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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This week on PublishNews Brazil: Amazon partners with a kiosk-retailer to sell Kindles in Brazil, Kobo launches two new ereaders, 33% of Brazilians read a book last month. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Ethical Consumer magazine and campaign group has launched a campaign to persuade customers to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the rush to market in Brazil, three international ebook sellers staked their claim on the same day. Why? The reasons are clear, but perhaps a bit ephemeral. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-12-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Through exclusive interviews with Amazon's David Naggar, author Paolo Coelho, and others, we get behind the scenes of Amazon's Kindle Store launch in Brazil this week. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-12-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a move that could provide a boost to the small but growing digital comic book business, DC Comics has signed deals to sell comics through online stores owned by Apple, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon will open a Kindle store in Japan next month, selling Japanese language Kindle e-readers... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble has announced it is to launch two tablets simultaneously in the UK and the US... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hints at a Kindle launch for Japan in October have been upstaged by Google’s sudden... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon has today (30th August) launched its Appstore in Europe, including in the UK, Germany,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon has also begun piloting a UK discounted daily deals website, AmazonLocal, to rival sites... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Indian consumers haven't been cut off from Amazon's world of ebook goodies, but their experience is about to get a lot more native with the launch of a local Kindle Store. The prices of over a million books are now available in rupees, and if you're in need of hardware, the latest bare-bones... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon has opened an India Kindle store on Amazon.com, as well as launching the device for sale... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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UK bookseller Waterstones plans to sell Amazon's Kindle ebook reader and other Kindle digital services. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2012-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon has launched its CreateSpace today (17th May) in Europe, which means that authors who self... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Buenas noticias para todos los amantes de los libros que viven en Estados Unidos. Amazon acaba de anunciar una nueva tienda llamada eBooks Kindle en Español. El nuevo servicio dará acceso a más de 33,000 libros que se podrán leer en los diferentes dispositivos Kindle. Esta biblioteca virtual... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It remains to be seen if it's a full-on change of policy, but it looks like Amazon is at least shifting it stance when it comes to where some of the ebooks put out by its Amazon Publishing division are sold. As you may recall, Barnes & Noble and other booksellers recently pulled print... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon has this morning launched an e-commerce site in India called Junglee.com. The platform... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon has hired Mauro Widman as Kindle "vendor manager" in Brazil, to prepare for a... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 03/11/2011 - 09:54 Amazon.com has launched a lending library for US Kindle owners with Prime membership today (3rd November), after signing deals on a variety of terms with publishers. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Wed, 28/09/2011 - 15:20 Amazon has unveiled a Kindle Touch reader, priced $99 for the wi-fi model, alongside a brand new tablet device called Kindle Fire. The new Kindle, which comes in silver, is smaller and lighter than the current, third-generation... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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