Further to yesterday’s story on Samsung tablet’s and their Kobo-powered reader app and store, the company will release the device in Italy first and then in other parts of Europe in an agreement with Vodafone. A US release is still expected for this fall, after the company lines up a cellphone carrier. Executive Hankil Yoon says in an interview with the WSH that they expect to ship 10 million units worldwide next year. WSJ
Archives for September 2010
People
Kobo has hired Marina Glogovac as chief marketing officer. She is the former ceo of online dating service Lavalife. Denise Little will join the Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency this month. She was formerly executive editor at Tekno Books, head of Kensington”s Denise Little Presents imprint, and a buyer for Barnes & Noble. She will represent romance, paranormal, mystery, thriller, science-fiction/fantasy, non-fiction, Christian books, and horror. Eric Mullett has moved over to marketing director at Thomas Nelson Fiction (he was running marketing for their gift book division), and Katie Bond has been promoted to publicity manager. Heather Cadenhead has been hired […]
Oprah Will Resume Book Club On September 17–And No, It’s Not FREEDOM
Just under a year after selecting Uwem Akpan’s SAY YOU’RE ONE OF THEM, Oprah Winfrey is ready to pick another book for her audience to read. Newtonville Books blogged that they were notified by a Macmillan sales rep of the impending announcement, to air on September 17, when the Oprah-stickered edition will release. The selection is hardcover with a list price of $28 (confirmed by online bookselling sites, which also list the title for blind pre-order). Amazon is not taking blind pre-orders for a Kindle edition though–at least not yet. There was some speculation online that it could be Jonathan […]
Sony Releases Like Its 2009
As long-expected, Sony finally released the new versions of their Readers. The prices remain surprisingly high and out of step with the market, ranging from $179 for the Touch Edition up to $299 for the Daily Edition (which is the only model in the line with any wireless connectivity.) The company also finally acknowledged their lack of reading apps for mobile platforms and said they will release iOS and Android apps soon. They eliminated their unsuccessful touchscreen technology in favor of a new infrared optical touchscreen that is already receiving good reviews, now featured on all of the Sony models. […]
Blair’s Book JOURNEY Begins
Tony Blair garners considerable coverage on both sides of the Atlantic following the release today of A JOURNEY: My Political Life. The book is expected to rank as the bestselling UK political memoir ever. Released at the steep fake list price 25 pounds, the press is yet again surprised that the book is already deeply discounted. (Blooomberg has an amusing typo, listing the 720-page book as weighing 25 pounds.) As promised, the book offers the closest thing to candor you can expect from a former leader, as he admits to deep emotions over the UK’s participation in the Iraq war […]
Meghan McCain’s Memoir Also Lands
The other political memoir attracting attention this week is Meghan McCain’s just-released Dirty Sexy Politics. Stories focus on her GMA appearance rather than the text of the book itself, where she was queried about her comments on Sarah Palin, whom she apparently calls The Time Bomb. George Stephanopoulos said “you write that she brought, quote, ‘drama, stress, panic and loads of uncertainty.'” He also paraphrased: “You said there are a lot of things you like about Sarah Palin, but you also point out that she snubbed your mom’s efforts to reach out to the Palins, that she wasn’t much of […]