As we’ve pointed out previously, Sony sells their Reader in more markets than Amazon’s Kindle, and has been equally reluctant to disclose any data about sales. In the flurry of stories following the announcement of their new model, president of their Digital Reading Business Steve Haber does tell the San Diego paper, “we’ve sold hundreds of thousands of Readers and millions of electronic books.” The paper says Haber “takes exception to recent published reports that said the Reader sales are only a fraction” of the wild guesses about Kindle sales. SD Union Tribune Speaking of Amazon, The Register notes that […]
UK Publishers Think Thrifty
We’re headed into uncharted waters in gauging the effect of economic crisis on the consumer publishing business, and the Guardian looks for some signs. UK chain Waterstone’s “has seen 200% increases in sales of two titles about keeping chickens in recent weeks.” And Weidenfeld & Nicolson publishing director Alan Samson is looking for threads of string: “Books on saving string, thrift in World War Two – publishers would be well advised to check out their backlist and see if they’ve got these sorts of books.” More broadly, Viking editorial director Joel Rickett says, “We’re thinking more widely about the kind […]
Bertram's Stabilizes?
Managing director of UK wholesaler Bertram’s Michael Neil assures the Bookseller that “conversations have concluded and we are now trading normally” with publishers following the cancellation of some credit insurance policies for their parent company Woolworth’s. But since the company never acknowledged a problem in the first place (“From our perspective and from our customers’ there hasn’t been any disruption to our service. Our warehouse is full of books and sales have been better than ever”) that’s only worth a certain amount. The financial condition of Woolworth’s a whole remains perilous. Separately, the FT reports today (and Woolworth’s confirms) that […]
Surprise Giller Nominees
“Gasps of surprise” greeted yesterday’s announcement of the nominees for Canada’s Giller Prize, since many of the nominees are little-known. They are: Anthony De Sa’s debut story collection, Barnacle LoveMary Swan’s first novel, The Boys in the TreesMarina Endicott’s debut Good to a Fault (from new publisher Freehand Books)Joseph Boyden’s Through Black SpruceRawi Hage’s Cockroach National Post
Awards: Hempel Wins Rea
Amy Hempel has won the $30,000 Rea Award for the Short Story. The judges said: “Amy Hempel is one of our masters of the dire emotional state rendered with an offhandedness that, combined with tenderness, results in fiction that’s at once dispassionate and compassionate.”
Amazon's UK POD Play
In April Amazon UK said they had “no plans” to bring BookSurge’s print-on-demand services to the UK, but they also hedged their bets by noting “we do not comment on future plans.” Now they have very concrete plans for a POD program, and the company says publishers who will participate include Harper UK, Cambridge University Press, Wiley, and Faber & Faber. Their ambition, according to vp of media Chris North, is “to bring hundreds of thousands of books to Amazon.co.uk’s customers that might never have otherwise been available.” The company has not disclosed their vendor for the printing, which will […]