First there was Paper.li, an app that allows users to create a digital "newspaper" based on the story links their social media connections share. Then came Facebook's Paper app, which serves as a curated offering of a user's shares from contacts. But now, The Guardian is rolling out an actual print newspaper that will contain stories curated from share algorithms. The … [Read more...] about Is Social Media a Reliable Source for the News?
Digital Publishing News
Pulitzer Prize Winners Announced: The Goldfinch Wins for Fiction
It is shockingly easy to enter a book into the Pulitzer Prizes in Letters competition. The author (in most categories) must be an American citizen, the book must be available for sale in print, it must have first been published that year, and the person submitting the book has to send four copies of the book and a fifty dollar entry fee. That's it. It's easier and cheaper to … [Read more...] about Pulitzer Prize Winners Announced: The Goldfinch Wins for Fiction
Digital Library Lending Has a Long Way to Go
It feels like every new step in the right direction also leads to a host of new problems and closures for public libraries where digital lending is concerned. It's been years since the first debates over protecting the interests of authors and publishers, with solutions--albeit often pathetic ones--proposed so long ago that the system should have sorted itself out by now. With … [Read more...] about Digital Library Lending Has a Long Way to Go
UK eBook Lending Program a Success for Libraries, Publishers
A recent program for UK libraries to lend ebooks has been considered not only a success for institutions and patrons, but also for publishers given the number of click through sales that resulted from borrows. The report, given at a panel at the London Book Fair this week, was from the Society of Chief Librarians (SCL) president Janene Cox. The program, launched on March … [Read more...] about UK eBook Lending Program a Success for Libraries, Publishers
Brooklyn Newsstand Program Makes Digital Newspaper Archive Available to Public
The Brooklyn Public Library system announced recently a new initiative to digitize backlist newspaper archives in order to make them available to the public via their online portal. This initiative, which will make all copies of the original Brooklyn newspaper, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, available, was supported by both grant funding and the loaning of microfiche from the … [Read more...] about Brooklyn Newsstand Program Makes Digital Newspaper Archive Available to Public
Cleis Press, Penthouse Collaborate on New Line of Erotica eBooks
It took them long enough, but some of the biggest names in books and porn have finally realized that sex sells. That's why Cleis Press and Penthouse will begin publishing a new line of digital erotica titles, set to launch this fall. Billed as the Penthouse Variations On series, this line of titles will eventually be a title of six different anthologies, with the first title … [Read more...] about Cleis Press, Penthouse Collaborate on New Line of Erotica eBooks
Smashwords Reveals Number of Bestselling Authors Overwhelmingly Female
Over on the Smashwords blog, CEO and founder Mark Coker posted some interesting information about the demographics of the bestselling authors on the site. According to the Smashwords bestseller list, published each month by Publisher's Weekly, the top twenty-five bestselling titles on Smashwords for the last many months have all been written by women. All of them. Coker … [Read more...] about Smashwords Reveals Number of Bestselling Authors Overwhelmingly Female
OverDrive eReading Rooms Engage Libraries’ Youngest Patrons
As libraries look for news ways to stay relevant and meet their patrons' needs, increasing numbers of institutions are implementing digital lending. eBook lending, along with movie, music, and audiobook streaming, is helping these entities keep their doors open by offering the content their patrons need in the platforms they want to consumer it. But one area where digital … [Read more...] about OverDrive eReading Rooms Engage Libraries’ Youngest Patrons
E-reading Leading to Alarming “Digital Brain” Phenomenon
For better or for worse, digital reading is here and it's everywhere. Subscription-based ebook reading is finally taking root, news and magazine apps have been optimized for smartphone and tablet consumption, and even browser-based scroller feeds offer headlines and story teasers to consumers throughout the day. In some ways, the widespread adoption of digital reading has … [Read more...] about E-reading Leading to Alarming “Digital Brain” Phenomenon
London Book Fair’s Digital Minds Conference Kicks Off with a Stab at Amazon
The broken record of the publishing industry is playing the same old song: Amazon is evil and must be destroyed. At least, that's the sentiment that came out of the first day conference of the London Book Fair. The digital publishing-themed pre-event got underway with an in-depth look at how Amazon continues to destroy basically the entire world. This particular rendition of … [Read more...] about London Book Fair’s Digital Minds Conference Kicks Off with a Stab at Amazon