Finance
October 18, 2012
After halting shares this afternoon because of its earnings report mishap, Google has put out an official statement, with CEO Larry Page quote included. Considering we already know how the market reacted to the report, it's hard to get behind Page's words. "We had a strong quarter. Revenue was up 45 percent year-on-year, and, at just fourteen years old, we cleared our first $14 billion revenue quarter," he said. "I am also really excited about the progress we’re making creating a beautifully simple, intuitive Google experience across all devices."
October 15, 2012
FaithWords, the Christian division of Hachette Book Group, has entered into a publishing partnership with Casa Creación—the Spanish-language imprint of Charisma House, Charisma Media's book division—to broaden the reach of its authors. Hachette will handle the U.S. Spanish market, while Casa's focus will be Puerto Rico and the rest of the Spanish-speaking world.
In talks since July's International Christian Retail Show in Orlando, Fla., the two publishers signed an agreement this month to work together.
October 15, 2012
Amazon.com is in advanced negotiations to buy the mobile chip business of Texas Instruments, according to Israeli newspaper Calcalist, which would put the online retail giant on the path to becoming a manufacturer of smartphone and tablet processors.
However, the report generated a healthy dose of skepticism among users of Stocktwits.
October 15, 2012
It sometimes feels like the price-fixing settlement between e-book publishers and the government has been stretching on for forever. But it now seems Amazon is prepping Kindle customers for a potential, partial refund if they bought e-books between April 2010 and May 2012. That is if the court approves the settlements in various states.
PCWorld says customers could be getting back anywhere from $0.30 to $1.32 per e-book from Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster. Those publishers agreed to paying $69 million into a fund for the settlement.
October 5, 2012
EL James paved the way for adult writers of fan fiction, proving (with Fifty Shades Of Grey) that posting your stories online is an excellent way to secure a publishing deal.
And now one teenage pop music fan from North Lincolnshire has done the same for young adult writers.
One Direction super-fan Emily Baker, 16, has won a coveted deal with Penguin publishing group after writing a fictional love story inspired by her favourite boy band and posting it online.
October 4, 2012
Many ebook buying consumers in 49 states will soon receive payments as a result of the states’ settlement with publishers HarperCollins, Hachette and Simon & Schuster. The states have provided a few more details about how those payments will work and have changed some things slightly.
In a document filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the states’ attorneys lay out two modifications to their original settlement:
October 4, 2012
New York, NY and Redmond, WA (October 4, 2012) – Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) today announced the completion of their previously announced strategic partnership in NOOK Media LLC, a recently formed Barnes & Noble subsidiary and a leader in the emerging digital reading and digital education markets. Microsoft and Barnes & Noble’s strategic partnership in NOOK Media LLC will enable the companies to advance world-class digital reading experiences to the hundreds of millions of customers they jointly serve.
October 3, 2012
Films of books can often help drive sales of those books, and bestsellers often make for movie blockbusters, so it’s no surprise to see online bookseller Amazon today announcing that its content development arm, Amazon Studios, has optioned its first novel, the Amazon-published, Southern horror Seed, to begin making a big-screen adaptation. As with other content optioned by Amazon Studios — comic Blackburn Burrow being the most recent example — Amazon will use crowdsourced user feedback to decide how it adapts the book.
October 3, 2012
Allen & Unwin and Murdoch Books are pleased to announce the sale of Murdoch Books to Allen & Unwin. Murdoch Books is a leading independent Australian publisher of high-quality, illustrated non-fiction books, with a traditional focus on the food, leisure and lifestyle categories. Murdoch Books has been publishing successfully in Australia and internationally since 1991. They have offices in Sydney and Longon. Their distinguished authors include Peter Evans, Tessa Kiros, Luke Nguyen, Neil Perry and Adriano Zumbo. Murdoch Books is the publishing partner for marie claire Australia.
October 3, 2012
A few weeks ago, crowdfunding platform Unglue.it announced the release of its first ebook: “Oral Literature in Africa” via the U.K.’s Open Book Publishers. Its return to “print” after more than a decade is cause for celebration. More good books in the public domain is a good thing. This is the raison d’etre of Unglue.it, a small company that seeks to reward rights holders who make their works available as ebooks under creative commons licenses and without DRM.
