Kobo has launched two new e-readers, the Kobo Libra Colour and the Kobo Clara Colour, that use color e-ink. The company writes that new models offer a “subtle palette” in addition to black and white. Kobo Libra Colour also offers stylus-enabled “colour handwriting, highlighting, and notebooks.” Both models incorporate new repairability features, including easier battery replacement. Michael Tamblyn, ceo of Rakuten Kobo said in a release, “We are pleased to be the first global ebook platform to offer affordable colour eReaders, bringing both your books and our bookstore to life with a beautiful spectrum of gentle hues. It’s everything you […]
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Simon & Schuster Celebrates Their Past and Present
Simon & Schuster opened their 100th anniversary season with a blockbuster double-header. On Monday night, they featured over 30 prominent S&S authors on stage at The Town Hall (expertly curated by Cary Goldstein) in a surprisingly entertaining evening, and on Tuesday night they gathered well over 1,000 people in a party at Chelsea Piers. Monday’s event highlighted authors from across the company’s divisions, including many who have substantial history of their own with the house — starting with Doris Kearns Goodwin, who has published with S&S for almost half of those 100 years, beginning in 1977, and finishing with Bob […]
Endeavor Top Execs to Receive Bonuses, Royalties, More in Buyout
When Endeavor finally went public in 2021 at a reduced $24 a share, a few top executives wound up with significant holdings and valuable options while hundreds of others were reportedly told their options were worthless. According to SEC filings, Silver Lake’s move to take Endeavor private again — after producing less than a 15 percent return over three years — will lead to another significant windfall for executives. Endeavor founder and ceo Ari Emanuel—who currently owns 11.9 percent of stock—will receive a $25 million bonus at the sale. He’ll be named founder and executive chairman of William Morris Endeavor, […]
Harper Partners With App for Read-Watch Experience
Harper Collins has partnered with Storiaverse, a mobile app for adults that “create[s] immersive, animated content in a patent-pending ‘read-watch’ format,” according to a release. Independent writers and illustrators partner to create stories on the platform. Storiaverse will “adapt portions of several titles” from Harper. Authors who have stories on the platform include Maxim Loskutoff, Lyndsay Ely, Brian Evenson, and Lindz McLeod.
Small Press Distribution Shuts Down
Small Press Distribution (SPD), which distributed for indie publishers since 1969, announced on Thursday that it has shuttered, citing “the challenges of a rapidly changing book industry and funding environment.” The staff has been reduced to a “minimal team,” which is winding down operations. They write, “Several years of declining sales and the loss of grant support from almost every institution that annually supported SPD have combined to squeeze our budget beyond the breaking point. SPD lost hundreds of thousands in grants in the past few years as funders moved away from supporting the arts. The tireless efforts of a […]
Guernica Staffers Resign Over Essay By Israeli Translator
Several members of the editorial staff at Guernica Magazine including co-publisher Madhuri Sastry, senior editor April Zhu, fiction editor Ishita Marwah, poetry editor Cindy Juyoung Ok, and more, resigned from their positions over the weekend following the online publication of an essay called “From the Edges of a Broken World: In Israel, a translator tries to tread the line of empathy” by Joanna Chen. The essay has been taken down by the magazine without explanation but is still available on the Internet Archive. Sastry writes in a post on Twitter, “I stand by my courageous staff members who have been […]