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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Falco creator Lindsey Davis has become the new chair of the Society of Authors, vowing to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin UK is now withholding the supply of its new ebook releases to its library suppliers in... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell, Graeme Neill and Philip Stone Publication Date: Fri, 04/11/2011 - 10:27 W H Smith has fired the starting pistol for festive promotions, with Waterstones, Amazon.co.uk, Blackwell, John Smith and Foyles following hot on their heels as 1st November saw the switch-on of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 04/11/2011 - 11:01 Headline has acquired the next book by Soccer Saturday presenter Jeff Stelling, with the Sky Sports football pundit moving with his editor Jonathan Taylor from HarperSport. Publishing director Taylor bought world... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 03/11/2011 - 09:55 Penguin's ebook sales have more than doubled in the first nine months of 2011, as parent Pearson reported an increase in total sales of 3% and operating profit of 13%. Total sales at Penguin for the nine months to 30th... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 02/11/2011 - 08:23 Ebury has acquired a memoir written by Shane Spall, wife of actor Timothy Spall, describing their journeys on their boat The Princess Matilda, and his battle with acute leukaemia. Publisher Jake Lingwood bought UK,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 01/11/2011 - 09:40 Sales and profit for 2011 have slumped at Edinburgh University Press at the same time the company has reported a 40% rise in year-on-year ebook sales. The Scottish academic publisher has reported an 11.6% fall in sales and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Fri, 28/10/2011 - 08:10 Author Nick Hornby wants to establish a national network of story centres for children, following a successful first year for the Ministry of Stories in Hoxton, London, which Hornby co-founded with Lucy Macnab and Ben Payne.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 28/10/2011 - 10:36 Pan Macmillan has acquired a collection of short stories from bestselling crime and thriller writer Peter James, with publishing director Wayne Brookes buying UK and Commonwealth rights through agent Carole Blake at Blake... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 28/10/2011 - 08:30 Waterstone's is set to publish a print and ebook anthology to celebrate the shortlist for the 2012 Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award. The high street bookseller will publish the titles on 4th March next year, and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new social reading app called Subtext today launches on the iPad with a selection of books laden with annotations from authors and researchers. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-10-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Mon, 24/10/2011 - 08:10 Short Books has produced its first enhanced ebook for the digital version of Birdwatching with your Eyes Closed (3rd November), the new book from Simon Barnes, author of How to be a Bad Birdwatcher. The book explores the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Wed, 12/10/2011 - 13:41 English-language ebooks in non-traditional markets have become big business but publishers need to throw off the shackles of established business models to fully exploit the global marketplace. These were the messages greeting... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Tue, 11/10/2011 - 09:00 Literary agents speaking at Publishers Launch Frankfurt have challenged publishers to approach ebook royalty discussions in a more "knowledgeable" way or face a "reckoning" from the digital revolution. But there are signs of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Mon, 10/10/2011 - 14:49 European publishers are becoming less resistant to the "digitisation tsunami" as local distribution networks are built and publishers await the arrival of global players such as Amazon, Apple and Google in their territories. ... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Mon, 10/10/2011 - 14:15 Agents need to be less conservative" if they are to protect their authors from accusations that their ebooks are over-priced, according to panellists at Publishers Launch Frankfurt this morning (Monday 10th October). read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Paul Rigg Publication Date: Fri, 07/10/2011 - 15:11 The Spanish socialists pledge to reduce ebook VAT (IVA) to 4% has been welcomed by the director of the Spanish ebook platform Libranda. The announcement came from Alfredo Rubalcaba, who is the socialists candidate to become prime... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Thu, 06/10/2011 - 14:17 Google eBooks has launched its e-bookstore in the UK. The store can be found at Google.co.uk/ebooks with frontlist titles including The Fear Index by Robert Harris priced at £9.06 and Kill Alex Cross by James Patterson priced... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Anya Sieg Publication Date: Thu, 06/10/2011 - 17:26 German booksellers Weltbild and Hugendubel have launched their own ebook reader, a week before the Kindle goes onsale in Germany. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Wed, 05/10/2011 - 08:51 Former French culture minister Jacques Toubon has said he has high hopes that France will be able to cut VAT on ebooks from 19.6% to 5.5% next January as planned without triggering the wrath of the European Commission.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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