Amazon is apparently not going to resort to buy-button-backlash over the agency model in the UK, but they do still believe it’s a good strategy to get their customers riled. They write in a site note: “It is indeed correct that this group of publishers will require Amazon and other UK booksellers to accept an agency model for e-books. We believe they will raise prices on e-books for consumers almost across the board. For a number of reasons, we think this is a damaging approach for readers, authors, booksellers and publishers alike.” They disingenuously tell their UK customers “most publishers […]
AAP eBook Sales Remain Strong
The AAP recorded reports of $39 million in ebook sales for August from the 12 publishers who provide data, another strong month, slightly below the $40.8 million from a month ago. (We’ve been warned by a participant that reporting methodology can vary and one should not get too attached to these numbers as reflecting a particular month’s activity; the cumulative numbers over a period of months are more accurate indicators.) The $263 million in ebook sales recorded for 2010 so far from that core group of reporting publishers comprises 8.3 percent of all net trade sales of $3.174 billion as […]
Legal Briefs: Steinbeck Descendants Lose Again, Willy the Wizard Persists, Amazon Presses for Buyer Privacy
John Steinbeck’s son and granddaughter has lost yet another legal attempt to gain control over the author’s literary estate from the estate of Steinbeck’s third wife Elaine. A Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling from last year granting summary judgment in favor of Elaine Steinbeck’s estate and the McIntosh & Otis literary agency in a suit that included claims she had breached her fiduciary duty to act in the interests of all beneficiaries.Law 360 In Federal Court in Seattle yesterday Amazon argued on First Amendment grounds to have the state of North Carolina relinquish their demand for customer […]
NBA Nominees: The Reviews So Far
We checked our Reviews database at PM to see what kind of full-length reviews the National Book Award fiction and nominees have received so far. Patti Smith leads the pack with 14 reviews, and Peter Carey is the only who is close, though Nicole Krauss will surely garner more reviews soon. Just click to see all the reviews of a given title: FictionPeter Carey’s Parrot & Olivier In America (12)Nicole Krauss’s Great House (5, so far) Plus the Publishers Lunch First Look ReviewLionel Shriver’s So Much for That (13)Karen Tei Yamashita’s I Hotel (3) NonfictionBarbara Demick’s Nothing to Envy: Ordinary […]
People, Etc.: Janklow Hires NYT’s Julie Just, Phaidon’s New CEO, and More
Children’s book editor of the New York Times Book Review Julie Just will join Janklow & Nesbit as an agent in November. Mort Janklow says in the announcement, “It has been our intention for some time to expand the range of agency services we offer to include in a major way children’s and young adult literature.” Lynn Nesbit calls Just “the ideal person to spearhead this new effort.” Phaidon Press, which recently hired Amanda Ridout as managing director, has now appointed David Davies as chief executive officer, starting November 29 and based in London. He is currently managing director at […]
National Book Award Nominees Avoid the Predictable, Give Carey A Second Shot
The National Book Foundation announced their award nominees this morning, with novelist Peter Carey getting another chance at honors after coming up short last night in his quest for a third Booker win. Coffee House Press and McPherson claim two of the fiction nominations, likely to fuel rights and/or paperback interest. (Yamashita’s book is a paperback original; Gordon’s book has not been published yet.) Last year it was the bestselling books that won the two biggest categories, Colum McCann’s LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN for fiction and T. J. Stiles’ THE FIRST TYCOON: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt for […]