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 ]
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The American Booksellers Association has joined the growing list of US retailers to boycott the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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To address the growing need for accountability in digital marketing, GfK MRI has launched a syndicated service called Starch Digital. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2012-02-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bridget Marmion, who has had long tenures in sales and marketing at FSG, Random House and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, has started her own firm, Your Expert Nation. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a deal with Viacom, Amazon Prime members will be able to stream TV shows from MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, TV Land, Spike, VH1, BET, CMT and Logo. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Canadian bookselling chain Indigo Books and Music and Books-a-Million have joined ranks with... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A non-profit body representing the interests of self-published authors will launch this spring... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Decitre chain of bookstores has created an online community to help consumers find books to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HOUSTON, TX - February 6, 2012 - Macari-Healey Publishing Company, LLC, of Golden, Colorado has purchased Community Media of Colorado from ASP Westward. The Houston-based newspaper publisher had owned CMC since 2002. ASP Westward also ope ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hodder has launched its first online science-fiction, fantasy and horror community, Hodderscape,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Despite posting a 35% sales increase for the fourth quarter and earnings that were better than expected (if still down compared to a year ago), last week was a tough one for Amazon. Analysts and investors were disappointed in the quarterly report, and the stock price for the nation’s largest... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book supplier Browns Books for Students is to launch an ebook platform especially for schools... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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W H Smith has launched its new Richard & Judy Children’s Book Club promotion with a... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon.co.uk increased Kindle ebook sales by five times in its fourth quarter but its parent... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon has been pushing into new markets with products like the Kindle ebook, but investors are worried that the expansion is coming at the expense of profits. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2012-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As Barnes & Noble fights for its future, the publishing industry is holding its breath. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2012-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury is to launch a new literary imprint, Bloomsbury Circus, to accommodate its expanding... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Users of the Bloomberg Terminal are among the richest demographic in the world, and advertisers will soon be able to reach them via a new luxury lifestyle magazine. The first issue of Bloomberg Pursuits launches next month and will reach most of the ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Matteo Berlucchi, chief executive of the social e-retailer Anobii, has urged publishers to drop... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon.com has struck a print licensing agreement with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, which will... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Faber and Faber has set up a social media hub, The Spark, for teenagers to get involved in Faber... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#ya readers