Starbucks is one of those companies the media loves to over-cover (consider, say, free wifi at the coffee shops, versus free wifi at McDonald’s) and today they announced yet another complicated promotional entertainment offering. Traditionally these initiatives are great for free media, and then tend to fizzle away after a couple of pops. (The roster includes: their dedicated book picks; CD racks; Oprah book club sales; their music label; Starbucks Entertainment; their film adventures; their audiobook promotion; and so on.)The announcement introduces the Starbucks Digital Network–kind of AOL from the early 90s, reinvented for today in partnership with Yahoo, providing […]
Archives for October 2010
Bookselling Briefs: Nook News x3; Stylish Reading Glasses; and Bicycle Delivery
In Barnes & Noble news, the company launched their promised NookStudy platform (which makes rich textbooks available via computers); promised that a November 1.5 version of their Nook reader operating software will “dramatically increase” page-turning speed, improve syncing of books across devices, add customized library organization and more; and invited tech media to a “very special” October 26 event, raising speculation about a new Nook device on the way. Not to be left out, Borders will add “fashion-forward, stylish” reading glasses from ICU Eyewear to their merchandise mix. (Reading glasses were a topic during the Q&A session at Barnes & […]
Two New Audiobook Players Launch
LibiriVox founder Hugh McGuire has launched Iambik Audio, starting today with a list of 11 literary fiction audiobooks from independent presses in the US and Canada, including works from Gordon Lish and Lydia Millet. They sell at “reasonable prices”–from five to ten dollars–with no DRM, so that the files can play on any device. The company is selling directly from their site now and finalizing distribution agreements with partners such as Audible, Overdrive and eMusic. The company’s FAQ indicates they “work almost exclusively on a revenue-share basis, with narrators, publishers/authors, and iambik all sharing in successful audiobooks.” McGuire explains their […]
People, Distribution, Awards, A Party, Etc.
At F+W Media, Kate Rados has been promoted to group marketing director, and both Rados and Kathleen Blackwelder are joining the company’s executive committee. Merriam-Webster has hired Caryl Schivley as vp, chief financial officer/chief administrative officer. She was previously vp, finance for Atlas Copco Construction Tools. The new Danish Hans Christian Andersen literature prize, worth almost $100,000, has gone to JK Rowling. Given to “a writer whose work can be compared to that of Andersen,” it should not be confused with the established Hans Christian Andersen medal, which is often pitched as the Nobel for children’s books.Guardian The AAP’s Young […]
Apple Sells Another 4.2 Million iPads, But Analysts Are Confused
Apple reported fourth quarter sales, through September 25, recording record revenue (over $20 billion) and profit (over $4 billion). They sold 4.19 million iPads in the quarter–ahead of the 3.27 million units sold in the previous quarter (when it was on sale for 84 days, or about a week less than the full reporting period). That’s nearly 7.5 million iPads so far with the big holiday quarter still ahead, putting them on track for over 12.5 million units in 2010. Also significant is that iPad sales were greater than sales for the entire line of Macintosh computers, which also hit […]
CIA Sues Former Undercover Agent for Publishing In Breach of Secrecy Agreement
Bill Gertz at the Washington Times reports that the CIA has filed a breach of contract lawsuit against the pseudonymous author Ishmael Jones over publication of his 2008 book THE HUMAN FACTOR: Inside the CIA’s Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture (Encounter Books). The agency alleges that Jones, a former deep-cover agent working in the Middle East and Europe, puyblished “a book without the agency’s permission and in violation of his secrecy agreement.” Jones say that, rather than reviewing the book and suggesting changes, the agency essentially wanted none of it published. The paper says the suit was filed in an Eastern Virginia […]