Recently Ecco announced its longtime author Anthony Bourdain would acquire and edit a handful of titles each year under his own eponymous imprint. Now William Morrow has followed suit in working with Dennis Lehane, whom they have published since 1994, on an imprint of his own. Dennis Lehane Books will “help identify and acquire literary fiction with a dark urban edge.” The announcement did not specify a launch title or a release date beyond saying Lehane would oversee publication of a “select number” of fiction titles annually and that he would work with his longtime editor Claire Wachtel. (Lehane’s agent […]
International News
Amazon Is Selling English Around the World, And Bringing the World to the US
While most countries around the world wait for substantial ebook markets to develop at home, the marketplaces developed by the big North American ebook players increasingly provide unexpectedly strong opportunities to sell ebooks in multiple languages. Amazon vp of Global Kindle Content Acquisition David Naggar addressed this opportunity with data at the Publishers Launch Conference on Monday. Addressing one of the issues raised in the morning panels, Naggar said they are indeed experiencing significant growth in selling English ebooks into translation territories as well. In countries where English is not the first language, Kindle’s year-to-date unit sales in 2011 have […]
At PLC Frankfurt, Mondadori to Launch Translated eBooks In US, and More World Views
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 […]
Two Actions Might Disrupt Frankfurt Travel
Those attending the Frankfurt Book Fair this week are faced with the possibility of two different work slowdowns that could catch you coming or going. Flights into Frankfurt are experiencing delays Monday afternoon as over 1,200 ground handling staff attend meetings discussing EU plans to increase competition among the handlers. Lufthansa said Sunday “we are actively preparing for it and hope to limit the effect on passengers as much as possible,” while warning that at least some delays are likely. The larger concern is when you’ll be able to go home. Germany’s air traffic controllers rejected a mediator’s proposal to […]
Where the eBookstores Are
With two international announcements this week and more a possibility at next week’s Frankfurt Book Fair, we’ve prepared a recap of recent international expansions of the big ebookstore platforms: Amazon launched their first non-English Kindle store in Germany in April. As part of their international expansion, the company added a general Amazon store in Spain last month (and they opened a general store in Italy in November 2010). Kindle stores are expected soon in both Spain and Italy, where advertisements have been seen for Kindle positions. Among other countries on Amazon’s horizon, Brazilian publishers have reported discussions for both a […]
Google eBooks Launch in the UK; Weltbild Adds German Readers
We’re glad we won’t have to spend the early days of the Frankfurt Book Fair wondering when Google will launch their long-expected UK ebookstore: it is live now. It looks just like the US version, except when visited from US IP addresses you mostly see blank carousels, so there is not a lot to check out. (We infer the store is IP restricted, since UK visitors report seeing a regular store display.) Strategic partner development manager Jason Hanley told The Bookseller, which has the first story on the store, that the Australian and Canadian versions will launch “soon.” As announced […]