The New York Times

LibreDigital Secures $8.1 Million in Funding to Accelerate Delivery of E-books
May 20, 2010

(Press Release) Austin, Texas, May 20, 2010—LibreDigital Inc. today announced that it has closed an $8.1 million Series C funding round led by new investor S3 Ventures with participation from existing investors Adams Capital Management and Triangle Peak Partners. The company's other key investors include HarperCollins Publishers, The New York Times Company and Noro-Moseley Partners. The new capital infusion will be used by LibreDigital to expand e-book services for publishers looking to capitalize on the unprecedented demand for e-books, which is being driven by the release of new devices like the Apple iPad. In addition to being a top Apple e-book aggregator, LibreDigital also powers the delivery of content to other digital devices and marketplaces, including Barnes & Noble NOOK, Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, Google Editions and many more.

Pearson Partners with Franklin Covey Co. and Author Sean Covey
May 12, 2010

(Press Release) New York, NY, May 12, 2010 — Pearson today announced a publishing agreement with Franklin Covey Co. and The New York Times bestselling author, Sean Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens and The 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make, to create a new title, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective College Students, as a college textbook and multimedia courseware. The content is scheduled to be available to the higher education market in late Spring 2011.

Rodale Brings iPhone App to Book Form
May 5, 2010

Rodale has reversed the usual polarity in book publishing of bringing print products into the digital domain. The publisher of Men's Health announced late last week that it was acquiring the book publishing rights to an iPhone app. The Lose It! calorie counter and dieting companion from publisher FitNow has been the top free health app in the iTunes App Store for over a year, Rodale claims, and is used by more than 175,000 people a day. Rodale is purchasing North American rights to bring the title to book form. The book will be written by Charles Teague, co-founder and CEO of FitNow, along with New York Times science columnist Anahad O’Conner and will demonstrate that calorie control, activity and a support system are the keys to weight loss.

Embracing a Different Publishing World
May 1, 2010

Perspectives on the shifting publishing marketplace, and threats and opportunities surfacing as a result, seem almost to have divided the industry. Some see print as holding fast as the primary bread-and-butter for publishers, with e-books and other digital products growing, but remaining as incremental revenue. Others see the current growth in e-book and new digital reading devices, and a younger generation of digital-bred readers pointing toward a future where "e" will be the primary revenue driver in most publishing businesses.

Harlequin Expands Business in Germany
April 15, 2010

Expanding its international operations, Toronto-based Harlequin Enterprises Limited has signed a deal to acquire full ownership of its German publishing business, CORA Verlag, from Axel Springer Verlag, pending German regulatory approval. Harlequin and Axel Springer have been joint venture partners in Germany since 1976.

James Patterson's 'Worst Case' Made Available as Interactive E-book
April 5, 2010

Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, announced that #1 bestselling author James Patterson's thriller WORST CASE will be released as an e-book with enriched content on April 3, 2010. The first such release by this author launches fans of "America's #1 storyteller" (Forbes) into a newly enhanced reading experience.

eBooks ... By the Numbers
April 1, 2010

Amazon.com Inc. announced at the end of 2009 that its Kindle 
e-reader had become the most gifted item in Amazon's history. On its peak day of the holiday season (Dec. 14, 2009), Amazon customers ordered more than 9.5 million items worldwide—a record-breaking 110 items per second—according to an Amazon press release.

Robert Miller Leaves HarperStudio for Workman Publishing
March 17, 2010

Peter Workman, founder of Workman Publishing, announced today that Robert Miller will join the company as Group Publisher, effective May 3, 2010. In this new role, Miller will work with the current teams at the Workman, Algonquin, and Artisan imprints to make those successful programs even stronger in the ever-changing publishing landscape. Peter Workman will continue as President and CEO of the company, collaborating
closely with Miller.  Miller was most recently at HarperCollins, where he started HarperStudio, an imprint
that experiments with new models of author compensation, marketing, and distribution,
as well as new digital formats.

Who's Eating Your Cake?
February 1, 2010

You may have heard by now about author Stephen Covey's deal with Amazon, selling the exclusive electronic rights (via e-book publisher Rosetta Books and for a one-year period) to two of his titles, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" and "Principle-Centered Leadership." You also may have heard (or been a voice among) the resounding, collective industry gasp.