Peter James's Host, published on two disks, was an early example – but exactly where the medium started life is surprisingly tricky to identifyWhat was the first ebook? Debate rages … When Peter James published his thriller Host on two floppy disks, in 1993, it was billed as the "world's first electronic novel", and attacked as a harbinger of the apocalypse which would destroy literature as we knew it. Now it has been accepted into the Science Museum's collection as one of the earliest examples of the form, as the spotlight of academia begins to shine on the history of digital publishing."I got absolutely pilloried," says James. "I was on Today accused of killing the novel, I was a front-page headline on papers in Italy – 99% of the press was negative … one journalist even took his computer on a wheelbarrow to the beach, along with a generator, to read Host in his deckchair."The digital version of the novel (it was also published physically) went on to sell 12,000 copies, according to James, and two years later, he was speaking on a panel on the future of the novel at the University of Southern California, together with Apple founder Steve Jobs. "I said ebooks would catch on when they became more convenient to read than the printed novel," said James. "It was astonishing the amount of outrage it caused."And Host – about a scientist who downloads his brain into a computer and has his body frozen – has now become a historical artefact, accepted into the Science Museum's... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Extrapolating from recent sales figures from ebook distributor DLD, we estimate ebook sales to reach some 3.57 million units—or 2.6% of the overall market—by the end of 2013. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Major publishers are taking wildly different approaches to resolving the woes surrounding ebook lending at libraries: they're experimenting with both the short-yet-cheap subscription as well as an expensive option to pay only once for perpetual use. Sure enough, we're now seeing the middle road.... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Concerns are mounting among publishers, booksellers and authors about the long-term impact of the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Salley Vickers and Chiome Okereke are among the authors shortlisted for the Costa Short Story... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A tightly focused strategy on maintaining margins has enabled WHSmith to persist after than two centuries at the heart of UK bookselling, inspiring admiration and ire alike. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-book retailer Anobii is changing its name to eBooks by Sainsbury’s. The move comes six... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Seven Stories, the national centre for children's books, is making a final push to galvanise... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Aurum imprint Jacqui Small Publishing is moving into the illustrated ebook market, starting next... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fans angry over a delayed ebook release for the finale in Robert Jordan's 'Wheel of Time' series have given the book one-star ratings on Amazon. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-01-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Trade magazines Publishers Weekly and The Bookseller have put out new lists analyzing the bestselling books of 2012. No surprise, but E.L. James dominated. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-01-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Touching the Void author Joe Simpson has split from long-term publisher Random House following... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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McGraw-Hill is taking on the one-size-fits-all approach to textbooks with its freshly unveiled SmartBook: an ebook that is claimed to adapt to student's learning patterns. Aimed at college students, the SmartBook service peppers users with questions as they read and determines what topics it... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Faber has launched a series of digital-only poetry ebooks being described as "a new way to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Eoin Colfer has been named as the author of the first of Puffin's eleven Dr Who short stories... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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News out of Japan suggests Apple will launch Japanese-language ebooks in January, with a selection of 80,000 titles from publishers including Kadokawa, Shogakukan, and Kodansha. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-01-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If you bought a copy of "Fifty Shades of Grey" for your e-reader, you are not alone -- not by a long shot. If you bought a copy of "Fifty Shades of Grey" for your e-reader, you are not alone -- not by a long shot. E.L. James' sexy novel about innocent college student Anastasia Steele and her... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-01-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Surprisingly, Apple leads Brazil's ebook sales, but by 2014 Amazon should dominate, with Kobo, Google, Saraiva and others behind. We explain why. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-01-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A free ebook of our best work just in time for the holidays. Makes a great gift for wordy nerds! And much cheaper than a Battlestar Galactica box set. Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2012-12-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nielsen is linking up with consumer insight company Kantar Worldpanel in an association that will... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At the heart of the debate between publishers and libraries over ebook pricing and lending is a simple question: do libraries increase book sales or cannibalize them? Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-12-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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