Michael Kozlowski
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May
18
Book Expo America Hackathon Focuses on Digital Discovery
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eBook and digital discovery is one of the most hot button issues facing the digital publishing industry. Many existing publishers and small start-up companies, such as BookLikes, NetGallery, Slice and many others, are throwing themselves into the fray. To stimulate growth and awareness in a burgeoning sector, a group of major media industry participants led by The Perseus Books Group, Librify, BookExpo, The AlleyNYC, and William Morris Endeavor will organize the industry’s first ever hackathon, an ambitious collaborative digital programming event.
The Publishing Hackathon at Book Expo America is inviting digital designers, engineers, programmers, and entrepreneurs to spend 36 hours together in teams to develop new approaches to digital book discovery. The Publishing Hackathon will take place on May 18th and 19th at The Alley NYC, the leading digital co-working space in New York. The participants will be briefed by a cross-section of book publishing leaders, and then will form teams to create apps, websites, programming, or businesses that can address the issue of book discovery in this rapidly evolving landscape. At the end of the weekend, a team of judges from publishing, technology, media, and venture capital will identify the 3 to 5 most promising finalists from dozens of teams participating.
These finalists will have the opportunity to present at BookExpo on Friday May 31st at 3PM. BookExpo is the largest and most prestigious book publishing event in the U.S. with over 1,000 exhibitors from around the world and over 20,000 attendees from all facets of the industry. The finalists will take the stage and pitch their solutions to a distinguished panel of judges that includes Jennifer Rudolph Walsh (head of the Literary Department at William Morris Endeavor), David Steinberger (CEO of The Perseus Books Group and Chairman of the National Book Foundation), Stephen Evans (Director SilverLake Capital), and others.The winning project will receive a $10,000 prize and the opportunity to pitch their idea at a breakfast meeting with Ari Emanuel, Co-CEO of William Morris Endeavor.
Seems like a solid event if you want to check out what the bright young minds can conjure. Of course, Good e-Reader will be live at this event and bring you some exclusives with the new Hackathon.
May
17
Cary Goldstein Joins Simon & Schuster
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There is some big news that just happened in the publishing industry today. Cary Goldstein has joined Simon & Schuster as the new Vice President, Executive Director of Publicity and Senior Editor. In his new role, Goldstein will supervise the Simon & Schuster publicity department and acquire a select number of fiction and nonfiction titles.
Goldstein was previously publisher of Twelve at the Hachette Book Group where he oversaw publicity campaigns for God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens, War by Sebastian Junger, Columbine by Dave Cullen, The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner, Losing Mum and Pup by Christopher Buckley, and True Compass by Edward M. Kennedy.
Deb Futter will be taking Cary Goldsteins former position at Twelve, she arrived from Grand Central by way of Doubleday in 2007. “For the past 5 years, Deb Futter has done a brilliant job as Vice President, Editor in Chief of GCP, and now she will add to her responsibilities the role of Publisher of Twelve,” Jaime Raab, the president and publisher of Grand Central Publishing, wrote. “Now, I can’t wait to see what’s ahead for Twelve, and feel confident that Deb will take the imprint in bold and successful new directions.”
May
17
New York Times Bestseller eBook List Shifts to Online Only
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The New York Times started to include ebooks in print and online editions back in 2011. The company announced today that it is suspending the inclusion of ebook titles in the newspaper and only posting them on the website. The prices of the ebooks will also not be included going forward, due to the shifting economic landscape of online sellers.
Pamela Paul is the current editor of the Book Review section of the New York Times, a post she only attained in April. She said in a statement, “The ebook list has migrated online, the digital world being its natural habitat. Given the fluid variety of pricing in today’s marketplace, we have also stopped including cover prices on the lists.”
The online version of the Book Review is undergoing a bit of revision and is starting to use a blogging template. Obviously, with any new look, many users are voicing their disdain. There is also a new column called Open Book, which focuses on panels of experts at various book publishing events and quotes from notable books.
Many readers are not quite sure what to make about the Times suspending the ebook bestseller list from the print edition. Some industry experts surmise that this may be a gambit to garner more money via online subscriptions for the company’s Paywall.
May
17
How to Load Android Apps on the Blackberry Q10
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The Blackberry Q10 is the first Blackberry 10 smartphone with a physical keyboard. One of the things that makes it unique is the Android emulator that allows you to run Android Apps. It is not as cut and dry as loading an APK file on your device. You have to convert it to a BAR file first. The Good e-Reader APP Store has a new online converter that you can use yourself, or you can download one one the 3500 Playbook and BB10 BAR files we have on our site.
This video tutorial shows you everything you need to do on your phone and then on your PC to facilitate the transfer of Apps to your phone. If you have any comments, please leave them on our Video, via YOUTUBE, and we will endeavor to help you.
May
17
The Amazon Kindle Keyboard Getting Harder to Find
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The Amazon Kindle Keyboard has received a number of new firmware updates over the course of the last two years, most notably parental controls. The e-reader is getting fairly long in the tooth, when compared to the Kindle Touch and Kindle Paperwhite. With a product refresh coming at the end of the summer, this device is getting harder to find. Amazon, Best Buy, Target, and many other retailers are now showing this reader as sold out.
The Kindle Keyboard was a fairly popular model when it came out in 2011, when it was known as the Kindle Graphite. At the time, competition in the e-reader space was fairly poor and customers loved the ability to type notes on the physical keyboard. These days, people want touchscreens or virtual screens. The Kindle 4, Paperwhite, and Kindle Touch are the three devices Amazon is marketing, and it really looks like the Keyboard model is officially discontinued.
May
17
New E Ink Sony 13 Inch e-Reader Caught on Video
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Sony and E Ink announced this week that they have developed a new 13 inch e-reader. This new device uses a screen called Mobius, which is making the rounds in Japan and SID in Vancouver next week. At a recent event in Japan, Diginfo filmed a brief hands-on of the device, which should give you a sense on how it handles PDF files and making highlights/annotations.
The Sony E Ink Slate will feature a capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 1,200 x 1,600 pixels and 150 DPI. This new slate will be aimed at people who need to read technical PDF documents and edit them on the fly with the accompanied stylus. It will also have bundled WIFI and the ability to increase the memory via the Micro SD card from the 4 GB of internal memory.
The one important thing to bear in mind is that this is not the finalized product. It is a prototype that should be available this summer, and by then there will be firmware tweaks and other features will be greatly enhanced. Still, large screen e-readers have the ability to gain some strong traction for people enamored with technical PDF documents.
May
17
Top Publishers Donate eBooks to Get London Reading Campaign
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Hachette UK, HarperCollins, Penguin, and Random House have donated a selection of top children’s titles to support the Get London Reading literacy campaign. This is a big event with Barnes and Noble and the London Evening Standard aiming to make reading more accessible and affordable across the UK and includes a donation of 1,000 NOOK Simple Touch e-Readers to Beanstalk, a national literacy charity that recruits and supports reading volunteers in schools.
NOOK has worked with Hachette UK, HarperCollins, Penguin, and Random House to contribute the books, which will be loaded onto the 1,000 Nook e-Readers that B&N is donating to reading volunteers from Beanstalk. The titles donated are some of the UK’s most popular children’s books. The Beanstalk literacy volunteers will use the NOOKs at key schools with high levels of illiteracy across the UK.
Victoria Barnsley, CEO and Publisher, HarperCollins UK and International said: “At HarperCollins, we are passionate about extending the joy of reading and have long supported Beanstalk’s amazing work promoting literacy in schools. We are delighted to be in partnership with NOOK on this fantastic project to Get Reading.”
Gail Rebuck, Chair and CEO, The Random House Group said: “Random House has supported Beanstalk for nine years and the Get Reading campaign since its launch in 2011. Today marks a key milestone for the campaign and we have donated 10 fantastic ebooks from authors who are supporting the NOOK partnership including Jacqueline Wilson, James Patterson and Bear Grylls that will capture the imaginations of young people and support Beanstalk volunteers who are working to improve literacy levels in schools across the UK.”
George Walkley, Head of Digital, Hachette UK said: “We are absolutely delighted to be involved in the Get Reading campaign. We believe that reading is the foundation for a happy and healthy life. Books in every format enhance the lives of children and, as more and more children now read on e-readers, this initiative with NOOK is a very valuable addition to this great campaign.”
May
16
Report: Kids Tend to Read Digital More Than Print
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The process of reading is undergoing a paradigm shift where kids are starting to read on smartphones and tablets more than physical print. The quintessential bedtime story book is being replaced by dedicated kids apps and Amazon.
A recent report by the National Literacy Trust in the United Kingdom surveyed 35,000 kids, whose ages ranged from 8-16. It stated that 39% of children and young people read on electronic devices every day, whereas only 28% read printed materials daily. The number of children reading ebooks has doubled in the last two years from 6% to 12%.
There is a very strong desire to read on a tablet to satiate young folks’ literary thirst. 52% of respondents said they would ideally like to read on a tablet and 32% said they would much rather have a physical book. Young ladies statistically are enamored with the physical book with 68% preferring the printed page, whereas boys account for a 54% preference.
