A multimedia app version of Al Gore’s 2009 illustrated book OUR CHOICE went on sale today in Apple’s App Store, at an “introductory promotional” and “limited time only” price of $4.99 (compared to $26.99 for the color trade paperback). Produced by Melcher Media and start-up Push Pop Press, with support from Rodale, the app aims to be the proof-of-concept for a new approach to illustrated and enhanced/transmedia ebooks. The Gore app includes over a hour of video and audio narrations from the vice president with dozens of animations of clever “infographics” that reveal different and changing datasets as you move […]
eNews
Amazon Accelerates Ad-Supported Kindles, But Publishers Are Unlikely Advertisers
Amazon has excitedly started shipping their ad-support Kindles a week early–which raises the question of who is going to advertise on the device. Given what we’ve been told about the pitch, it probably won’t be publishers, even though Amazon doesn’t include “literary references” among the categories of ads that users can designate as preferred, and you can see how a Kindle would be a good place to advertise books. But not at the premium prices Amazon is looking for. According to the company’s rate sheet, they are charging $45,000 a day for ads that share the screen savers with up […]
Company News from Macmillan, M&S, and Vook
McClelland & Stewart announced a new non-fiction imprint, Signal, that will be “dedicated to the power of ideas and original thinking.” Titles published by Signal will encompass politics, religion, culture, history, business, and the environment by authors including Margaret Atwood, Christopher Hitchens, Ezra Levant, Samantha Nutt and Alain de Botton. In a release M&S president and publisher Doug Pepper says, “our goal with Signal is to publish creative, daring, and intellectually significant works of non-fiction that stir the pot and raise our awareness of the most important issues of the day, Signal Website Macmillan has relaunched its Criminal Element site […]
eNews: e-Royalty Escalators; Sony Tablets On the Way; Product Placement; and More
Some UK agents claim to the Bookseller that they have negotiated e-royalty escalators and expect this move “will be the norm, not the exception” in the future, but it sounds more like an aspiration than a well-documented accomplishment. Blake Friedmann agent Oliver Munson is the only one saying on the record they’ve already done this: “We’ve certainly had e-book escalators in a number of contracts….. I can’t realistically envisage the much-trumpeted 25% net receipts remaining the benchmark for much longer either.” Piers Blofeld at Sheil Land also says “I have negotiated an escalator, but not with one of the big four. That would be […]
Penguin Introduces Book Country, A Community for Genre Fiction Writers
Today Penguin launched the public beta of Book Country, a new subsidiary company and website whose aim is to build a writing community and social network centered around genre fiction, especially romance, science fiction & fantasy, and mysteries & thrillers. Membership is free and allows writers to post unpublished manuscripts and receive detailed feedback–ranging from genre categorization to more focused comments on specific craft aspects–from community members, essentially acting as an ongoing online workshop. Starting this summer Book Country intends to generate revenue by having members to self-publish print and e-book editions of their work for a fee, and in […]
Comprehensive Nook Color Update Includes Email, Apps, and Social Networking, Plus New Ad Campaign
This morning Barnes & Noble confirmed what had been rumored over the weekend a major firmware update to Nook Color (now on Android’s 2.2/Froyo OS) that makes the device a lot more like a proper tablet, with new apps, additional illustrated and enhanced ebooks, the ability to check email, more magazines for sale, and social networking. Nook Email allows users to check a variety of accounts, while social networking service Nook Friends allows for book-swapping and targeted library lending, “liking” titles and viewing other customer recommendations. “Frankly most of the things they have asked us about are very popular tablet […]