While IPG remains in what could be a long-standing contractual disagreement with Amazon over wholesale terms for their clients–and their approximately 4,500 ebooks remain unavailable for sale on Kindle–two other independent distributors of scale did both come to terms with Amazon in the past week or so. Both the Perseus Books Group and National Book Network (NBN) reported to their respective clients on the new terms arrived for ebooks. Those new contracts were some time in the making; one of the two told clients they “entered into negotiations with Amazon in October of last year and have only just concluded […]
Archives for February 2012
Random House Films Branches Out Beyond Focus Features
In further updates, the Hollywood Reporter ran a story last week on recent activity by Random House Films (as well as Macmillan’s movie development team) which left us confused about the direction of the RH unit. Since it was founded in 2005, Random House Films has focused on developing, co-financing and co-producing movies based on books in partnership with Focus Features. While the enterprise has yet to achieve the “substantial slate of feature films” envisioned at the outset, Random House spokesman Stuart Applebaum says the venture “continues ever-forward under its founding leader and president, Peter Gethers.” So far the only […]
Corporate: Open Road to Distribute Through Ingram
Open Road, which has been working with Ingram to make some of their print-on-demand editions available on the Espresso book machine, has struck a larger relationship in which Lightning Source will manufacture their titles available for POD and Ingram Publisher Services will sell and distribute those books, starting in March. Open Road has print rights to their line of ebook originals (roughly 15 to 20 titles a year), as well as a small number of previously out-of-print titles. The new relationship will start with about 20 books.
Google to Restore Indie Affiliates After Mistaken Notice
Google eBooks recently notified some of their affiliates that their relationship was being terminated. Shortly thereafter, Google told some of those affiliates–mainly independent booksellers, including some ABA members who do not use the Indie Commerce service–that they were removed erroneously from the program and would be reinstated. A Google spokesperson told us Tuesday, “We did not intend to deactivate independent booksellers from the Google eBooks affiliate program and are working to reinstate those who were mistakenly notified. We apologize for any inconvenience.” People can ask to participate by e-mailing ebooks-affiliates@google.com. Google had opened the program to “retailers, bloggers, book publishers and other […]
Even with eBooks, New Title Count In UK Falls
In the UK, ISBN agency Nielsen says that new titles published during 2011 declined slightly from the previous year, totaling 149,800 books. Of those 35,000 were ebooks (or online resources), 28,000 were hardcovers, and 71,000 were paperbacks. The Nielsen UK figures have not reflected the same explosion in ISBN-carrying content as the US, where “POD farms” and self-publishers have accounted for many hundreds of thousands of units. Nor does the Nielsen data–or even Bowker’s US data–tabulate the increasing number of self-published ebooks that carry only proprietary store identifiers (like Amazon’s ASIN) rather than receiving registered ISBNs.
People, Etc.
A Public Space editor Brigid Hughes will join Graywolf Press as contributing editor as part of a new collaborative venture between the literary magazine and the publishing house. Graywolf plans to publish two A Public Space books per year, to be chosen and edited by Hughes, with “A Public Space Book” printed on the back cover and in the interior. The inaugural book will be selected in the coming months. “The collaboration is a natural extension of our work with writers in A Public Space—it will be wonderful to stay involved in a piece that starts in our pages as […]