Later in the morning television host and author of the just-released Get Rich Carefully Jim Cramer provided an investment view of publishing and the larger media landscape. Extending the morning’s discussion, he said, “I simply don’t know how to stop Amazon. It’s not constrained by the need to make money. It’s modern art. It’s Jackson Pollock. It can’t be explained. It’s a Rothko, and everyone else is Rembrandt — and everyone else is worth a lot less.” At the same time, Cramer noted, “it is the best multi-year growth story out there.” Ironically, because the share price is fueled by […]
Book Fairs
The “Bezosologists” At DBW
Bloomberg BusinessWeek reporter and author of The Everything Store Brad Stone opened Wednesday morning’s Digital Book World sessions focused on Amazon. “In a way, this is a room full of Bezosologists; we all have to be.” Stone spoke in particular to the company’s vast ambition and persistence: “The one constant is Amazon’s 20-year history is that it does not give up…and can be fairly ruthless and self-absorbed in how it constantly tries to disrupt the existing order.” He referred to “the notorious one-star review of my book that was heard round the world,” in which “MacKenzie Bezos took issue with […]
How Startups and Publishers Can Work With Each Other
One prominent topic at Digital Book World Tuesday was the relationship between startups and publishers, and how both sides can best work together. (As a case in point, Ingram Ventures announced an investment in social ebook retail startup Librify — after first meeting them at DBW a year ago.) In the morning, Mike Shatzkin presented the results of the DBW Startup Survey, with respondents from 43 startups and 25 book publishers from 8 companies. 74 percent of startups “considered themselves disruptive” to publishers — which is an inherent conflict — and said that the toughest challenges they face with our industry […]
Kids Books Matter More In Print and In Store, As Teens Warm Up to eBooks — and Lose Interest In Reading
The third-annual Launch Kids conference kicked off Monday morning with a block of data presentations from Nielsen, ReaderLink, the Insight Strategy Group, and PlayCollective, painting a comprehensive picture of both the commercial marketplace for children’s print and ebooks as well as insights into how children use digital media. Nielsen president Jonathan Nowell and director Jo Henry underscored key trends as measured by the company’s combined data streams, following last fall’s acquisition of Bowker’s business intelligence and commerce solutions. (For clarity below, Nielsen Bookscan is the actual point-of-sale data collected from physical and online stores. The “surveys” are the former Bowker products, […]
The Week Ahead
The big week of Digital Book World events starts on Monday (as will our coverage) — which means you have until Sunday night to pre-enroll and avoid higher on-site prices. Our 10 percent discount on individual DBW and “total access pass” tickets is still valid, and it remains the best deal available, so use this link/code if you like to save money. We’ve already broken records on every front and are looking forward to a great program, an amazing roster of well over 100 speakers and moderators, and a rich crowd from across the industry and around the world (just […]
National Book Festival Leaves Mall for Washington Convention Center
The National Book Festival will leave the Mall after 12 years as an outdoor festival and relocate indoors to the Washington Convention Center. As part of the move, first indicated at last September’s event after complaints from the National Park Service over damage to the grass on the Mall, the two-day event will take place over a single day, with additional evening events, and new features that were not allowed previously, such as a possible cooking demonstration area. The Park Service’s deputy superintendent for planning at the National Mall and Memorial Parks Stephen Lorenzetti told the Washington Post: “There are new […]