Dorling Kindersley

What was the first ebook? Debate rages ... When Peter James published his thriller Host on two floppy disks, in 1993, it was billed as the "world's first electronic novel", and attacked as a harbinger of the apocalypse which would destroy literature as we knew it. Now it has been accepted into the Science Museum's collection as one of the earliest examples of the form, as the spotlight of academia begins to shine on the history of digital publishing.

Dear Penguin Random House Colleagues: Since July 1, I have had the privilege to meet with more than eight thousand of our colleagues around the world, getting to know the heart of our new company:  you. Each of our Penguin Random House companies faces distinct opportunities and challenges, but the way all of you approach your work is the same: with a commitment fueled by a genuine love for what you do. In my conversations at every location-from Kirkwood to Frating, Toronto to New Delhi-

It was the crime writer, on Amazon, under an assumed name, stabbing his fellow novelists in the back. The plot was uncovered earlier this month by thriller writer Jeremy Duns, who revealed the poison penmanship in a series of tweets. “This is RJ Ellory writing about his own book. And he has done this for them all, and yes, I’m proving it in the next few minutes,” Duns tweeted, before exposing Ellory’s pseudonyms. Ellory confessed, and the ensuing scandal prompted hundreds of writers to sign a pledge condemning sock puppetry.

Dorling Kindersley, the division of Penguin that publishes children, travel and reference titles, made a strong case for how it is moving to a “flat” content model, where a printed book is only one of many output options. The digital publisher of DK also said that companies like his need to do this to be ready for the next big thing in books—whatever it is—but as is so often the case for old media industries, the change is “massive” and not easy for everyone in publishing.

With two years of Web-creation experience under her belt, Kelly Maragni, director of marketing, has spent a great deal of time Web surfing for ideas, and notes that by now there are many impressive sites on the Internet related to book publishing. Here are a few of her favorites, which she offers to BookTech readers as sources for inspiration Newspapers/magazines, etc. 1. The New York Times "I like to scan the headlines daily and check bestseller listings for our books frequently!" http://www.nytimes.com 2. Granta magazine "I love the design and there's always something good to read" http://www.granta.nybooks.com 3. American Demographics "My favorite place for