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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E-book sales increased by 11% at Informa's publishing business Taylor & Francis and now... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When the Independent Publishers Group couldn't come to terms with Amazon, the bookselling giant took 5,000 IPG titles out of their Kindle ebook store. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-02-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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UK publishers have expressed concern Amazon’s use of “power” to remove the e-... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hodder & Stoughton will publish an original audio digital short story by bestselling author... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A story told through the texts of two lovers is up against tales written by bestselling authors... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-book enquiries from schools have gone "through the roof", according to library... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-book enquiries from schools have gone "through the roof", according to library... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Alex Ingram, Waterstones' ebook and development buyer, is leaving the company on 16th March... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin drops over-the-air downloads; now only Random House gives libraries unrestricted access to purchase and loan ebooks. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2012-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Wiley imprint For Dummies is publishing a 99p mini ebook, The Euro Crisis for Dummies by Julian... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book supplier Browns Books for Students is to launch an ebook platform especially for schools... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Random House has released the first direct-to-digital fiction title by bestselling author Katie... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Print sales are in retreat in almost all markets across the world tracked by Nielsen BookScan,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon.co.uk increased Kindle ebook sales by five times in its fourth quarter but its parent... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Toshiba, which will launch its first dedicated digital reader on 10th February, is aiming to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Quercus has reported that sales of its non-Larsson books increased by 83% over the last quarter... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Canongate is to publish the complete short stories of Lanark author Alasdair Gray, after... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author of The Time Traveller’s Wife Audrey Niffenegger is to write a short story for... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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That's a dramatic change from just a few months ago and, perhaps not coincidentally, before new Nooks and Kindles lowered price of entry for both categories. Between December and January, the number of Americans owning one of the devices rose to 29 percent from 18 percent. During the same time... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2012-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Matt Hamblen's recent article on ebook borrowing illustrates the difficulties libraries are facing in the digital age. It's too bad, because libraries are an important resource. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2012-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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