Hachette is set to test pilot ebook library programs with two unnamed distributors sometime this spring, according to the ALA, which met with the publisher last week. Hachette discontinued the sale of new ebooks to libraries back in April 2010 (though backlist titles remained on offer) and the ALA believes “these pilot programs will help HBG learn more about library patrons’ interests, usage, and expectations, and help the publisher devise the best strategy to reach the widest audience of ebook readers in libraries.” The Atavist will produce a free version of its online content platform this summer, the NYT reports, […]
Libraries
Kindle Owners’ Lending Library Gets “Exclusive” License to Lend All Seven Harry Potter eBooks
After teasing customers on its website yesterday that Harry Potter “Wizardry was on the Way,” Amazon announced Wednesday morning that all seven Harry Potter ebooks by J.K. Rowling will be available in the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library as part of an “exclusive” license, starting June 19. Amazon tells PL the license runs “until at least 2014” and says the exclusivity means “this is the only licensing agreement of its kind for any retailer.”The French, Italian, German and Spanish editions will all be available for borrowing in KOLL. “We’re absolutely delighted to have reached this agreement with Pottermore. This is the […]
Digital News: More Languages for Potter; Harris Turns Packager; and More
As promised, Pottermore has placed on sale French, Italian, Spanish and German editions of the Harry Potter ebooks. Former book-to-film agent Nick Harris, who left ICM recently, is starting a new company with funding from his brother-in-law Jason Traub. In the vein of Alloy Entertainment and Full Fathom Five, The Story Foundation will create books in the packager model–saying they will split proceeds 50/50 “most of the time” with authors–and aims to develop those books as film/TV projects and for “other multi-platform opportunities.” Harris tells Deadline he is already worked on five projects, based on his own ideas. “After parting […]
Corporate: Indigo Raises Co-Op Again; Dutch Investor Buys Selexyz; and More
When Canada’s dominant book chain Indigo made comprehensive changes to its co-op program last year, local publishers were not exactly happy. Now they are upset again over further co-op increases that went into effect on April 1, but are only beginning to register with some publishers. Quill & Quire reports that Indigo “raised co-op fees from 4 to 5 per cent for books sold online or in its brick-and-mortar stores – an increase of 25 per cent.” In an email to publishers and distributors obtained by Q&Q, Indigo vice-president for adult trade Bahram Olfati said the co-op fee increase was […]
People, Etc.
At Simon & Schuster’s adult trade imprint, Sammy Perlmutter has been promoted to assistant editor, and Rebecca Marsh and Andrea Rogoff move up to associate publicists. Kathleen Calhoun Nettleton has been promoted to president and publisher of Pelican Publishing, effective immediately. First joining the company in 1983, Nettleton served as promotion director from 1985 until her promotion in 2008 to assistant to the publisher, her late father Milburn Calhoun. As part of the ALA’s annual State of America’s Libraries Report, their Office for Intellectual Freedom has released their list of the ten most frequently challenged books and authors in 2011: […]
Potter eBooks Now Available to Libraries
As of Thursday morning, the Harry Potter ebooks and digital audio recordings are available to libraries through OverDrive, as previously promised. Participating libraries can be found via www.overdrive.com/harrypotter. OverDrive is providing EPUB files, and library patrons can borrow Kindle-format files in the US. OverDrive had been taking pre-orders from libraries for what was said to be an April launch, and then mysteriously “temporarily suspended pre-sales and display” through library catalogs on March 20.