Mark Batty, which is well known in the independent writing community for its full color illustrated books, has partnered with iBooks to bring a slew of new content to the bookstore.
The publisher will not only be bringing new books to the iBookstore, but will be putting up some of their new content as well. The big draw about these books is that they are fixed with epubs. They will also work on the iPhone and iPad, which puts their books in the hands of many avid readers.
Mark Batty Publisher’s designer and production director Christopher Salyers explained the benefits of fixed-format eBooks, saying, “Apple’s decision to include fixed-width viewing in Epub format on the iPad/iPhone opened up an opportunity for illustrated book publishers to get into the eBook game. You can view one of our books as they’ve been originally designed for print, but with the added ability to zoom and move about the high definition spreads with ease.”
One book that I am excited about checking out is The Book of Ice by Paul D. Miller a.k.a. DJ Spooky has been a well known musician for over a decade.
[showhide type=’pressrelease’]Mark Batty Publisher Announces First EBooks in Apple iBookstore
New York City – August 2, 2011 – Mark Batty Publisher, an independent illustrated books publisher, is pleased to announce its first eBook, CBGB: Decades of Graffiti, now available in the Apple iBookstore. MBP will be releasing digital editions of new releases and backlist favorites, with several more titles planned for 2011, including Face Food Recipes and The Book of Ice.
“Enthusiasts of the printed book already know how amazing and beautiful our full color books are on paper, but now that we have started making our fixed-format Epub books they take on a whole new life,” said Mark Batty, publisher. “All of the fantastic design, photography, imagery, and literary content of our paper books is present in the electronic versions, and in some cases we will provide enhanced content to expand the experience of our books in the e-space.”
Mark Batty Publisher’s designer and production director Christopher Salyers explained the benefits of fixed-format eBooks, saying, “Apple’s decision to include fixed-width viewing in Epub format on the iPad/iPhone opened up an opportunity for illustrated book publishers to get into the eBook game. You can view one of our books as they’ve been originally designed for print, but with the added ability to zoom and move about the high definition spreads with ease.”
The arrangement with Apple to sell eBooks in the iBookstore will allow Mark Batty Publisher to step into the world of digital publishing and make its titles available to a wider audience, while continuing a commitment to publishing innovative, visual books on paper.
CBGB: Decades of Graffiti by Richard Hell and Christopher Salyers: CBGB, the music club that helped define New York City’s punk scene by introducing the world to such bands as Television, the Talking Heads, and the Ramones, shut down in 2006. The club opened in 1973; in 33 years very little changed about the physical space, with one exception: the graffiti. Grimy and layered with ink, the walls held the club’s history, and CBGB: Decades of Graffiti preserves that tale now that the walls are gone with photographs by J.K. Putnam, shot just before CBGB shut down. On his website, Richard Hell writes that the book is “the best chronicle, the best print evocation of CBGB’s available.”
Planned eBooks for 2011 include:
- The Book of Ice by Paul D. Miller a.k.a. DJ Spooky
- Face Food Recipes by Christopher Salyers
- The Hot Knives Vegetarian Cookbook: Salad Daze by Alex Brown and Evan George
- Remembering 911 by Martha Cooper
- Vending Machines: Coined Consumerism by Christopher Salyers
- Idle Idol: The Japanese Mascot by Edward and John Harrison
- Fuzz & Fur: Japan’s Costumed Characters by Edward and John Harrison
- Dogs in Books by Catherine Britton
- Drainspotting: Japanese Manhole Covers by Remo Camerota
- An Illustrated Guide to Cockroaches by Ekaterina Smirnova[/showhide]
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
