Random House Children’s Books is releasing the first of their ebooks co-developed with digital media agency Smashing Ideas tomorrow. Wild About Books, based on the New York Times bestselling children’s picture book by Judy Sierra and illustrated by Marc Brown, goes on sale in iTunes tomorrow at an introductory price of $4.99. Simon & Schuster announced 17 kids ebooks, including the Olivia titles. Apple sent the NYT a release about “a major push” into illustrated ebook titles, with a big 100-plus “assortment of children’s books, photography books and cookbooks” in the iBookstore (which was fully color-book capable from day one). […]
eNews
Why This Philadelphia Cream Cheese Book Press Release Is (Or Isn’t) Funny
So over the weekend we ran a short link to Kraft Foods’ proudly announcing the publication of their “first branded ebook,” SPREAD A LITTLE JOY. Comprising 70 recipes, it’s purpose is to show that “it’s amazing what a little Philly can do. It’s more than an extra ingredient — it’s a secret weapon.” Once upon a time this kind of project would have been issued in conjunction with a traditional publisher, or at least a packager. (Indeed, Philadelphia Cream Cheese has a number of printed books available via Publications International.) But this ebook, on sale via Apple and Amazon, was […]
Also Closing: Chicklet, and BookArmy
Princeton children’s bookstore Chicklet will close at the end of the month, as their landlord turns the space over to a tenant paying market rent.Princeton Packet In the same week that Figment.com has launched, Harper UK’s book social networking site BookArmy indicates it will close December 21. The Bookseller says an email to site members indicated “the decision has been made to close the site, after facing strong competition from similar sites and fewer advertising opportunities in such a tough economic climate.” The company tells the magazine that staff will be reassigned to their site Authonomy.
Apple’s Top Books, and Best Enhanced eBooks
As part of their iTunes Rewind 2010 lists, Apple picked “best of” 2010 ebooks across a variety of categories. Below are their overall best of the year selections, and the first-ever list of their picks for best enhanced ebooks: Best of the BestThe Emperor of All MaladiesThe Big Short, by Michael LewisNo One Would Listen, by Harry MarkopolosPacking for Mars, by Mary RoachThe Glass Rainbow, by James Lee BurkeSh*t My Dad Says, by Justin HalpernMatterhorn, by Karl MalantesThe Solitude of Prime Numbers, by Paolo GiordanoI Curse the River of Time, by Per PettersonRoom, by Emma DonaghueCleopatra, by Stacy SchiffThe Lonely […]
People, Etc.
Kobo has hired Pieter Swinkels as Director of Publisher and Industry Relations for Europe, leading the company’s expansion there. He was associate publisher of De Bezige Bij and publisher of Cargo in Holland. In his new role at Kobo, Swinkels will be responsible for driving forward Kobo’s ambitious expansion into the European market. The company notes “the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the Netherlands currently have the highest European Kobo user counts, but the company is quickly expanding its audience in Spain, Portugal and Italy.” The Gail Ross Literary Agency has changed its name to The Ross Yoon Agency. Agency […]
Social eBook Offerings Try to Get the Party Started
As ebook adoption grows the form itself is going to evolve, and static text is going to be wrapped with additional features and connectivity. That much we take as a given, even as it remains an unanswered question which features will resonate at scale with readers (and certainly some readers will happily ignore all such options and stay immersed in the text itself). In recent months, a number of bets have been placed on making ebooks more “social.” Amazon went first in a limited way in April, letting Kindle readers highlight and share favorite passages (and tracking those highlights). Then […]