Amazon enters the world of literary journals with Day One, a weekly magazine the company says is “dedicated to short fiction from debut writers, English translations of stories from around the world, and poetry.” The first issue is available for download now and includes the short story “Sheila” by Rebecca Adams Wright, the poem “Wrought” by Zack Strait, cover art by Forsyth Harmon, and a letter from the editor, Carmen Johnson. Day One is based out of Amazon’s New York office. A full-year subscription to Day One goes for $19.99 but Amazon is offering a limited-time price of $9.99 for […]
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New $119 Nook Glowlight Arrives A Day Early; Kobo Expands In Ireland
Rumor had it that Barnes & Noble would announce the latest incarnation of its Nook GlowLight on Halloween, but the company did so on Wednesday morning. The newest version of the frontlit e-reader, retailing at $119 and shipping immediately, weighs just 6.2 ounces — “the lightest ever, but [also] 15 percent lighter than the Kindle Paperwhite” according to the announcement — and has its “highest resolution E-Ink display” with 62 percent more pixels. Full-page flashing on page turns is said to have been eliminated from the new GlowLight, which features “next-generation lighting technology that is completely uniform across the display […]
New Ventures and Partners: Filmmakers Publish Mezrich, Random Buys Figment, Match Book Launches
RatPac Entertainment, run by media mogul/heir James Packer and film director/producer Brett Ratner, is creating a book imprint, RatPac Press, designed “to bring more Hollywood related projects to market in both non-fiction and fiction genres.” Their first announced project is author of Accidental Billionaires and Bringing Down the House Ben Mezrich‘s new novel SEVEN WONDERS. They will publish in a joint venture with Running Press in late spring 2014, the first title under their joint publishing agreement. Ratner says in the announcement, “We are very excited at RatPac Press to be in business with Running Press and Perseus. Their years […]
Corporate: Apple, AudioNoGo, and Lagardere
Apple reported fiscal fourth quarter results for the period ending September 28 after the close of the market on Monday. The company sold 14.1 million iPads in the period, just barely ahead of sales in the same quarter a year ago, with strong iPhone sales of almost 34 million units. They have sold approximately 172 million iPads since the launch of the line in 2010. Sales rose to $37.5 billion, as net profit fell $700 million to $7.5 billion. Lagardere has concluded a long-running dispute with Vivendi over the valuation of their stake in Canal+ France. In a compromise, Lagardere will […]
Everything Amazon and A Lot More
There’s a lot of discussion about Amazon in the wake of Larry Kirshbaum’s departure from the publishing division in January (much of it completely wrong, as we noted Friday), and following the release earlier this month of Brad Stone’s book THE EVERYTHING STORE. January’s big fifth annual Digital Book World conference will feature a prominent morning block of presentations and discussions about Amazon on its second day. Stone will be among the presenters and analysts, with sessions including a close look at Amazon’s financials, and insights into their less-publicized inroads into library and educational markets. Those timely panels are just […]
Ruckus Is Sold
Ruckus Media has found some refuge with mobile app company KiwiTech, which is acquiring a 75 percent stake in the digital children’s media company that has struggled to find a lasting business model. Ruckus founder and ceo Rick Richter will depart following the sale, though he will continue to serve as an advisor. Chief content officer Jason Root will move up to ceo of Ruckus, reporting to KiwiTech ceo Rakesh Gupta. The company’s Wilton, CT office will close, yet Ruckus will still “remain Connecticut based.” Venture capital firm Alsop Louie Partners, which led a $3.5 million series A funding round […]