Maryland’s new vague Digital Content Law, compelling publishers to license digital books and audiobooks “on reasonable terms that would enable public libraries to provide library users with access to the electronic literary product,” is considered by publishers to be blatantly unconstitutional. But it has yet to be challenged in court, so the Maryland Library Association […]
Archives for July 2021
Obituary: Roberto Calasso, 80
Author and longtime leader of Italian publisher Adelphi, Roberto Calasso, 80, died on Wednesday following a long illness. In 2015 he bought back Rizzoli’s majority share in Adelphi, where he worked for almost 60 years, to prevent its sale to Mondadori. Rival publishing house Feltrinelli said, “Roberto Calasso has been and will continue to be […]
Pearson Recovers A Bit, Launches Textbook Subscription
Pearson announced six-month results for the period ended June 30, with sales of £1.597 billion, up £105 million or 7 percent from last year’s pandemic low. But those sales are still low compared to the £1.83 billion recorded in the same period in 2019. Global Online Learning was up 25 percent, “driven by strong growth […]
Earlier Kindle Models Will Get Bricked As Carriers Drop Older Networks
Cellphone carriers are sunsetting their 2G and 3G (and CDMA) networks, which means that a number of older Kindle ereaders will lose their cellphone connectivity. The earliest models will lose their internet connectivity entirely as a result. A number of other models, “from the third-gen Kindle Keyboard all the way to the 8th-gen Kindle Oasis,” […]
Bookselling: Another Barnes & Noble Swaps Locations
Barnes & Noble will close their Cincinnati-area store in the Waterstone Center on August 22, and expects to open a new location at Deerfield Towne Center in Mason, OH in November. A similar swap was announced recently in the Chicago area, with the West Dundee location closing, and a new store in Algonquin Commons expected […]
Harper UK Settles One Suit Over “Putin’s People”
While a London High Court is still hearing testimony on Roman Abramovich’s lawsuit alleging defamation in Catherine Belton’s book from Harper UK, PUTIN’S PEOPLE: How the KGB Took Back Russia and then Took on the West, another suit involving the same book has been settled. In the case brought by Russian businessman Mikhail Fridman and […]