Matthew Geise filed suit against Amazon in a Seattle US District Court yesterday seeking class action status for Kindle 2 and SuperKindle owners with devices “installed in a Kindle Cover designed by Amazon.” The suit alleges that “Internet complaint board and product review sites contain scores, if not hundreds, of complaints from Kindle owners whose Kindles have been damaged by the Kindle Covers.” Users report that the cover cause cracks or “bulges” on the side of the Kindle “at or near where the Kindle Cover attaches to the Kindle,” and indicate that the cracks eventually get big enough that the […]
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Bookselling: Borders UK May Have A Buyer; Taiwan Companies Pair for eBook Launch; Bookseller Advises Authors On Signings
While still denying that Borders UK is even up for sale and insisting that Clearwater Corporate Finance has been hired only to help “seek out funding opportunities,” it looks like the ailing chain may have a buyer, or at least a company ready to take it off their hands. The Independent reports that the private equity arm of restructuring company Hilco, Valco Capital Partners, “plans to acquire the entire shareholding of Borders UK and take the company forward.” Reportedly they are “offering to take on the Borders superstores, Books Etc and Borders Express shops in a deal that could save […]
People and Announcements
Sadly, the UK press is reporting that Frank McCourt‘s battle with skin cancer is near the end, citing a friend who indicates he “has deteriorated dramatically.” McCourt is reported to have been “transferred to a hospice at the weekend.”Belfast Telegraph The Observer reports that VS Naipaul has left longtime agent Gillon Aitken for Aitken’s one-time partner, Andrew Wylie. Wylie writes, “I think Vidia felt that it was, simply, time to move on. I can’t say with any authority what considerations were involved, but I do believe there is work to be done on the foreign rights side, as well as […]
As Predicted, Commission Wants to End Books Protectionism In Australia After Three Years
Per our story yesterday, Australia’s Productivity Commission has indeed concluded that “restrictions on the parallel importation of books result in higher local book prices” and recommended an outright repeal, “with the industry having a period of three years to adjust before the changes take effect.” They do concede that enaction is likely to “cause some contraction or slowing in the growth in the book production industries.” If enacted, the $2 billion Australian trade market would become a significant growth market for exports from UK and US publishers. In balancing the decision, the commission suggests “that the current range of grants […]
Bookselling: Still Hoping to Finance Return of San Jose Store; UK Agents to Become Booksellers
San Jose’s independent store Willow Glen Books closed in May “because of decreasing sales and [owner Cathy Adkins] having to grapple with health issues,” but Roland Vierra is still working on a second attempt to get financing and start the store up again, in arrangement with owner Cathy Adkins. “Vierra said the owner of the building is willing to be patient while he works to get adequate financial backing to reopen the bookstore.”Business Journal In the UK, agents Sarah Lutyens and Felicity Rubinstein are opening a bookstore in London’s Notting Hill in October. They are recruiting a store manager now. […]
Announcements and More
* Twelve will release a deluxe $1,000 edition of Ted Kennedy’s memoir TRUE COMPASS, limited to 1,000 numbered leather-bound copies. They will reproduce an electronic signature by Kennedy, and include “rare family photos” that will not appear in the trade edition. But the special edition will follow the trade release by “several weeks.” It’s being sold directly through the HBG web site. * Graphic novel and comic book publisher Boom! Studios has signed with Simon & Schuster for sales and distribution, effective immediately.http://www.boom-studios.com * The Stanza reader, now owned by Amazon, wished itself a happy first birthday via a press […]