As ALA leaders and some friends planned to visit Macmillan on Wednesday morning to drop off their petition with over 150,000 signatures objecting to the eight-week windowing of new-release ebooks to libraries that begins November 1, ceo John Sargent wrote to librarians in response to their abundant feedback. He opens, “First, I would like to apologize. It is clear to me that I should have written to all of you directly with our terms change. I meant no disrespect.” Sargent also makes clear that the company consulted with community members before finalizing its new policy: “Please know that this change […]
Libraries
ALA Starts Anti-Macmillan Petition, Continues to Give Amazon A Free Pass
The American Library Association has launched a petition in which Macmillan is urged to reconsider the company’s planned eight-week windowing of all but one copy of new-release ebooks to libraries. “ALA’s goal is to send a clear message to Macmillan’s CEO John Sargent: e-book access should be neither denied nor delayed,” said ALA Executive Director Mary Ghikas in the release. We asked the ALA when they would focus their earnest efforts on the largest publisher — and indeed the largest corporation — that does outright deny patrons any access, ever, to their ebooks or digital audiobooks. That would be Amazon, […]
Salinger eBooks Are Released; New Works Will Take Another 5 to 7 Years
Little, Brown announced that they will release ebook editions of J.D. Salinger’s four books for the first time on August 13. His son Matt Salinger notes in the release, ‘There were few things my father loved more than the full tactile experience of reading a printed book, but he may have loved his readers more—and not just the ‘ideal private reader’ he wrote about, but all his readers. As it became clear to us that increasing numbers of readers today read only ebooks, and after I was taken severely (if also humorously) to task by a reader with a disability […]
Macmillan Splits the Library eBook Baby: A Small Concession, and Broader Windowing
Macmillan is the latest big publisher to announce an adjustment of their library ebook terms, this time in a letter from ceo John Sargent to authors and agents. Their policy has a twist to balance protecting sales with “ensur[ing] that the mission of libraries is supported”: Exactly one copy of every ebook will be available to each library system for purchase upon publication for $30, which is half the current library price, and that one copy will be available in perpetuity, for unlimited one-at-a-time lends. But any additional copies of their new-release titles will be windowed for 8 weeks after […]
People, Etc.
Jennifer Weis will join the Ross Yoon Agency as senior literary agent based in New York, representing book club and women’s fiction, thrillers, memoir, narrative and platform-driven nonfiction, psychology and health. She was previously executive editor at St. Martin’s. At Princeton University Press, Fred Appel is promoted to publisher, religion and anthropology; Ben Tate to senior editor, humanities; Susannah Shoemaker to editor, mathematics and engineering; Matt Rohal to associate editor; and Charlie Allen and Jacqueline Delaney to editorial associate. Alloy Entertainment editor Hayley Wagreich is joining Serial Box as head of content, reporting to ceo Molly Barton and president Julian […]
Simon & Schuster Improves Library eBook Terms, Adds Selected Pay-Per-Checkout Titles
As the big publishers move to relatively similar terms for providing ebooks to public libraries, Simon & Schuster announced a revision of their terms that libraries should see as at least incremental improvement. Effective August 1, S&S will expand their usage term from one year to two years — in alignment with other big publisher terms. Digital audiobooks, which had been sold for perpetual access, will move to the same two year, one-user-per-copy usage model, however. They indicate that most new-release ebooks will be priced from $38.99 to $52.99 for two-year access, and most digital audio titles will cost from […]