Grove Atlantic is selling a portion of its majority stake in the UK’s Atlantic Books, remaining as “a significant minority shareholder,” while Australia’s Allen and Unwin is becoming a “significant” shareholder itself. The company is said to have obtained “substantial” (we don’t know if that’s more or less than significant) new financing as well, in part to help drive the expansion of the Corvus line–all logical developments following Anthony Cheetham’s joining the company earlier this year. Morgan Entrekin will remain on the Atlantic Books board, now joined by Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Ravi Mirchandandi.Bookseller
International News
BN eReader Unveiling Next Week?; Amazon UK Prices Aim at $13.95
Barnes & Noble is holding an event at Chelsea Piers next week, on October 20, billed as “a major event in our company’s history,” so the NYT speculates that’s when they will unveil their own branded ereading device. The Times also “reports” on what Lunch revealed in July: that Barnes & Noble has been negotiating with publishers to give ebook purchasers the right to “lend” their ebooks to other people. (At the time we reported on it, the proposal under discussion would allow “lending” the ebook to one person at a time, up to three or four times, with DRM […]
People and More
The Reece Halsey North, Reece Halsey New York and Reece Halsey Paris literary agencies have melding into Kimberley Cameron & Associates, with the same staff and offices (new contacts are at the site: www.KimberleyCameron.com). Penguin UK managing director Helen Fraser will retire from the publisher at the end of the year. She is going to become chief executive of the Girls’ Day School Trust, and will also join the board of Frances Lincoln as a non-executive director. The Guardian Children’s Fiction prize has gone to Mal Peet‘s EXPOSURE.
Kindle Goes International; Now Comprises 48 Percent of Amazon's Sales for Titles Available
The so-called “UK Kindle” turns out to be an international Kindle sold via Amazon’s US site, as the company announced this morning. They will start shipping the new Kindle, now with international wireless capability, starting on October 19, priced at $279. At the same time, the domestic-only Kindle has been reduced to $259. AT&T is providing the wireless global service, said to be available in “over 100 countries.” But not yet in one of the biggest English-language markets, Canada, according to an AP account. They received this message instead: “Unfortunately, we are currently unable to ship Kindles or offer Kindle […]
Kindle Launches Head-Spinning International Questions, Too
Kindle’s international availability, along with the forthcoming iRex reader with its own version of international wireless connectivity, will bring to the forefront a variety of knotty questions about rights, release timing, and pricing. In an interview with Wired, Amazon indicates that they will “pay royalties depending on the territory of purchase” (so if a customer purchases from the UK, regardless of where they live, the UK publisher is credited with the sale.) It’s not clear yet, however, how Amazon will handle open-market territories. Selling the US edition can in many cases save customers VAT. On the other hand, many UK […]
Hilary Mantel Breaks Favorite's Curse and Wins Booker for Wolf Hall
She squeaked by in a three-to-two vote among the judges, but the heavily-favored Mantel prevailed last night and took the Booker Prize. Chair of the judges James Naughtie said, “It wasn’t a unanimous decision. These things seldom are, but it was a decision with which we were all content. There was no blood on the carpet. We parted good friends.” It’s the first-ever Booker win for the UK’s Fourth Estate, and Holt is set to release the US edition next Tuesday. At the Huffington Post, Amy Hertz praises and congratulates her mentor and Mantel’s US editor, Jack Macrae. Mantel, who […]