Oxford University Press vp of corporate and business development (and thus digital dealmaker) Evan Schnittman is joining Bloomsbury in newly-created position of managing director, group sales and marketing, print and digital, starting August 2. He will lead Bloomsbury’s sales and marketing in the UK, US, and Germany across all divisions of the group, and will take a lead role in Bloomsbury’s digital efforts. Chief executive Nigel Newton, to whom Schnittman reports, underscores in the announcement, “The creation of the role of a worldwide head of sales and marketing and the appointment of a highly experienced American with considerable digital experience […]
eNews
eNews: iBookstore for Canada, SuperKindle Flies Higher, and More
Canada’s iBookstore went live with paid books yesterday according to users (or today according to other official announcements). This morning Simon & Schuster Canada and Hachette Book Group both announced that they are among publishers now selling through the store, and Harper Canada has confirmed to us they are live in the store as well. Today Amazon announced they are taking pre-orders for a new version of the SuperKindle, shipping as of July 7. The new model is priced at $379 (compared to $479 for the original model), and is said to have “an all new, high contrast electronic ink […]
ePublishing: Kindle's 70 Percent Royalty Begins; Toshiba eStore Powered by Blio to Launch Soon; Google Looks to Indies and Analyst Looks to Android Tablets
Amazon announced that their 70 percent royalty offer to authors and publishers using their self-service digital text platform and agreeing to a variety of conditions on pricing, availability and features is now available. (The offer currently applies only on sales to US customers.) They say that they have improved the platform itself as well, including “a simplified two-step process for publishing.”Release Toshiba has announced their Book Place ebookstore will launch “in the coming weeks,” to be powered by Baker & Taylor’s Blio. They promise syncing with up to five devices, including tablets and smartphones. Book Place will be pre-loaded on […]
eDeals: Symtio Sold to Libre Digital; Overdrive Adds Disney and Partners with Internet Archive, As IA Invents Their Own Rules for Lending Older Titles As eBooks
Zondervan has sold the technology and infrastructure behind their Symtio business to LibreDigital (in which Zondervan parent HarperCollins is also an investor). The sale covers “the Symtio e-commerce technology, existing e-commerce contracts and applications, and key e-commerce staff,” but not Symtio’s retail card business, which the release says ” Zondervan is in negotiations to sell separately.” It’s a curious bifurcation, since Symtio has always promoted their “digital product cards” as the heart of the business that lets physical retailers sell and activate cards that allow the downloading of digital media. LibreDigital ceo Russell Reeder says in the announcement they will […]
eNews: Travel Chain to Sell Kindles; Kindle Android App; Bezos As Missionary; NYT Plans eBook Bestseller List
The 11-store airport chain HMSHost, which sells under the Simply Books and Authors Bookstores banners, has become the unlikely first travel retailer to sell Kindles.Release In other Kindle news, yesterday Amazon announced the release of a free reading app for the fast-growing Android platform.Release In an interview with Fortune, Jeff Bezos paints himself as a missionary. “We think of it [the Kindle platform] as a mission. I strongly believe that missionaries make better products. They care more. For a missionary, it’s not just about the business. There has to be a business, and the business has to make sense, but […]
eNews: No Reader from Plastic Logic; Kindle App Plays Audio and Video On Apple's Platform
Further reinforcing the idea that many of the announced but not-yet-produced eink readers are dead on arrival with the rise of the iPad, last week Plastic Logic cancelled all backorders on their long-hyped oversized Que reader. The company is calling it a “delay” and tells Wired it “wants to make sure that the product they deliver is the right one for their target business customers in the rapidly changing marketplace. They are continuing to refine the product, technology and features, and are anxious to get in the marketplace as soon as possible.” But many people doubt the product will ever […]