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, 29/09/2011 - 13:55 A guide to independent bookshops will be given away in this Saturday's Guardian [1st October], with more than 350 indies included. The Independent Bookshops Directory is a 74-page A5 guide, with bookshops picked by the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Summit Business Media has sold Highline Data--its insurance information services unit--to SNL Financial LC. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The long awaited device that has been rumored to shake up Apple's dominance of the tablet market is here. Amazon.com, Inc. announced early Wednesday that its 7-inch tablet product, the Kindle Fire (pictured), is finally hitting the market. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Wed, 28/09/2011 - 09:59 Amazon.co.uk has asked publishers for discounts of 90% on titles in order to participate in an October Kindle promotion. The campaign, due to run from 17th to 31st October inclusively, will also be featured on Amazon.de, the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Conde Nast, Hearst and Meredith are in for Wednesday's launch. Time Inc. isn't, and may not get there for a while. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 27/09/2011 - 09:15 Penguin has released Jamie Oliver's Food Guide app for Apple's iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, with the guide now available for £2.99 from the App store. The app accompanies Oliver's latest title, Jamie's Great Britain,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 27/09/2011 - 09:26 Amazon has reportedly dubbed its new tablet device Kindle Fire, with the digital company set to unveil it tomorrow (28th September). Techcrunch, which revealed details of the device at the beginning of September, reports the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 26/09/2011 - 15:05 Trident Media Group, a New York-based literary agency, has launched Trident E-Book Operations, which will create, manage and implement ebook strategies for its authors. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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No doubt with hopes to mirror the success of its Food Network Magazine, Hearst is launching another television-channel based publication: HGTV Magazine. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Mon, 26/09/2011 - 08:45 Zadie Smith, Jeanette Winterson, Blake Morrison and Mark Haddon are among the big names contributing to a Vintage essay collection described as a "mission statement about the paramount importance of reading to our quality of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon has launched its long-promised library lending program for its Kindle e-reader, and says more than 11,000 libraries are participating. E-book competitors -- like Barnes & Nobles' Nook, and Sony's Reader -- already offer something comparable. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 21/09/2011 - 12:05 Amazon has made books for the Kindle available across 11,000 local libraries in the United States. Customers can search for books on their local library's website and choose a book to borrow. Once selected, customers can choose... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Wed, 21/09/2011 - 09:03 Libraries in Seattle have started testing the feature that allows readers to borrow books using their Kindle. Amazon signed a deal with Overdrive earlier this year to provide the service, which the retailer said will be... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Tue, 20/09/2011 - 10:00 Amazon has begun rolling out its Appstore worldwide, with a selection of customers across western Europe, India and Australia getting early access. The store offers apps for Android-enabled devices, such as Samsung or HTC... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 20/09/2011 - 08:17 The Natural History Museum has launched its first ebook for the iPad, created from the most expensive book ever sold. The ebook of The Birds of America by John James Audubon features all 435 illustration plates of the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 19/09/2011 - 11:47 The Office of Fair Trading has said it now expects to announce its decision on the Amazon takeover of The Book Depository by late October. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Yahoo is gearing up to launch an HTML 5-based system called Livestand for magazine publishers wanting to cut the costs of getting onto iPad and Android apps. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2011-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The long awaited launch of BookRiff, the system that promises to let people mix and match content from various sources to create their own book, is now slated for the end of September. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Fri, 16/09/2011 - 08:20 Bonnier's new publishing initiative, headed by former Bloomsbury Group editor-in-chief Sarah Odedina, will be called Hot Key Books, and aims to have its first books published in time for the Christmas market. Odedina, who is... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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IPC Media has announced a number of proposed changes for monthly fashion title Marie Claire next year, including a larger format, a redesigned website and a new biannual fashion magazine. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2011-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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