha is shaping up: Apple and book publishers square off against Amazon and the DOJ over the price of an ebook. Who's right? CIO.com's Tom Kaneshige looks back to a Whiz Kid from the '90s for answers. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2012-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Faber has set up a new prize in memory of author Gordon Burn, alongside New Writing North and the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#writing north
Collins launched two new language and culture books centering on Market Focus country China at... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Amazon announced that it has purchased the North American rights to Ian Fleming's James Bond books. James Bond, of course, is the debonair British superspy 007, played on film by a number of actors, including Sean Connery (above). Under the agreement, Amazon will retain republication rights for... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun
[ Baltimore Sun | 2012-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#amazon announced
#ian fleming
#james bond
#print books
Faber has set up a new prize in memory of author Gordon Burn, alongside New Writing North and the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#writing north
Hachette Livre has sold its ebook distribution platform Numilog to its founder and c.e.o. Denis... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#hachette livre
Faber’s digital business Faber Factory, powered by Constellation, has launched the British... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |