The Internet was buzzing this morning with the news of UK Prime Minister David Cameron's intense reshuffling of people and positions in his cabinet, swapping roles for some of them and ousting others altogether. Of course, the headline grabber in the reordering is the loss of Michael Gove as the head of education, a change that has more than a few teachers, parents, students, … [Read more...] about Sweeping Changes in UK Govt Could Have Impact on Digital Publishing
E-Book News
Scribd Launches Windows Phone 8 Reading App – Revises iOS and Android
Scribd has been in development overdrive the last few months, revising the core reading experience in their seminal iOS and Android apps. They have also been quietly refining their first offering for Windows Phone 8. All mobile applications now have a unified experience which will immerse users who have multiple phones and tablets in the household.With the launch of the … [Read more...] about Scribd Launches Windows Phone 8 Reading App – Revises iOS and Android
BlueFire Releases New Windows Reader
Bluefire is best known for their mobile reading apps for Android. The company really makes most of its cash by white labeling their eBook reading tech to other companies who want their own or are making an online bookstore. Today, BlueFire Reader has just released their first Windows app.BlueFire Reader for Windows is a small 7MB file that you can install on your Windows 8 … [Read more...] about BlueFire Releases New Windows Reader
Amazon Offer Rejected by Hachette, Authors’ Organization
In a semi-olive branch move, Amazon offered last week to extend 100% of the sales price of Hachette titles to the authors themselves, in a conciliatory move meant to eradicate fears that Amazon's alleged "sanctions" against Hachette have hurt their authors. In an effort to avoid dragging the children into this while the grown-ups fight, Amazon offered to give the entire … [Read more...] about Amazon Offer Rejected by Hachette, Authors’ Organization
Data Conversion Laboratory Webinar Explores eBooks in the K12 Classroom
One of the last groups to adopt ebooks in a widespread and focused way is the K12 education sphere. While digital textbooks have been painfully slow to reach the public school market, ebooks have been an even slower format when it comes to kids and reading. OverDrive has made ebooks even more accessible, though, along with initiatives like Qlovi and Smashwords' OverDrive … [Read more...] about Data Conversion Laboratory Webinar Explores eBooks in the K12 Classroom
Iconic Bookstore’s Owner Retires, Gifts Store to Employees
A Canadian bookstore owner is set to retire soon, which would ordinarily not make news headlines. Even with the recent news of a local citizen in the US who launched a Kickstarter campaign to purchase her town's independent bookstore from its retiring owners, a bookstore closing due to the age and employment status of its proprietor isn't attention grabbing.But in the case … [Read more...] about Iconic Bookstore’s Owner Retires, Gifts Store to Employees
Readers Gravitate Away from Free eBooks
During the e-reader boom period from 2009 until 2013 many people got switched onto digital. Online bookstores did record business and many new entrants came to the market, offering their own self-publishing systems. One of the tools that authors employed to get their book out there was giving it away for free. Whether they made it free for a short period of time or did it from … [Read more...] about Readers Gravitate Away from Free eBooks
eBook Review: The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor
Verdict: 4 StarsI adore well-done historical fiction, and as a particular favorite category, I never get tired of Titanic stories. There is so much to be said and learned, because essentially the ship carried--and lost--more than 1,500 different stories. It would be a treasure to know them all.In Gaynor's title, the story of the Titanic is almost a side plot of its own … [Read more...] about eBook Review: The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor
The Stigma Around Erotica Continues
Despite the fact that Fifty Shades of Grey is old news--at least the book, the film doesn't release until Valentine's Day next year--and the door to free publishing of adult content has been thrown wide open since EL James' book took newsstands by storm, critics are still claiming the downfall of human society due to the abundance of explicit content. Interestingly, it seems … [Read more...] about The Stigma Around Erotica Continues
MTV Buys 10 Episodes of Terry Brooks Shannara
Terry Brooks has written over 17 novels in his wildly popular Shannara  series. It bean with  The Sword of Shannara in 1977 and has continued through Witch Wraith which was released in July 2013. Due to the success of Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings MTV has purchased 10 episodes of Shannara.Jonathan Liebesman has signed on to direct the first two hours of the series, … [Read more...] about MTV Buys 10 Episodes of Terry Brooks Shannara
Blinkbox Books Gives Free eBook Copies of To Kill a Mockingbird
Supermarket chain Tesco has been one of the breakouts in the eBook arena with their Blinkbox Books platform. The company has perfectly leveraged their points cards, scanned during checkout, to give big discounts on popular books. To Kill a Mockingbird has finally been converted into an eBook and Blinkbox is giving away 1,000 copies of it for free.To Kill a Mockingbird by … [Read more...] about Blinkbox Books Gives Free eBook Copies of To Kill a Mockingbird
UK Society of Authors: Traditional Publishing No Longer in Authors’ Best Interests
Thanks largely to Hugh Howey's recent post about the need for organizations that truly work on behalf of authors rather than their own self-interests, serious discussion has opened up about the need for a better structure that works to speak up for writers and their work. Organizations like the Author's Guild have recently been questioned as their interests lie in furthering … [Read more...] about UK Society of Authors: Traditional Publishing No Longer in Authors’ Best Interests
Time-Lapsed Video of Edan Lepucki Signing 10,000 Books
Edan Lepucki the author of California recently autographed 10,000 copies her book at Powell's Books warehouse in Portland. It took her over three days to sign every books and this time lapsed video documents the entire process. The most interesting aspect is that she did it all by hand.This book is garnering a tremendous amount of press because Amazon editors showcased it … [Read more...] about Time-Lapsed Video of Edan Lepucki Signing 10,000 Books
Author Rejects Award Due to Amazon Backing
The ultimate in low class and poor breeding has occurred in the book world as an author turned down a major award due to its association with Amazon. UK-based children's book author Allan Ahlberg declined the Booktrust Best Book Awards‘ Lifetime Achievement Award because the £5,000 prize money had been donated by Amazon.Unlike vocal protests from other authors lately, … [Read more...] about Author Rejects Award Due to Amazon Backing