As promised, Pottermore has placed on sale French, Italian, Spanish and German editions of the Harry Potter ebooks. Former book-to-film agent Nick Harris, who left ICM recently, is starting a new company with funding from his brother-in-law Jason Traub. In the vein of Alloy Entertainment and Full Fathom Five, The Story Foundation will create books in the packager model–saying they will split proceeds 50/50 “most of the time” with authors–and aims to develop those books as film/TV projects and for “other multi-platform opportunities.” Harris tells Deadline he is already worked on five projects, based on his own ideas. “After parting […]
Direct publishing
People, Etc.
Patrick Nolan has been promoted to vp, editor-in-chief and associate publisher at Penguin Books, reporting to Kathryn Court. He fills the position being vacated by Stephen Morrison when he joins Picador. Nolan has spent the past 12 years as director of trade paperback sales, and in his new role Nolan will be responsible for overseeing the editorial direction and shape of the Penguin Books list. “Patrick has been a big part of Penguin’s success over the last decade, and I very much look forward to working with him in his new role,” Court said in a statement. Ryan Chapman will […]
Sourcebooks Starts Romance eBook Club
Sourcebooks launches their latest experiment today, a subscription plan for romance readers the company is positioning as an ebook club and community. Discover A New Love offers subscribers one of four featured romance titles a month, at $9.99 for a six-month plan (so about $1.67 per book). Members can purchase additional titles at discount, and some club selections are available a month before general release. While the initial hook is value, Sourcebooks sees the long-term appeal as discovery and community. Editorial manager Deb Werksman says in the announcement, “Readers have a hard time figuring out what they should try next. […]
Early Results from Pottermore, Or Less
Pottermore executive Charlie Redmayne told Radio Litopia that in the first three days after launching on March 27, JK Rowling’s web site sold over £1 million worth of ebooks. And he proclaimed, as you would expect according to script, that initial sales were higher than expectations. “We had budgeted for a much lower figure,” Redmayne insists, noting that sales have softened since the splash debut. “It is still running at a much higher rate than I was anticipating, even for the launch. It is still surpassing anything I’ve ever seen for e-book sales.” Given the years of pent-up demand and […]
David Frum to Release A Novel, with Agency WME As His Publisher
The end of this month will see the release of political commentator (and contributor to Newsweek/Daily Beast and CNN) David Frum’s first novel, a timely political satire called PATRIOTS (which opens as America’s first black president has just lost re-election). It’s arguably the first original publication from literary agency William Morris Endeavor’s epublishing brand 212 Books. (The agency also helped facilitate client James Frey’s direct ebook release of James Frey’s The Final Testament of the Holy Bible.) The Huffington Post has serialization rights and will start posting chapters of the book beginning the week of April 23 (prior to the […]
Harry Potter eBooks Finally For Sale, With Major Retailers – Including Amazon – Acting As Third Party Services Distributors
After many delays and unexpected hiccups, digital editions of JK Rowling’s entire Harry Potter series are available for sale from Pottermore. The first three books in the series are priced at $7.99 (£4.99 in the UK) and the final four books are $9.99 (or £6.99.) Digital audiobooks are also available, narrated by Stephen Fry (in the UK) and Jim Dale (in the US), priced at $29.99 (or £17.99) for the first three and £17.99 (or £32.99). The ebook editions are available in ePub format to load on a wide range of compatible devices, and so far Pottermore has partnered with […]