Author Vince Flynn said in a note on his website that he is battling prostate cancer, after being diagnosed in November: “At the end of my last tour, I was diagnosed with Stage III metastatic prostate cancer. Just a few years ago, this diagnosis would have been a death sentence. Today, specialists are making great strides in the areas of hormone therapy and immune response, and there are several very promising drug trials that are changing the landscape of how prostate cancer is treated. My treatments are working very well, and my near term prognosis is extremely good. In other […]
eNews
Some Unclear Clarification from Apple, and a Bull Market In Speculation
Further to the original story about Sony’s Reader app being rejected by Apple for their app store, Apple spokesperson Trudy Muller provided a brief statement: “We have not changed our developer terms or guidelines. We are now requiring that if an app offers customers the ability to purchase books outside of the app, that the same option is also available to customers from within the app with in-app purchase.” That of course raises more questions than it answers. The big one for our world is whether Apple will try to impose that requirement on existing ereader apps from the major […]
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 […]
OFT Opens Investigation Into UK Agency Pricing
With agency pricing now starting to take hold among some of the largest UK publishers, the Office of Fair Trading is opening an investigation “into whether arrangements that certain publishers have put in place with some retailers for the sale of e-books may breach competition rules”, according to a release obtained by the Bookseller. It’s the first time in four years since the OFT took a long look at industry practices, when the merger between EUK and Bertrams caught its attention and eventually led the Competition Commission to rule it was not anti-competitive. The OFT claims to have received a […]
Grove/Atlantic Turns Digital Distribution Over to Constellation
As part of the renewal of their physical book distribution relationship, Grove/Atlantic will now use Perseus’s Constellation for digital distribution services as well. At one point Grove had come close to working with Open Road, though that deal was never completed and the publisher has been managing its own digital publishing until now. Company head Morgan Entrekin said he concluded that “our strength is to focus on the editorial, marketing and publishing side rather than the distribution side” in the digital space, as they already do with physical distribution. “You have to figure out how to allocate your resources in […]
Amazon’s Grandinetti: “This Change Is Happening Faster than You Think”
Amazon’s vp, Kindle Content Russ Grandinetti addressed Digital Book World on Wednesday on “how we together can keep growing this business at a such a termendous rate.” Echoing other speakers from the conference, part of Grandinetti’s focus was on the potentially vast market for English-language ebooks in countries around the world. “I hope publishers think about this as the kind of opportunity that we do,” reminding people that Kindle is “available” in over 100 countries. Grandinetti also declared of the ebook market in general, “however fast you think this change is happening, its probably happening faster than you think.” He […]