The research also found that those who read daily on screen are almost half as likely to be above-average readers than those who read regularly in print (or in print and on screen): 15.5% compared to 26%. Those who read only on screen are also a third as likely to enjoy reading (12% compared to 51%) and to have a favorite book (just 59% of children surveyed who read on screen had one, compared to 77% of kids who prefer to read print books).
Obviously tablets present publishers with very unique opportunities to directly appeal to their target demographic. Reading on larger mobile screens tends to be the favorite, with 36% of children using it as their dedicated reading device. Computers still are fairly popular with 23% and smartphones account for 23%.
Major publishers are sparing no expense on investing lots of money into dedicated apps. HMH has pumped out a ton of content, centered around the Curious George franchise. Barnes and Noble has the best developed Kids ecosystem in the world, with books that parents can narrate for their children. Scholastic Storia tends to be very popular with kids, as does the relaunched Reading Rainbow on the iPad.
May
16
Google Play Books Update Allows eBook Uploads in EPUB and PDF
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Google Play Books has just released a new update today for iOS and Android that will greatly enhance its relevance. Google now allows users to upload their own ebooks in EPUB or PDF format into Google Drive or via their new Uploading Tool. Once the books are stored in the cloud, you can read your books within the main Google Books app.
Google has adopted a new strategy to open up its book ecosystem to users who have their own ebooks (without DRM) to read. You can download books from anywhere on the internet and upload them to your Google account. You can then make notes, annotations, and sync all of your data. This is very useful to people who have adopted smartphones and tablets in their lifestyle.
The new Google Play Books app is available via the Good e-Reader APP store and iTunes.
May
16
ProQuest Completes the Acquisition of EBL and Explains What It All Means
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Proquest has officially acquired Ebook Library and this new acquisition greatly enhances the the ability for Proquest to expand its digital offerings in Academia. The acquisition supports ProQuest’s overall goal of enhancing the research experience through seamless discovery of content across multiple formats, including books, journals, dissertations, newspapers, and video.
Not that many people might be familiar with Proquest and what the company actually does. I spoke with Kevin Sayar, Senior Vice President of Workflow Solutions, and we discussed what the acquisition means and what Proquest is doing on the digital book front.
Kevin originally joined Proquest when his company, Ebrary, was acquired by Proquest in early 2011. At the time, Proquest did not really have any sort of stake in digital books and the deal with Ebrary solved that issue. With the new deal for EBL, it adds a copious amount of books into its digital portfolio. Right now, Proquest has over one million academic titles and deals with over 600 publishers.
Proquest currently does business with schools, government, libraries, and private academic businesses. Its entire business model is centered around textbooks and e-textbooks. 60% of its current business operations are focused on the US, but they do have a heavy presence in Canada too. The EBL deal opens up a number of territories and business dealings in Japan, Australia, and Europe. Going forward, Proquest is focusing hard on Germany.
What exactly is involved in opening up a new market for Proquest and e-textbooks in general? It often begins with talking to local publishers who are in the business of serving their own markets. Often, they do not have any sort of digital presence and Proquest helps to digitize their existing assets. Kevin cited Germany as a specific example of how his team leverages the large company and bundles a copious amount of English content alongside German content that traditionally is only available in the printed format. Proquest then markets its growing library to schools, libraries and other businesses within Germany.
Overdrive, 3M, and Baker and Taylor have become synonymous when we think of borrowing ebooks from the library. Often, these companies only deal with consumer trade for fiction and nonfiction titles. When it comes to academic books, we often don’t hear much about what companies libraries often deal with. Kevin mentioned that Proquest currently deals with over 4,000 libraries and provides them the type of electronic academic books needed to assist students and the public for research.
Normally, when we hear about companies getting bought out, they often get absorbed into the parent company. Proquest operates quite differently and allows its business units to have a large degree of autonomy. This is because the businesses purchased are very specialized and all of them bring something new to the table. Obviously milestones, goals, and other incentives make the subsidiaries try to maximize profits, but it’s good to know the key management and technologies are operated by the people who know them best. This also ensures that clients and businesses are still dealing with the same reps and the only thing that changes is the amount of money they have to invest in marketing, leveraging, and developing new products and services.
What is next for Proquest? Now that the acquisition is over, the company is working on a massive new portal solution for schools, libraries, and corporate clients to easily manage buying and monitoring existing content. It will allow people to track library loans, circulation figures, and essential metrics.
