E-Books and Interactive Publishing

Press Release: Amazon Announces Winner of the Third Indie Literary Prize for Spanish-Language
November 14, 2016 at 11:57 am

SEATTLE — November 10, 2016 — (NASDAQ:AMZN)—Amazon today announced that Ana Ballabriga and David Zaplana, with their title Ningún Escocés Verdadero—a thriller that involves religion, mystery, art and deception—have won the Third Indie Literary Prize for Spanish-language authors worldwide. From July 1 to August 31, more than 1,400 authors from 39 countries entered the contest…

EU Court Decides in Favor of Ebook Lending; FEP Responds
November 11, 2016 at 11:04 am

On Thursday (November 10), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that public libraries can lend ebooks, provided that authors are fairly compensated. The decision also said that ebook lending under the “one copy, one user” model is consistent with a 2006 EU directive on rental and lending rights of IP.

Harry Potter Spurs Growth at Hachette While Ebooks Decline
November 10, 2016 at 2:19 pm

Today Lagardère, the parent company of the Hachette Book Group, released its third quarter finances for 2016. The U.S.-based Hachette Book Group saw a 12.9% revenue gain thanks to the positive reception of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Hachette U.K. revenue was up 30.1%, again due to the release of the latest Harry Potter…

Poland’s Legimi Expands Its Subscription Service to Germany
November 10, 2016 at 12:26 pm

Poland’s Legimi ebook subscription program offers users access to some 16,000 titles. In addition, the company offers e-readers to premium-level subscribers at a nominal cost of 1 zloty (US$0.26). Co-founding chief Mikołaj Małaczyński, who was at Frankfurt Book Fair, says the company has expanded its offer to Germany, and is anticipating widening its range to…

Amazon Rapids And the Dumbing-Down of Reading
November 7, 2016 at 11:46 am

At first I thought it was an SNL parody about ebooks for kids. We’re so addicted to info snacking, seemingly less able (and interested) in focusing on long form reading, so let’s create a new platform that helps foster even shorter attention spans for our kids. Amazon Rapids is nothing more than a series of…

It Looks Like Ebooks Won’t Kill Print Books After All
November 4, 2016 at 1:01 pm

After years of sales growth, major publishers reported a fall in their ebook sales for the first time this year, introducing new doubts about the potential of ebooks in the publishing industry. A Penguin executive even admitted recently that the ebooks hype may have driven unwise investment, with the company losing too much confidence in…

In Praise of Ereader Technolust
November 3, 2016 at 11:20 am

Where have the ereader fetishists gone? I mean, they’re out there, usually drooling over the latest model updates (guilty). But where are the resulting think-pieces about the continuously changing nature of reading as we know it? If Barnes & Noble updates its Nook, the resulting press amounts to, “It’s waterproof now, if you care about…

Subscription Reading Service Scribd Adds Magazines to Platform
November 1, 2016 at 12:13 pm

Today subscription reading service Scribd announced that it is adding magazines like Foreign Policy, Time, People, The Atlantic, and more to its library of content. In addition to ebooks, audiobooks, and documents, Scribd subscribers can now access magazine articles and entire issues at no additional cost to their monthly subscription. “Time Inc. is excited to…

Press Release: Imagine Dragons and Hugh Howey Collaborate to Bring Soundtracks to Digital Books with BookTrack
October 31, 2016 at 1:35 pm

NEW YORK — October 25, 2016 — Booktrack, a reading technology platform that synchronizes movie-style soundtracks to ebooks, today announces a collaboration with hit rock band, Imagine Dragons, and critically-acclaimed sci-fi author, Hugh Howey. The cross-category innovation incorporates music by Imagine Dragons into Howey’s new book, Beacon 23, bringing the story to life in an…