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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Amazon is dropping the price of its Kindle e-reader to $114 as it faces increasing competition from Apple, Barnes & Noble and other tablets. The new price point represents a $25 price cut on the Wi-Fi version, but it comes with one major trade-off: ads. The e-reader will be sold by Amazon,... Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Tue, 12/04/2011 - 09:28 Controlling world English-language rights is key to taking advantage of the global book economy for UK publishers, delegates have been told. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Tue, 12/04/2011 - 09:29 Profile m.d. Andrew Franklin has dismissed self-publishing as irrelevant in a heated debate on the relevance of publishers. The discussion, held at yesterday's London Book Fair, was between Franklin, Bloomsbury's executive... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ad network Specific Media has appointed Fox Networks Group's Graeme Lynch as its new UK publisher services director. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As the London Book Fair goes through its annual run this week, American agents are trying to figure out the best way to sell digital rights to foreign publishers in markets that are far behind the U.S. in ebook sales. Even though many international publishers are just starting to dabble in... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 11/04/2011 - 15:34 Penguin, Hachette Livre and Random House have all joined with PEN International for the launch of the literature-championing organisations latest initiative, the PEN International Publishers Circle. The scheme will see... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Thu, 07/04/2011 - 09:05 US publishers have dismissed Borders' recovery plan, which includes revamped stores and increased online sales, as unrealistic and are increasingly gloomy about its future. The New York Times reports Borders senior... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 07/04/2011 - 15:58 A husband-and-wife team has launched an e-publishing company for new authors. Cornwall-based lawyers Nigel and Abbie Flanagan are calling on unpublished writers to submit the first 50 pages of their work to Wink Publishing.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 05/04/2011 - 08:27 The Poetry Book Society (PBS) is planning to "challenge" the claim by Arts Council England (ACE) that its reach was not as wide as other portfolio funding applicants'. In a letter published in today's Times, George... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 05/04/2011 - 16:11 Coronet will publish "Strictly Come Dancing" presenter Tess Daly's first sashay into fiction, having acquired The Camera Never Lies by the TV host. Editor Charlotte Haycock acquired British Commonwealth rights to the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Mon, 04/04/2011 - 09:00 Amazon has emerged as the surprise underbidder on a multi-million dollar auction for a self-published author, the first time the retailer is believed to have bid on frontlist. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 04/04/2011 - 13:02 Cornerstone and Vintage are planning to release historian Alison Weir's backlist in ebook format for the first time. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The current crop of Russian publishers is collectively on the young side, many of them born shortly before the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Then, teething problems were many and the growth path rocky at times. But today these publishers produce nearly 120,000 new titles per year,... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 04/04/2011 - 15:24 Little, Brown has made two "significant" promotions, with deputy publisher David Shelley becoming publisher of the group and commercial director Ben Groves-Raines moving up to chief operating officer. All of the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 01/04/2011 - 08:10 Transworld is to publish a limited edition scratch and sniff version of Dirty Tricks by Jo Carnegie. Managing director Larry Finlay said: "This is a new move for us and it's certainly been a challenge for our production... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones and Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 01/04/2011 - 08:50 Literary agent Sonia Land has warned book publishers they will lose control over authors digital backlists unless they improve their royalty offer. Land this week announced her decision to publish 100 of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Fri, 01/04/2011 - 14:45 An upbeat Bologna Book Fair this week saw a strong US presence and a notable upturn from the past two cautious years, with publishers willing to buy, albeit selectively. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Zite, the app that gathers content according to a users interests and behaviors to form a personalized web magazine, has run into legal issues abound from major publishers such as Washington Post, Associated Press, Getty Images, Time and Dow Jones. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publication Date: Fri, 01/04/2011 - 08:35 Judy Finnigan, one half of publishing phenomenon Richard and Judy, is to publish her long-rumoured first novel with Sphere. Catherine Burke, Sphere editorial director, signed world rights to two titles from Luigi Bonomi. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 30/03/2011 - 14:55 Fourth Estate will publish the latest novel by The Joy Luck Club author Amy Tan after HarperCollins bought The Valley of Amazement. Publication date for the novel is expected to be autumn 2012. Daniel Halpern, president and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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