The books industry still underestimates the disruptive power of Jeff Bezos's awesome ambitionSo Amazon are the bad guys, again. At least according to Harper's Magazine they are. For the former Amazon employee James Marcus, Brad Stone "drops the ball" in his biography of Jeff Bezos, The Everything Store, when he accepts "what is literally the company line – that these extorted dollars 'create the foundation on which everyday low prices become possible'." Marcus tells how some publishers are being "pressured" to pay "for the privilege of presenting their lists to [Amazon] marketing team and buyers" – a story denied in a footnote by an unnamed "Amazon spokesperson" – and goes on to assemble an impressive rap sheet of sharp practice:Of course it's legal. So is Amazon's control of an estimated 65 percent of the ebook market, a near monopoly that's apparently of no concern to the supine Department of Justice. So is its bare-bones price of $9.99 for popular ebooks, a loss-leading tactic that might be classified as predatory pricing if there weren't so many legal hurdles to making such a charge stick. So is the funneling of its British revenues through a subsidiary in Luxembourg ...... and on it goes. But Amazon's aggressive style of doing business is nothing new. What astonishes me is the continuing ability of publishers to underestimate how radically Amazon has changed the industry.Mike Shatzkin is one of those who have understood Amazon's disruptive power all along. But such... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2013-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association convened the first in-person fall regional conference to take place since the start of the pandemic in Portland, Ore., this week, attracting 180 booksellers, 150 publishers and 50 authors. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-10-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The author likes small bookshops. So he won’t let the online giant sell his new hardbackThe plight of the high street bookshop, struggling against the power of the online giants, is a common complaint either side of the Atlantic. But not often do the prominent players, the authors and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-10-03 08:00:23 UTC ]
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The ever-consolidating U.S. trade publishing market is increasingly characterized by five dominant publishers, scores of small presses, and few midsize players. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-10-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
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This week's Media Briefing recaps what was said when publishing executives came together behind closed doors at this week's Digiday Publishing Summit. The post Media Briefing: What publishers had to say at the Digiday Publishing Summit appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2021-09-30 04:01:00 UTC ]
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Educational publishers Macmillan Learning, Cengage Group, Elsevier, McGraw Hill and Pearson have obtained a preliminary injunction against 60 websites that sell illegal, unlicensed copies of e-books. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-28 14:17:26 UTC ]
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The injunction is the fourth successful action in two years for the group, known as the Educational Publishers Enforcement Group, which consists of Cengage, Elsevier, Macmillan Learning, McGraw Hill and Pearson. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-09-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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As faith-based children’s book publishers strive for greater inclusivity and diverse representations of all people within stories, decisions do not always come easily about which pronouns to use for God or what skin color to use in illustrations of Jesus. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-09-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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For nearly every type of book, the physical book is not the thing we admire. The merit is situated outside the paper and glue. A novel, collection of short stories, memoir, gathering of poems, all create a story—whatever that may mean—in a reader’s head. A cookbook creates a fine meal upon a... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-09-23 08:49:17 UTC ]
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The lawmakers seek a wide range of information not only on the publishers’ digital library practices, but also on the economics of the market. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-09-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Richard Osman's The Man Who Died Twice (Penguin) has claimed the Amazon Charts' Most-Sold: Fiction top spot, with its predecessor The Thursday Murder Club bouncing four places up the chart to join it in second. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-23 01:43:42 UTC ]
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Nine publishers including Hachette, Penguin Random House Children's and Nosy Crow have launched a manifesto committing themselves to increased empathy-building strategies over the next three years. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-22 19:09:14 UTC ]
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“The Dark Remains” captures perfectly the voice of the late William McIlvanney, master of Tartan Noir. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-09-22 06:11:08 UTC ]
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Publishers “should stop thinking about BAME talent as fulfilling a school requirement” and “should emphasise the joyful and literary qualities" of diverse books, Arthur Levine, founder of the independent publisher Levine Querido, has said. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-22 04:07:18 UTC ]
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As indicated in a leak earlier this week, Amazon is updating the Kindle Paperwhite. The fifth-gen Paperwhite (which marks the first refresh in nearly three years) has a larger, 6.8-inch display, compared with the previous model's six-inch screen. The company says the 300 ppi screen is glare-free... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2021-09-21 13:00:32 UTC ]
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Official news came much sooner than expected. On Tuesday, just a day after leaks surfaced on the company’s Canadian and Mexican sites about models with a bigger screen and dramatically more LEDs, Amazon confirmed the launch of three new Kindle Paperwhites. In addition to a successor for the... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2021-09-21 13:00:00 UTC ]
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The waterproof e-reader now comes in three different options, with bigger, brighter screens and faster response times. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2021-09-21 13:00:00 UTC ]
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The two women are joining Zando, an independent publishing company founded last year that plans to work with authors and sell books in unconventional ways. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-09-21 12:55:08 UTC ]
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Publishers should 'resharpen' their skills and not become risk-averse to working with unknown talent, says m.d. of Simon & Schuster Children's Books Rachel Denwood. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-20 11:40:06 UTC ]
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Amazon is rolling out a software update for its Kindle, Paperwhite and Oasis devices that could make them easier to use. The company announced the changes will be arriving in the coming weeks for Kindles 8th-generation and later, Paperwhites 7th-generation and newer as well as the Oasis... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2021-09-10 22:45:31 UTC ]
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In separate motions this week, lawyers for both Amazon and the Big Five publishers asked a federal court to dismiss the latest iteration of a potential class-action price-fixing claim filed on behalf of indie booksellers involving print trade books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-09-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
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