ABA ceo Oren Teicher uses one of his periodic letters to members to underscore the work the organization is doing in conjunction with publishers to test new business models: “It’s imperative that both booksellers and publishers demonstrate a clear commitment to taking out a clean sheet of paper and asking ourselves: If we were to design business models that would give our industry the best possible opportunities for success today, what would they look like?” The organization has been “asking publishers to individually identify and test their own innovative ideas that might eventually benefit all stakeholders in our industry.” While […]
Archives for October 2011
Where the eBookstores Are
With two international announcements this week and more a possibility at next week’s Frankfurt Book Fair, we’ve prepared a recap of recent international expansions of the big ebookstore platforms: Amazon launched their first non-English Kindle store in Germany in April. As part of their international expansion, the company added a general Amazon store in Spain last month (and they opened a general store in Italy in November 2010). Kindle stores are expected soon in both Spain and Italy, where advertisements have been seen for Kindle positions. Among other countries on Amazon’s horizon, Brazilian publishers have reported discussions for both a […]
Isaacson Recalls First and Last Jobs Meetings
Walter Isaacson has a short essay at Time.com about the genesis of his Steve Jobs biography. Key portions are at this open link at Poynter. Jobs called Isaacson in the summer of 2004 to arrange a meeting in Aspen: “It turned out that he wanted me to write a biography of him…. Because I assumed that he was still in the middle of an oscillating career that had many more ups and downs left, I demurred. Not now, I said. Maybe in a decade or two, when you retire. But I later realized that he had called me just before […]
Knox Activity
Amanda Knox’s grandmother Elisabeth Huff tells the Telegraph that approaches for book representation and deals began almost immediately: “I had an insane man come to me yesterday to talk to me about book deals. What an insane idea. That is totally crazy, the girl was not even home yet, we didn’t know if she was even going to get out of there. It was after the verdict. He knocked on the door and wanted to discuss book deals and media deals.” For her part, she believes it would be “a good idea” to share some of any potential profit with […]
People, Awards, Etc.
Editor-in-Chief of School Library Journal and publishing group editorial director for Library Journals LLC Brian Kenney is leaving to become director of the White Plains Public Library in New York. The Norman Mailer Center and Writers Colony will honor Elie Wiesel with the Norman Mailer Lifetime Achievement Prize. Their biography award is going to Keith Richards to be presented by President Bill Clinton, and their prize for distinguished writing is going to Arundhati Roy. Add to the list of works by Nobel winner Tomas Transtromer published in the US his The Sorrow Gondola, issued last year by Green Integer (which is distributed by Consortium). They are reprinting […]
Levy Home Entertainment Is Sold
Levy Home Entertainment chair Barbara Levy Kipper and vice chair Jim Levy are retiring from the company and LHE has been sold to an entity run by former Chas. Levy Circulating president and coo Dennis Abboud. He left Levy in 2000 to found Infinity Resources, a marketing and service company he continues to run as ceo. PW says the company will be rebranded within six to nine month as Readerlink Distribution Services. Abbound says in a statement they “will strive to become the ‘reader link’– the essential link between our publishers, our retail partners and their customers. Our new strategy […]