At Verso Digital’s survey presentation earlier this week, they also shared new results on ebook use. They found that 6.8 percent of respondents (bearing in mind this that is an online-only survey, so may not reach the less technically-inclined) already own an ereading device, and a significant 24 percent are somewhat likely or very likely to buy one in the next six to twelve months. In terms of who already owns devices, they say that ebook buyers fit their profile of “avid readers,” with 25 percent expecting to buy 10 or more ebooks in the next year, and another 14 […]
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Book News: Auel Date, Larsson Strong Out the Gate
Knopf spokesman Paul Bogaards indicates that the third and final book in Stieg Larsson’s bestselling trilogy, THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST, had estimated first-day unit sales (in print and digital combined) in excess of 250,000 units. Two reprints just ordered will bring them up to 900,000 copies in print, as Bogaards celebrates that “we finally have a book that is driving traffic into stores…. The hope is that Larsson will prompt other sales, especially as the summer lists from publishers across the board look very strong – with standout work coming from Justin Cronin, Bret Easton Ellis, Samantha […]
The Content and The Buzz Gives Over to the Crowds and the Celebs
As often happens at these conventions, popular culture quickly takes over from literature. The BEA’s official slogan has been trumped by last night’s appearance of the design-enthusiastic Barbra Streisand and this morning’s children’s breakfast featuring the center of the tabloid story of the moment, Sarah Ferguson. You can add to that an astounding long line down the middle of the show floor to meet singer/actor-now author Rick Springfield, who was warmly embracing fans and posing for pictures. (Ironically, far fewer attendees showed up to hear Springfield speak at his Author Stages session earlier in the day.) The crowds are here […]
Sarah Ferguson Learns Forgiveness
Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, made oblique reference to her recent troubles over offering to sell access to her ex-husband Prince Andrew in self-deprecating remarks at the Children’s Authors Breakfast at this morning’s BEA. “It took me a while to get to the Javits Center this morning, as you might imagine,” she told the crowd of children’s and YA booksellers, publishers, and writers. “There were a lot of people blocking my way.” A phalanx of reporters and photographers filled the back of the room, lenses trained on the Duchess, who was the long-scheduled emcee of the event and also has […]
BEA: Doing (or Not Doing) Social Media, and 7x20x21
Welcome to the tape-delayed coverage of BEA (for those who love NBC’s television coverage of the Olympics, for example) instead of the second-by-second hashtag-heavy stream you’ve come to expect and love. Perhaps I should attribute my tardiness to the general confusion about whether the show floor was open yesterday, or the open bar on tap just outside of the 7x20x21 panel. Or to my annual amnesia about technological frustrations. None of that matters. On to the reports. The audience for the social media panel – aka where Gutenberg meets Zuckerberg – was chock full of publicity and marketing types, but […]
Streisand Plays BEA
Barbra Streisand got a standing ovation just for showing up at the BEA keynote session, before an appreciative audience glad to be in her presence. She made it clear that she brings the same exacting sense to her passion for design–and for the book creation process–that she brings to all of her other artistic endeavors. Unfortunately for Viking, that means she’s continuing to revise the book on a regular basis. “I will be changing it until they rip it out of my hands,” she said, and it sounded like she meant it. (We’re mindful that last year’s celebrity speaker in […]