After months on the block, with a number of bidders dropping out and an asking price that nobody wanted to meet, RCS is officially selling French publisher Flammarion to Gallimard — the front-runner all along — for 251 million Euros, nearly 50 million below that original asking price. Reuters reports that RCS will receive about 230 million from the sale, and will post a consolidated gain of 88 million euros. The deal is expected to close in September. A number of publishers met with the European Commission in Brussels Tuesday to call for the streamlining of taxes on ebook purchases […]
Features/Offers
Kobo Formally Announces Self-Publishing Portal “Writing Life”
As promised over the past six months or so, Kobo has finally entered the self-publishing realm with Writing Life, which the company formally announced Tuesday morning. As with similar direct-publishing programs offered by other ebookstore platforms, Writing Life will be free to use, and Kobo claims the service will offer “10 percent higher royalties on sales in many growing international markets and allows authors much more freedom on pricing.” They also will allow authors to give their ebooks away for free “at any time without restrictive exclusive agreements,” and they make clear on their site that they do not seek […]
Amazon Is Awarded Patent from 2008 Covering Digital Gifts
Amazon continues to display their prowess in acquiring patents for digital business processes. Back in 2008 the company thought to apply for protection for a method of giving digital presents–including ebooks, along with other digital entertainment products. As GeekWire reports, that patent was officially granted this Tuesday. The site notes that the original patent includes the possibility that a gift-giver could forestall payment until the recipient has actually claimed their digital gift though as a matter of practice, customers currently pay for Kindle gifts on purchase.
eNews: Hachette Testing Pilot Library eBook Programs with Two Distributors; The Atavist Will Launch Free Content Tool; and More
Hachette is set to test pilot ebook library programs with two unnamed distributors sometime this spring, according to the ALA, which met with the publisher last week. Hachette discontinued the sale of new ebooks to libraries back in April 2010 (though backlist titles remained on offer) and the ALA believes “these pilot programs will help HBG learn more about library patrons’ interests, usage, and expectations, and help the publisher devise the best strategy to reach the widest audience of ebook readers in libraries.” The Atavist will produce a free version of its online content platform this summer, the NYT reports, […]
Kindle Owners’ Lending Library Gets “Exclusive” License to Lend All Seven Harry Potter eBooks
After teasing customers on its website yesterday that Harry Potter “Wizardry was on the Way,” Amazon announced Wednesday morning that all seven Harry Potter ebooks by J.K. Rowling will be available in the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library as part of an “exclusive” license, starting June 19. Amazon tells PL the license runs “until at least 2014” and says the exclusivity means “this is the only licensing agreement of its kind for any retailer.”The French, Italian, German and Spanish editions will all be available for borrowing in KOLL. “We’re absolutely delighted to have reached this agreement with Pottermore. This is the […]
eNews: Target Confirms Kindle Removal; Coehlo’s 99-Cent Backlist Promotion; Bundled Nooks With HMH Textbooks; and More
Target confirmed on Wednesday the report we mentioned in Wednesday’s issue indicating that that 1,800-store chain will stop carrying Kindle devices. Company executives wrote to vendors in January to protest moves such as Amazon’s price check app: “What we aren’t willing to do is let online-only retailers use our brick-and-mortar stores as a showroom for their products and undercut our prices.” Target was first big mass merchant to start stocking Kindle products in 2010. Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Staples are among the big retail chains that still sell Kindle products in their stores. Earlier this week Paulo Coehlo announced on […]