Prototypes of flexible eInk screens that roll out and retract have been kicking around for years without making it to the commercial marketplace in a big way, but now the Dutch company Polymer Vision says that its Readius device will be on the market this fall in Europe (and in 2009 in the US). The grayscale reader offers a 5-inch flexible eInk screen that unrolls from a plastic housing to display about 22 lines of book text. A final price has not been set, though the company says it will sell for more than the Kindle. NYT
Personnel News
Stefanie Bierwerth is leaving Macmillan UK for Michael Joseph, where she will be editorial director for crime, report to fiction publisher Mari Evans. Helen Boomer joins Harper Children’s today as executive director of subsidiary rights. She was subsidiary rights director for Viking and Puffin Children’s.
Sci-fi Writer Andre Norton's Literary Estate in Limbo Pending Appeals Court Review
“Conflicting claims have erupted over the copyrights and royalties” to the late Andre Norton’s work, leaving unpublished work of the SWFA and Nebula Grand Master honoree in limbo. The Tennessee Court of Appeals is reviewing a lower court decision that favored lifelong fan and correspondent Victor Horadam over Norton’s caretaker Sue Stewart.AP
Noted
“Robert Crais’ new novel, Chasing Darkness, is not — repeat NOT — about homicidal bears, despite that full-page New York Times ad promising a ‘grizzly’ murder. His Simon & Schuster rep says, ‘We meant ‘grisly.”” NYDN
Lunch Weekly for Monday, July 7
Deal Reports Just e-mail to deals@PublishersMarketplace if you aren’t using the online form linked below. Report a deal using the online form The Key As usual, the handy key to our Lunch deal categories. While all reports are always welcome, those that include a category will generally receive a higher listing when it comes time to put them all together. “nice deal” $1 – $49,000 “very nice deal” $50,000 – $99,000 “good deal” $100,000 – $250,000 “significant deal” $251,000 – $499,000 “major deal” $500,000 and up FICTION Debut Richard Martin’s MIXED ANIMAL, a tale of hillbilly magical realism about […]
Lunch for Thursday, July 3
Appeals Court Upholds National Geographic’s Electronic “Revision” Two Federal Appeals Court rulings within the past week have supported National Geographic in their long-running legal battle with freelance photographers over their Complete National Geographic — comprising all of their printed magazines, reproduced exactly in a digital collection. Though sharply divided in a 7-5 vote, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals supported a prior decision in ruling that the digital reproduction is a “collective work” rather than a new one, and NGS can reproduce photographs as part of that work without paying additional royalties. (As opposed to, for example, creating a database […]