HarperCollins Italia has acquired 20lines, a community that allows users to write, read and share short-format stories via a smartphone app. Available in seven languages, the app is said to feature 40,000 authors and 15,000 new pieces of content published every month. Harper’s chief digital officer, evp international Chantal Restivo-Alessi says in the announcement, “20lines has created a tremendous platform with a passionate community of readers and writers in the same markets where HarperCollins maintains a global footprint. We look forward to engaging with its users and exploring short-form content.” Separately, Penguin Random House India announced a co-publishing partnership for local language translation with Manjul Publishing House. […]
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Scribd Drops Unlimited Subscription Model
After various strategic cutbacks in portions of their subscription reading and listening last year, Scribd is taking the expected broader step in revamping their business model. The service announced on Tuesday afternoon that as of mid-March, their offer of unlimited ebook borrowing is going away as they continue to try to “strike the right balance between delivering a great value to our subscribers and achieving long-term sustainability,” according to ceo Trip Adler. Going forward the monthly Scribd subscription will give customers “a choice of three books and one audiobook a month.” The option of “unlimited reading” will be limited to a […]
Amazon’s Tale of Two Borrows Continues: KU Pool Rises, Page Rate Decreases
Amazon announced the retroactive rate at which they will compensate Kindle Unlimited participants for books read (and subscriptions paid for) in January. The per page fell to its lowest point yet, $.00412 per page (about 4/10ths of one cent) — or 10.6 percent lower than the $0.00461 per page a month ago — while the overall pool of money paid out increased to its highest level yet, at $15 million. At the beginning of the month, Amazon had also announced a revised methodology for their universal way of measuring ebook “pages” for calculating those per-page payments. That new method applies starting […]
People: Lucas to Lead NBF
Lisa Lucas, 36, the publisher of arts magazine Guernica, will become executive director of the National Book Foundation, starting March 14. She tells the NYT, “Readers are everything, readers are everyone. It should be about building one big massive audience that’s reflective of where we live.” She adds, “The practice of building readers, is the practice of building a better world.” Taking over from Harold Augenbraum, Lucas will be the third person to lead the NBF. Chairman of the NBF David Steinberger says in the announcement, “Lisa Lucas is a dynamic leader who has served as a passionate advocate for […]
Briefs: PubTrack Digital Launches in UK; Kenyon Sues Clare; Denene Miller Books at Agate; and More
Nielsen Book has launched PubTrack Digital UK, an ebook sales tracking service based on the same model that they use in the US. A set of unspecified publishers contribute their own ebook sales data, on a monthly basis, with a three-month delay. Nielsen says “we are not currently releasing the names of participating publishers. However, we can say that we have a significant share of the estimated e-book market.” The top-selling ebook in the UK for 2015 through August was Girl On the Train (566,000 units) and the No. 10 title, How I Lost You by Jenny Blackhurst, moved approximately […]
Harvard Common Press Sold to Quarto; Put Me In the Story Expands at BN; More From Basford
Quarto has completed their acquisition of The Harvard Common Press, as of February 1, adding hundreds of titles to their backlist along with over 25,000 recipes. HCP will become an imprint of Quarto, with editorial and production run out of Quarto’s office in Beverly, MA and editorial director Dan Rosenberg keeping the same role. Harvard Common Press president and publisher Bruce Shaw and associate publisher Adam Salomone will no longer have daily operational positions, but will “remain in advisory roles with Quarto.” The two are partners at Salt Venture Partners, investing in food-related start-ups, and co-founders of The Food Loft. Shaw says in the announcement, “I’m pleased […]