An LA Superior Court judge has dismissed the fraud portion of Dennis Kucinich’s lawsuit against Phoenix Books over the publication of his 2007 book THE COURAGE TO SURVIVE. Kucinich’s attorney says it was because the alleged to have made the fraudulent representations, company president Michael Viner, has filed for bankruptcy, which exempts him from the fraud action. Kucinich’s claim of breach of contract against the company goes forward. Attorney Stanley Leiber says, “We requested and demanded that they give us an accounting of all books sold. They have never done that. That is part of their obligation.” General counsel for […]
Geddes Switches to Distribution Model
Photographer Anne Geddes and her company the Geddes Group will publish their own books as of 2010, with Perseus Distribution handling sales and distribution. Geddes has been published in North America by Andrews McMeel.
Bookselling: With Building Sold, Kate's Mystery Books to Close
The owner of Kate’s Mystery Books in Cambridge, MA has “finally” sold the building in which the store operates and will close the operation on August 1. But Kate Mattes writes: “I won’t actually disappear. We will be having author events at different venues and of course we will have the annual holiday party so there will be opportunities for the mystery community to get together.”Live Journal post
Amazon Offers Free Replacement for Cracked Kindles; Closing In on UK-indle?
Amazon spokesman Andrew Herdener tells us, while the company will not comment on active litigation, “we encourage anyone who has an issue with the cover attachment mechanism to return the cover and device for a free replacement so we can investigate further.” Separately, yesterday UK trade publication Mobile Today claimed Amazon is in “advanced negotiations with a mobile operator” in the UK, aiming for a pre-Christmas launch of Kindle in that market. MT says the UK version will be made and handled by Qualcomm, and will add wifi connectivity along with the cellular connection. But “the online retailer is known […]
Dems Want to Give Students 400k Kindles; WSJ Survey Student Doubts on eTextbooks
The Democratic Leadership Council has taken California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’ move to eventually save money on education spending by spurring open-source textbooks a few steps further. In a report called “A Kindle in Every Backpack” they present an oddly ambitious “proposal for etextbooks in American schools.” (It’s also odd that they chose to endorse a particular brand of ereader in their title….) Saying “the Kindle in every backpack isn’t just an educational gimmick–it could improve education quality and save money,” the organization recommends a three-step initiative that begins with “a set of pilot programs in the first year” that gives […]
Kindle Owner Files Suit Against Amazon Saying Cover Cracks Kindles; Seeks Class Action Status
Matthew Geise filed suit against Amazon in a Seattle US District Court yesterday seeking class action status for Kindle 2 and SuperKindle owners with devices “installed in a Kindle Cover designed by Amazon.” The suit alleges that “Internet complaint board and product review sites contain scores, if not hundreds, of complaints from Kindle owners whose Kindles have been damaged by the Kindle Covers.” Users report that the cover cause cracks or “bulges” on the side of the Kindle “at or near where the Kindle Cover attaches to the Kindle,” and indicate that the cracks eventually get big enough that the […]