Book Distribution

PMA, The Independent Publishers Association, which represents more than 4,000 independent publishers, has issued a statement denouncing Amazon’s recent policy aimed at publishers who use print-on-demand (POD) technology to sell directly on Amazon.com. The online retailer has directed that these publishers must either print their POD titles exclusively through Amazon’s BookSurge subsidiary for fulfillment of orders placed through its Web site, or incur additional cost to print elsewhere and maintain inventory with Amazon. “This policy imposes a significant financial burden on tens of thousands of small and independent publishers who can least afford it,” says Terry Nathan, PMA executive director. “Without the opportunity to

Chicago-based World Book Inc., a publisher of reference products for adults and children, has announced the launch of World Book Mobile, a broad-based licensing program that will extend the volume of licensed content the publisher is making available to mobile application developers and distributors. World Book Mobile will feature content from more than 90 World Book titles. “World Book has a tremendous amount of content,” says Paul Gazzolo, president. “World Book Mobile is a logical extension of our digital content strategy enabling us to work with leading mobile application providers to deliver accurate, authoritative information wherever and whenever consumers want access.” Mobifusion Inc.,

Bill Pollock, publisher of No Starch Press, is taking a leap of faith that he hopes will pay off for his San Francisco-based company, which specializes in computing titles. After a long struggle against pirated versions of his titles appearing on peer-to-peer (P2P) filing-sharing services, Pollock made a decision last week to essentially give books away for free. He created an official publisher-provided torrent—an electronic file used in online file-sharing—of two of the publishing house’s key titles, author Leander Kahney’s “Cult of Mac” and “Cult of iPod,” available for free download on one of the world’s largest file-sharing communities, The Pirate Bay. As Pollock

OverDrive, a digital book distributor to online retailers, libraries and schools, announced that it will expand its catalog of download audiobooks to include titles in MP3 format without digital rights management (DRM). Borders Inc. will be the first bookseller to offer OverDrive MP3 Audiobooks without DRM, both online at http://Audiobooks.Borders.com and at Digital Centers inside select Borders store locations. These audiobooks will be compatible with nearly every mobile phone and MP3 player, including iPod and Zune. OverDrive MP3 Audiobooks will go on sale in May and offer thousands of titles from publishers including Random House Audio, Blackstone Audiobooks, Hachette Book Group and Books In

The second-annual SustainPrint Leadership Awards have been announced, recognizing book and magazine publishers for their outstanding achievements in environmental sustainability. Scholastic Inc. and Chelsea Green Publishing are the 2008 winners in the book category. The awards are presented by Book Business and Publishing Executive magazines and SustainPrint.com—which provides information on environmental sustainability in printing and publishing. The awards were presented on Monday evening at an awards reception during the Publishing Business Conference & Expo at the New York Marriott Marquis (http://www.PublishingBusiness.com). Scholastic Inc. won in the “Newcomer of the Year” category for book publishers and Chelsea Green won in the “Longtime Leader” category for

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) has unveiled its new “Handbook on Book Paper and the Environment.” The “Handbook” was developed by the AAP’s Paper Issues Working Group to assist publishers in navigating issues related to the development of environmental sustainability practices within the book publishing industry. Among the topics covered in the “Handbook” are recycling, including pre- and post-consumer recycled fiber distinctions; forestry certification standards; “chain of custody”; issues facing paper and recycling manufacturers; global practices and economic impacts; and “green” production efforts. The “Handbook” also contains a Frequently Asked Questions section and organizational contact information. According to the AAP, the “Handbook”

Thomas Nelson Inc. announced a new environmental plan and paper policy yesterday. Developed in consultation with the nonprofit organization Green Press Initiative (GPI), the initiative outlines measures to reduce the Christian publisher’s environmental impact, including reducing paper consumption, increasing the use of recycled paper, supporting best practices in forest management, and creating awareness and educational programs for employees, customers and suppliers. “As the world’s largest Christian publisher, it is our responsibility to protect the resources God has bestowed upon us,” says Michael S. Hyatt, president and CEO of Thomas Nelson. “Our vision is to dramatically reduce our carbon footprint over the next five years,

According to one of the better-known accounts in the compendium of humankind’s greatest achievements, it was in the year 105 that a Chinese man named Ts’ai Lun invented paper, mashing up wood from a mulberry tree with fiber from bamboo. Thus was born a technology that would literally change the world, making possible artistic, scientific and religious revolutions, democratizing literacy and learning, and ushering humanity into the modern age. In recent times, paper production has played a role in changing the world in other ways. The book industry alone required 3 million to 4 million tons of paper over just the last three years,

Book Business magazine is presenting a free, live webinar on “Developing a Digital Distribution Strategy,” presented by Andrew Brenneman, manager, digital media group, University of Chicago Press, Books Division, on Tuesday, Feb. 12, at 2 p.m. (11 a.m. PST). The webinar will provide you with a useful, strategic framework for navigating the exciting and rapidly changing waters of digital distribution. Even if you can’t make it on Feb. 12, you can view the archived webinar for 90 days after the live event. Register now at www.BookBusinessMag.com/docs/webinars.bsp

The deadline to nominate a publishing company for the 2008 SustainPrint.com Awards has been extended to Feb. 1. To nominate a company, e-mail the company’s name and a description of the company’s efforts in environmental sustainability to Noelle Skodzinski, editor-in-chief of Book Business and SustainPrint.com (which is hosting the awards), at NSkodzinski@NAPCO.com with the subject line “SustainPrint.com Awards Nomination.”