May
15
eBooks Account for 20% of All Book Sales in the United States
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eBooks are on the rise for the entire trade publishing sector, and they tend to net the entire publishing industry with stable growth. A recent survey conducted by Bookstats has stated that ebooks now account for 20% of all books sold in the US in 2012, and in 2011 they accounted for 15%. This equates to around three billion dollars in revenue for the entire digital industry, which is up 44% in 2011. Overall, the entire US publishing industry is thought to have generated $15 billion dollars in 2012.
One of the drawbacks of digital is at the obvious expense of printed books. Over the course of the last few years, publishers have adopted a same day digital edition when the printed version comes out. This has not directly influenced hardcover sales, but trade paperback books are on the decline. When paperback books are sold, they are often at supermarkets or drugstores. It is easier these days to just get the ebook months before the paperback version is released, at a cheaper price.
Audiobooks also saw nice gains in 2012. Revenue was up 21.8% year-over-year to $241 million. This is primary due to large marketing campaigns by Audible and Overdrive and the ability for authors to now self-publish their own audiobooks.
According to BookStats, sales through online retailers rose 21.3% in 2012, to $6.93 billion, while sales through brick and mortar outlets fell 7.0% to $7.47 billion. Obviously, on the retail level there are a lot of indie bookstores closing, and with Borders going out of business, there is a lack of availability in your average small town. Most customers are either borrowing digital editions from the library or via online retailers.
May
15
Apple Fires Back at the Justice Department in iBooks Trial
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The USA Justice Department was looking into allegations that Apple colluded with major publishers to establish agency pricing. This created an environment where the publishers dictated the pricing for digital books and created an outcry in Europe and the USA against price fixing. All of the publishers have settled their cases by abandoning the agency model for two years and allocating funds for refunds and discounts. Court documents made available today have Apple firing back at the Justice Department.
A court document filed April 26th and was made public today. It gives us an indication on Apple’s intentions. At the time, Apple said that the major publishers were locked in a battle with online retailer Amazon over selling books for too cheap. Apple has claimed that the publishers developed the agency model independently and were partly influenced by the 30% royalty that Apple demands from all digital content sales.
The essence of the 81 page document Apple submitted to the courts had the company exchanging proposals and counter-proposals with each other to get ebooks in the iBooks store with the launch of the original iPad. The trick was to offer ebooks where Amazon did not, and severely undercut them in price. Convincing publishers to offer ebooks with Apple for the same price as Amazon was not a very popular idea. In order for the publishers to not lose money selling through Apple, they had to establish unified pricing to even the playing field.
Who colluded with who? Did Apple parlay the deal directly with publishers? Did the publishers act in concert with each other to form a cartel? Did Apple mandate the price fixing measures? These are the main questions that Apple has to answer for the Justice Department, and it is likely this case will drag on for another year or two.
May
14
E Ink Announces New e-Paper Technology Called Mobius
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E Ink has just unveiled a new large screen e-paper display screen that will soon be hitting mass production. Mobius uses a TFT technology that will enable the development of much lighter and rugged products. Mobius displays can weigh less than 50% of an equivalent glass based TFT. This is particularly important for mobile products requiring larger display areas. The new Sony 13 inch writing Slate announced yesterday will use this same display screen.
The new Mobius e-Paper screen was developed by Sony specifically for use with EPDs in cooperation with E Ink. Sony has now transferred the technology to E Ink for mass production. E Ink will start mass production of the world’s first 13.3 flexible EPD display in 2013. The resolution on the display is around 1200×1600 with only 150 PPI, which is fairly solid on a large screen display.
“We have been working with Sony for over 10 years, and we are extremely happy to bring this technology to mass production,” said Giovanni Mancini, director of product management for E Ink Holdings. “Development of this new digital paper product by Sony confirms our belief that the e-paper market is still strong.”
There is no word yet on the exclusivity of the Mobius screen technology, or if Sony has a license to introduce the product to the market first before E Ink will allow other vendors to use it in their products. Likely, 13 inches might be too big for your average e-reader, but some fringe companies like Onyx, Wexler, Ectaco, or Pocketbook may be looking to deploy it.
E Ink has been fairly stagnant in e-paper innovation over the course of the last two years. The company showed off the Triton 2 technology at CES this year, but it has failed to catch on in the market. Many e-reader companies we spoke with said that your average customer will look at an color e-paper screen and say the colors look washed out. They will inevitably compare it to the iPad and not even bother. About the only thing they have done to any success with their Pearl HD with front-lite that has done fairly well on the open market with the Kobo Aura HD and Kindle Paperwhite.
Late next week, when SID Display Week starts in Vancouver, we will bring you all hands on exclusive video of the screen and how it performs. We will also ask the hard questions on logistics and deploying it for other e-reader companies.
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