People Magazine

How to Save Local Bookstores
January 9, 2014

All across the planet, particularly in more computerized nations, bookstores are facing increasing challenges, from the dual competition of e-books and Amazon, or both simultaneously.

Amazon beats local bookstores on price, and beats them on digital sales completely. Most people think local bookstores don't stand a chance. Plenty have done well enough, but there's a way out of this mess anyway. We can fix bookstores so they survive for decades to come.

Mein Kampf Rises in Ebook Rankings
January 8, 2014

You won't see Adolf Hitler peering back at you from the featured display tables at Barnes & Noble any time soon. But browse the most popular e-book stores these days and Der Führer's mug is seemingly unavoidable. For a year now, his magnum manifesto has loomed large over current best-sellers on iTunes, where at the time of this writing two different digital versions of Mein Kampf rank 12th and 15th on the Politics & Current Events chart alongside books by modern conservative powerhouses like Sarah Palin, Charles Krauthammer and Glenn Beck.

Creativity, Diversity, and Decision Making
January 2, 2014

You may get an "Aha" moment from isolated pondering, but these innovative flashes are few and far between. In general, the best ideas surface when offered by the thoughts and experiences of others. But danger lies in generating ideas by relying upon the thoughts and experiences of the same group of people. You may get many new thoughts, but they tend to be recirculated variations of the same old ones, cloaked with enthusiasm to appear different. Before making decisions about your books or business, seek input from a variety of diverse but trusted sources. Here are the Ten Ways to Balance the Quantity and Quality of Ideas.

Give the Gift of Publishing This Christmas
December 10, 2013

It's the holiday season and present-buying, non-profit donating and general money-spending are in full swing. Likewise, kickstarters and other crowdfunding campaigns are asking for a bit of support this holiday season to publish new books that authors and presses can't release without The People's buy-in.

Crowdfunding is nothing new. With LeanPub, PubSlush, and the recently crowdfunded publishing company Unbound, crowdfunding has officially broken into the publishing world. Even large publishers like Macmillan have created their own platforms in order to gain feedback on possible future releases, like Swoon Reads.

Author-Booksellers Share Their “Shop Indie” Saturday Stories
December 2, 2013

A few months ago, author Sherman Alexie wrote an open letter to fellow authors. He called on fellow authors to get out and share their love of reading, and celebrate the importance of indies to their communities and to the continued success of authors themselves. In an NPR interview, he said, "My career happened because the booksellers at independent bookstores hand-sold my book." This is true for so many literary careers; enthusiastic indie booksellers raved about a new title by an unknown author, spreading the word to their communities and to other booksellers

Japan's Readers Not As Quick to Adopt Ebooks
November 18, 2013

According to the media, the e-book era in Japan began in 2010, with the debut of Apple Inc.'s iPad, Sony Corp.'s Sony Reader and other e-book services.

The market has been growing, but not as fast as in the United States. In Japan, regular use of the technology remains limited.

Turkish Publishing on the Rise
November 7, 2013

Turk read an average of 7.5-8 books per year, according to the Federation of Professional Associations of Publishers (YAYFED) Chairman Bayram Murat, who always ensures his attendance as a speaker at the annual Istanbul Book Fair.

Turkey is 13th globally by way of gross revenue gained from the book publishing sector, he said, adding that each year these figures remain constant. Murat also said this year they are expecting that the TÜYAP Book Fair to be better than former years.

Iceland: Where 1 in 10 People Will Publish a Book
October 16, 2013

It is hard to avoid writers in Reykjavik. There is a phrase in Icelandic, "ad ganga med bok I maganum", everyone gives birth to a book. Literally, everyone "has a book in their stomach". One in 10 Icelanders will publish one.

"Does it get rather competitive?" I ask the young novelist, Kristin Eirikskdottir. "Yes. Especially as I live with my mother and partner, who are also full-time writers. But we try to publish in alternate years so we do not compete too much."

National Book Foundation &  The Daily Beast Partner  to Announce the 2013 Longlists for the National Book Awards
September 9, 2013

The National Book Foundation, presenter of the National Book Awards, will partner exclusively with The Daily Beast to announce its 2013 Longlists. The categories consist of ten books each from the genres of Young People's Literature, Poetry, Nonfiction, and Fiction selected by a panel of expert judges. On Monday, September 16 at 9 a.m. ( EST), the Longlist for Young People's Literature will be revealed exclusively at thedailybeast.com, followed by the Longlist for Poetry on Tuesday, September 17 at 9 a.m., the Longlist for Nonfiction on September 18, and finally, the Longlist for Fiction on September 19.

Kobo Takes on Amazon With New Tablet
August 28, 2013

E-reader company Kobo unveiled a new lineup of Arc tablets, as well as its first digital-magazine store featuring content from major publishers, at an event Tuesday night in New York City. The new collection of devices, which are scheduled to hit stores on Oct. 16, includes the Kobo Arc 10HD, two Kobo Arc 7 tablets running Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) and the Kobo Aura with a 6-inch e-ink display. "Many may say [the] tablet industry is crowded, but until now, no one has developed tablet experience for readers first,"