After 15 years at Random House and Crown, current vp, digital and marketing strategy as well as publisher, Crown Group digital Philip Patrick is “stepping down” and leaving the company at the end of the year. President Maya Mavjee writes that “Philip and I have had ongoing discussions about how best to grow and shape our rapidly emerging digital business. After much reflection and evaluation, we have agreed that, for a division as broad and wide-ranging as Crown, the most effective way to serve our authors is for each of our individual publishers to manage and oversee digital product development […]
Archives for December 2010
Seth Godin Creates New Publisher, “Powered by Amazon”
In August author/marketing guru/entrepreneur Seth Godin announced on his popular blog that he would no longer “publish in a traditional way.” The basis thesis was that, now that Godin is in direct and meaningful contact with his core readership, “adding layers or faux scarcity doesn’t help me or you.” That post inspired ideas in multiple quarters, including at Amazon.com–which has worked with Godin on a variety of promotional initiatives over the course of his career. They crafted a new suite of services that is being called “Powered by Amazon,” which the release says “enables authors to use Amazon’s global distribution, […]
Barnes & Noble Launches Monthly Inexpensive “Spotlight” Nook Books
And in this corner, Barnes & Noble has their own new approach to low-priced ebooks they hope to promote and spread. Their “Spotlight” program will offer a new title every month from the “author of a popular or breakout series” sold “at irresistible prices” to help “can discover new authors and dive into an exciting series for a wallet-friendly price.” The program, run by editorial director of digital content Liz Scheier, begins this month with Faye Kellerman’s THE RITUAL BATH, the first book in her Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus’ series, selling for 99 cents. Featured books have their own […]
Scholastic Names Trends in Children’s Books for 2010
Drawing on their experience distributing books from all children’s publishers through their school book clubs and book fairs, Scholastic’s editors created a list of ten trends from the year in children’s books. President of Scholastic Book Clubs Judy Newman remarks in the release, “We’ve seen some exciting innovation in children’s publishing in 2010, including new formats and platforms for storytelling that are helping more and more kids become book lovers. At the same time, we’re seeing a rejuvenation of some classic genres, which I think is evidence of the timeless power that stories and characters have on the lives of […]
Amazon’s Goolge-Esque Web eBooks and Affiliate Referral Fees Announced for “The Coming Months”
Amazon’s other announcement of note, previewed in yesterday’s Lunch and presented in full at the Google Chrome OS event yesterday in San Francisco, was indeed a planned expansion of their Kindle for Web platform. The currently-available Kindle for Web beta only shows sample chapters, but Amazon intends to have KFW take advantage of HTML5 to provide browser-based access to full Kindle ebooks–just like Google eBooks. They’ve announced it on the heels of the debut of Google eBooks, but for now are only saying that the new service “will be available in the coming months.” (The piece in Computerworld had one […]
More Best of 2010 Lists
A distinguished judges panel has selected their top 10 illustrated children’s books of the year for the NYT Book Review: HERE COMES THE GARBAGE BARGE!, by Jonah Winter; illustrated by Red Nose StudioCHILDREN MAKE TERRIBLE PETS, written and illustrated by Peter Brown.SEASONS, written and illustrated by BlexbolexSHADOW, by Suzy Lee.BUSING BREWSTER, by Richard Michelson; illustrated by R. G. RothBIG RED LOLLIPOP, by Rukhsana Khan; illustrated by Sophie BlackallHENRY IN LOVE, written and illustrated by Peter McCartyA SICK DAY FOR AMOS McGEE, by Philip C. Stead; illustrated by Erin E. SteadSUBWAY, written and illustrated by Christoph NiemannBINK & GOLLIE, by Kate […]