Joe Regal

Starting in October, Kobo devices and e-books will be on offer at independent bookshops through a new deal with the American Booksellers Association (ABA), according to a statement from the Toronto-based e-bookseller this morning.

In January, a deal between the ABA and Google books that was intended to give independent booksellers purchase in the growing e-book market is set to expire, leaving the stores without a way to sell e-books. According to Google and independent booksellers, the program wasn’t much of a success for most of its nearly 400 participants.

Zola Books, a new social eBooks site to discover, buy and discuss books, just announced that it is launching its private beta today. The company also announced that it has raised $1 million in seed funding from prominent authors, including Audrey Niffenegger (The Time Traveler’s Wife), Josh Bazell, (Beat the Reaper) and Chandler Burr (The Emperor of Scent). Former Time, Inc. executive Bill Shapiro, the former top editor of Life, is cutting back his time at Time to join Zola Books as the company’s head of innovation and strategy.

More Blogs