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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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 17/11/2011 - 12:18 Sci-fi and fantasy specialist Angry Robot is setting up a YA imprint, Strange Chemistry, with genre blogger Amanda Rutter appointed editor. The imprint will launch in September 2012, with five titles to be published... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Adweek has partnered with Toronto-based technology company Shiny Ads to create the new Adweek Self-Serve Ad platform. The service now lets anyone upload a 300 x 250 banner ad and secure a set number of impressions for as little as $500. This will allow marketers with any size budget to speak... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2011-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 15/11/2011 - 09:40 Dawson Books has begun consulting with employees after announcing major head office departments will move to Bertrams site in Norwich. Dawson recently merged with the Norwich-based book wholesaler after Bertrams parent... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 15/11/2011 - 10:12 The US Authors Guild has accused Amazon.com of "boldly breaching its contracts" with publishers by signing them up to its new Kindle Lending programme without permission. It claimed it is doing this to drive sales of its Kindle... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 14/11/2011 - 15:50 Amazon.co.uk has launched a Kindle Daily Deal promotion, selling one chosen title a day at a heavily discounted price. It began its promotion today (14th November) with Where the Shadows Lie by Michael Ridpath (Corvus)... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Wed, 09/11/2011 - 09:53 The latest edition of fact compendium Guinness World Records was the bestselling book in another slow week for the book trade. Sales of Guinness World Records 2012 rose 26% week-on-week, to 27,360 copies sold, but overall book... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Wed, 09/11/2011 - 08:12 Amazon.co.uk has chosen Elizabeth Haynes' debut Into the Darkest Corner (Myriad Editions) as its best book of 2011, as part of a top 50 selection made "after thoughtful consideration and lengthy debate", and taking into... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hearst-Rodale is set to launch Women's Health in the UK next year, as a sister title to the 11-year-old Men's Health. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2011-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Gayle Feldman Publication Date: Mon, 07/11/2011 - 17:18 Barnes & Noble is to expand its ebook service internationally next year, the company's chief executive has revealed. The development was revealed at the company's New York press conference at which it unveiled its $249... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 07/11/2011 - 14:23 The Book Depository is kicking off Christmas with 24 hours of deals, beginning this Thursday (10th November). The online retailer will be offering customers one title every hour at a "superb price" from noon GMT on Thursday... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 07/11/2011 - 08:45 Amazon has acquired a memoir by bestselling author Dr Deepak Chopra and his brother Dr Sanjiv Chopra. Amazon's Larry Kirshbaum and David Oldawer at Amazon's New York publishing imprint bought world English rights for... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Internet retailer's complete collection of Prime Lending Library books for Kindle devices is online and accessible from any Web browser. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-11-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 04/11/2011 - 11:01 Headline has acquired the next book by Soccer Saturday presenter Jeff Stelling, with the Sky Sports football pundit moving with his editor Jonathan Taylor from HarperSport. Publishing director Taylor bought world... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Users can start borrowing books from Amazon right now, so here's what you need to know about using the service with your Kindle device. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-11-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon.com announced the launch of an ebook lending library for Kindle users, that allows Amazon Prime members to borrow books for free, as frequently as a book... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-11-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Is Amazon Prime the best deal in tech? It just may be: Amazon now offers the capability for customers to loan out over 5,000 books for their Kindle or Kindle Fire devices. The Kindle Owners' Lending Library will allow for one book per month to be lent out, and there are no due dates. To borrow a... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2011-11-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 03/11/2011 - 16:14 Amazon and W H Smith are HarperCollins' strongest players in bookselling, its c.e.o. has claimed. Victoria Barnsley was speaking after the publisher's parent NewsCorp reported its third quarter results, for the three months to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Wed, 02/11/2011 - 14:00 Walter Isaacson's biography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs sold 379,000 copies in the US in its first week on bookshop shelves, BookScan US data has revealed. The $35 publication, published by Simon & Schuster in the US,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In an effort to reach consumers in a multi-platform environment, Hearst Magazines has announced that the company will develop two new online video channels through YouTube. Hearst is one of among several publishers including Meredith and Rodale to roll out a plan to take advantage of the new... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 02/11/2011 - 13:55 The Independent Publishers Guild has accepted the OFTs decision to clear the merger of Amazon and The Book Depository, but called on Amazon to work hard with its members to allay their concerns. Following a survey, IPG... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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