This press release caught our eye as something a little different. Neal Stephenson and Greg Bear have collaborated on THE MONGOLIAD, a speculative fiction digital work that will allow readers to participate via a “social book platform.” A new chapter is delivered weekly via a variety of apps, and the platform “enables the inclusion of meta-narrative and para-narrative elements such as character sketches, articles, short stories, music, video, and social features for discussions among the book’s community.” Sold by subscription, it costs $5.99 for six months or $9.99 for a year. Stephenson claims, “Kindles and iPads were little better than […]
Archives for September 2010
At Ever-Shrinking Borders, Sales Fall 11.5 Percent On Loss of Over $51 Million
Borders reported second quarter sales of $526 million, down 11.5 percent from a year ago (when sales were down 17.7 percent compared to 2008–when sales were also down.) For a little perspective, sales in this quarter were $617 million in 2009; $749 million in 2008; and $945 million in 2007. The loss from continuing operations (to reflect the sale of Paperchase) was another $51.6 million, or 74 cents a share (perilously close to what shares themselves trade for), worse than $45.1 million a year ago. The operating loss of $37.7 million was also worse than the $25.7 million recorded a […]
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Hachette UK has hired Matthew Cashmore for the new position of digital director, charged with evaluating their digital strategy and finding new online revenue streams. He was innovation and ecosystem manager at Lonely Planet.