The Sony Reader will launch in France next month, in an exclusive partnership with retail chain Fnac, along with publisher Hachette Livre (two Hachette books are included in the 300-euro price). A press conference is scheduled for next Tuesday to announce the launch. In the meantime, France’s Virgin Megastore is speaking out, claiming to be concerned that “exclusive arrangements hamper the development of supply for legal downloading.” The Bookseller says that subsidiary VirginMega is “working on a digital book project that would be open to all publishers.”Bookseller Separately, Business Week looks at a trial program in the country through France […]
International News
Indigo Sets Out Recycled Paper Requirements
Canada’s dominant book retailer Indigo has informed publishers of new recyled paper guidelines that “will require publishers to use an average of 20% post-consumer recycled paper for uncoated books and 10% for coated books, starting this fall. Those levels will then climb to 50% (for coated and uncoated books) after five years. Indigo has also set benchmarks for magazine vendors, and has vowed to reduce its own internal paper usage by 25%,” Quill & Quire reports. A consulting company Indigo worked with indicates that “publishers will not be punished for failing to meet the new benchmarks” but those who do […]
Sony UK Stats
The UK launch of the Sony Reader has taken a page from Amazon’s playbook, with excitement over unspecified numbers and demand. Waterstone’s, which has a two-week exclusive on initial sales before the device rolls out among other retailers, has–you guessed it–“sold out” of their initial stock of “the thousands of Readers supplied for launch” (e.g. their initial order.) But there are more on the way: they are “working with Sony to ensure regular deliveries of stock to stores – no one will have to wait very long to get their Reader.” Commercial director Neil Jewsbury tells the Bookseller “we’ve also […]
Muted Prospects for Bestseller in Translation
“No. 1 French bestseller” does not necessarily guarantee a novel sales, or even publication, in English-speaking parts of the world, as the Guardian notes: “Fiction in translation is not an easy sell to us Brits, and French fiction is perhaps the hardest sell of all.” The subject is small UK press Gallic Books’ release of Muriel Barbery’s THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG. (It’s published by Europa Editions in the US.) “Barbery’s novel, which takes as its unprepossessing subject an ugly, plump concierge and a 12-year-old girl who plans to commit suicide on her 13th birthday, has spent 102 weeks on […]
Booker Shortlist Announced
What a “shock.” As usual, manufactured “surprise” is the fuel of the Booker publicity machine, as the “longlist” turns out to be a head fake for the real shortlist; Salman Rushdie and John Berger did not make the final cut nor did Tom Rob Smith’s Child 44, which served its purpose just by being held up as a possible nominee. Also left aside were the overrated Netherland by Joseph O’Neill and books by Gaynor Arnold; Michelle de Kretser; and Mohammed Hanif. That leaves your finalists of: Aravind Adiga, The White Tiger (Atlantic) Sebastian Barry, The Secret Scripture (Faber and Faber) […]
As in US, Waterstone's Sales Fall
Citing a “tough consumer environment” and in particular a “a weaker book market,” HMV said in a brief trading update for the 18 weeks weeks ending August 30 that same-store sales at the Waterstone’s chain fell 4.3 percent, and declined 1.7 percent after you take out Harry Potter. Total sales at Waterstone’s fell 5.9 percent for the period. The chain launched the Sony Reader yesterday with about 7,000 titles available (they expect to have about 20,000 titles by the end of the year) and has enrolled 1.8 million loyalty card members.Statement