Yesterday’s PublishingPoint conversation Simon & Schuster CEO Carolyn Reidy’s conversation with Google Book Rights Registry CEO Michael Healy could not have been timed any better, though the news that emerged had less to do with the Google Book Settlement — and the now unclear future of the Rights Registry — and more with the original intent of the event, on S&S’s plan for existing and future digital initiatives. Reidy did comment briefly about the GBS rejection, saying she was disappointed, but the news wasn’t too surprising” and that she hopes it is “another way station along the way to a […]
Apps/iOS
More eNews: Amazon Appstore is Live as They Put Kibosh on Lendle
The aforementioned Android Appstore that has Apple launching legal action against Amazon is now live. What’s being touted is the exclusive Android edition of Angry Birds Rio, but the books and comics section also features a variety of free and paid apps from Oceanhouse Media and WattPad. Appstore Ebook lending library company Lendle found itself in Amazon’s crosshairs yesterday, as the service, built on top of Amazon’s Kindle lending feature, was shut down on the grounds that it did not “serve the principal purpose of driving sales of products and services on the Amazon site.” So far the shutdown appears […]
iPad 2 Ships March 11 in US; Random House’s 17K Titles In iBookstore
The slimmer, thinner, camera-laden iPad 2 was unveiled yesterday with typical Apple fanfare, releasing March 11 in the US and March 25 in 25 other countries. The surprise was the appearance of Steve Jobs who presented expected news: now that Random House has adopted the agency model, their full electronic list of 17,000 is available through the iBookstore in the US. (Random House Canada indicated that they will not be joining the iBookstore for now, as their “digital terms of sale remain unchanged at this time.”) Apple bragged that over 100 million e-books have been downloaded–not sold–worldwide since the iBookstore’s […]
TOC and Beyond: Atwood Defends Authors’ Cheese, and More
At this morning’s TOC conference Margaret Atwood showed how a great writer can craft an entertaining speech and even a swell powerpoint better than most technologists. Her theme was “who is going to pay for the cheese sandwiches on which authors are known to subsist?” in this new digital age. While she didn’t have grand answers to offer, she did come armed with charming illustrations and a delightful delivery. “I love the enthusiasm for new things. Forgive me for not being quite as hopped about it all as some people may be,” Atwood began. “We’ve heard a lot about change. […]
Briefs: O’Hagan To Ghostwrite Assange Memoir; British Bookshops Releases Creditor List; and More
Scottish literary novelist Andrew O’Hagan is reportedly ghost-writing Julian Assange‘s memoir, which will be published in April.The Guardian British Bookshops and Stationers owes £6.3m to its unsecured creditors on £2.2m in assets, according to a company filing. Hachette’s Bookpoint and Littlehampton Book Services distribution companies are owed £440,053 and £644,747 respectively, while Random House’s distribution company The Book Service is owed £443,317 and both Macmillan Distribution and HarperCollins are due around £500,000.The Bookseller Buffalo Street Books in Ithaca, NY will close at the end of March after more than 35 years in business.The Ithaca Journal Sourcebooks’ Fiske College Guide is […]
Apple Rejects Sony’s Reader App
Here is the actual news: a year late to the game, Sony finally developed a Reader app for the iOS platform, and that app has been rejected by Apple. On their web site, Sony says “with little notice, Apple changed the way it enforces its rules…. We opened a dialog with Apple to see if we can come up with an equitable resolution but reached an impasse at this time. We’re exploring other avenues to bring the Reader experience to Apple mobile devices.” Sony’s Steve Haber gave the NYT the impression that “Apple told Sony that from now on, all […]