Some information and highlights from this morning’s Publishers Launch Conference, eBooks Go Global, in Frankfurt. One of the premises of today’s conference was an expectation the ebooks will lead to new ways of publishing more fluidly around the world. Riccardo Cavallero confirmed this in the morning’s opening panel of international trade executives in two announcements. “We’re going to launch our authors in English directly into English-speaking markets” in ebook form. “We will keep paper rights free,” so if their translations find a market, “we will able to convince some reluctant North American publishers” to take over the English rights. Cavellero […]
territorial rights
Constellation Pairs With Faber Factory In UK Joint Venture
The UK’s Faber and Faber has joined with the Perseus Books Group’s Constellation to form a UK joint venture focused on digital distribution for independent publishers. The new entity combines Faber’s e-distribution initiative Faber Factory–with 70 client publishers–with Constellation’s platform, to form Faber Factory Powered By Constellation. Faber ceo Stephen Page says in the announcement, “Faber Factory was conceived as an ambitious response to the enormous and liberating opportunity for independent publishers in the digital age. The power of Faber partnering with Perseus makes this ambition immediately achievable, globally and long term as together we can offer market-leading tools, service […]
Mondadori to Put Thousands of eBooks on Kindle
Italy’s Mondadori will make “more than 2,000 ebooks” available via Kindle stores in the UK, Germany and the US. They expect to add another 1,000 titles before the end of the year, and hope to have 80 percent of their 10,000-title list as ebooks “by 2012.” Remarks from deputy chairman and chief executive Maurizio Costa at least imply that an Italian Kindle store might not be far off, following Amazon’s recent launch of an Italian web site. Italy is on Kobo’s list of local ebookstores planned for the coming months as well, though today’s release only mentions Amazon. Barnes & […]
Krakauer’s Attention-Getting eBook Now In Print
Most major publishers continue to say that as a matter of policy they will not buy books for print-only publication, but as a practical matter, licensing paperback rights to a successful ebook remains in play. In the latest instance, Knopf Doubleday’s Anchor line has licensed trade paperback rights to longtime house author John Krakauer’s 96-page THREE CUPS OF DECEIT following ebook-only publication by Byliner.com in April as a Kindle Singles ebook. Vintage Anchor editorial director LuAnn Walther–who has been Krakauer’s longtime paperback editor at the house, alongside his hardcover editor Bill Thomas–made the deal directly with the author, according to […]
Politico and RH Team Up for 2012 Election eBooks; Bundling; Pan Macmillan Digital Backlists; and More eNews
Politico and Random House are partnering to publish four “instant” digital books throughout the 2012 Presidential election beginning this fall. The as-yet-untitled series, with books to be in the 20,000-30,000 word range, will be reported and written by Politico chief white house correspondent and Playbook founder Mike Allen and former Newsweek editor Evan Thomas, with Jon Meacham to edit. Meacham pitches it as “a kind of Theodore White for the digital age” and tells the NYT that “an impetus here is to encourage people to think of book publishers in a more periodical way.” Politico editor-in-chief John Harris adds in […]
In and Out of Traditional Publishing: Victor, Curtis Brown UK, and Stephen Leather
Following the announcement of agent Ed Victor’s publishing venture Bedford Square Books, Curtis Brown UK managing director Jonathan Lloyd admits that his agency is well down the path of formulating their own strategy for republishing their clients’ out-of-print works. “We are right behind him, but with a rather larger list,” Lloyd tells The Bookseller. Meanwhile, Victor told us that while he is “having a lot of fun, going back to my roots” as a publisher, “first and foremost I’m an agent…. My day job is being a literary agent and taking care of my clients.” At the same time, Victor […]