As things got underway at the annual Digital Book World conference in New York, one of the first news items to come was the results of an in-depth study on the digital reading habits of some of the youngest ebook consumers in the marketplace. "Two-thirds of children under 13 now read on digital devices; kids love reading eBooks and parents believe in their educational value. … [Read more...] about Digital Book World: Kids and eReading Study Data Released
Digital Publishing News
Hitler’s Book Rising in Non-Fiction Charts
Move over, ebook authors, there's a new bestselling author to watch out for. The fact that he was evil and responsible for the slaughter of millions of people shouldn't matter, right? Hopefully that's not what the consumers who have been snapping up digital editions of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf are thinking. An article in Salon by Mary Elizabeth Williams explained an even … [Read more...] about Hitler’s Book Rising in Non-Fiction Charts
It Pays to Be Small: Zola Buys Book Discovery Site Bookish
It's a tough time to be selling ebooks if you're not Amazon. That's why two fairly recent startups, ebook seller and social media platform Zola Books and Big Three book discovery brainchild Bookish.com, have joined forces in the fight against success with Zola's acquisition of the book search engine. Zola, formed by literary agents and funded partly through investments by … [Read more...] about It Pays to Be Small: Zola Buys Book Discovery Site Bookish
Things Looking Up for Lonely Planet
The market for guidebooks has suffered in recent years, with a number of travel publishers feeling the pinch of free online content. When travelers have the power to look up street level maps, book online reservations, and follow blogs with up to date information on where to stay and what to see, printed guidebooks seem pretty irrelevant. Unfortunately, publishers' attempts to … [Read more...] about Things Looking Up for Lonely Planet
Consumers Warned Against “Showrooming”
A name has been given to an evil that plagues independent bookstores, a practice that was blamed largely for the demise of the Borders bookstore chain: showrooming. This practice, which affects mom-and-pop retailers across possibly every industry but especially the bookselling profession, occurs when consumers enter a local physical retail shop in order to find information and … [Read more...] about Consumers Warned Against “Showrooming”
Smashwords’ Predictions for Publishing in 2014
This time of year brings with it a host of predictions from various entities, all of whom can lay claim to professional insight behind their ideas. In the many centuries' old book industry, the past that used to shape the present has been ripped away by disruption and technological shift, meaning even well thought out predictions may prove to be far off base. Smashwords, an … [Read more...] about Smashwords’ Predictions for Publishing in 2014
What’s Up with Amazon Royalties Coming Down?
The debate over the most recent accusations about how Amazon is destroying the book industry has taken a new turn with some new arguments, all of which--yet again--have nothing more behind them than the insistence that Amazon hates books, hates authors, hates readers, and basically...hates everyone. In a brilliant post with some actual explanation behind it, bestselling … [Read more...] about What’s Up with Amazon Royalties Coming Down?
Number of Children’s Challenged Books Increased in 2013
With the advent of digital reading, digital publishing, and self-publishing in their current forms, it seems that a resurgence in bibliophilia may be sweeping the planet. But at a time when access to books is being made possible literally anywhere and efforts to further reading through instant digital downloads continues to grow, a sad and shocking fact has come to light: more … [Read more...] about Number of Children’s Challenged Books Increased in 2013
Oyster eBook Subscription Gets Titles from Perseus
When subscription reading was first introduced several years ago, companies like Spain-based 24Symbols introduced some of the first of a variety of different models. Some companies experimented with Netflix-style unlimited reading for a flat fee, others tried charging per page view, while still others tried freemium models. While any number of pricing and reading options may … [Read more...] about Oyster eBook Subscription Gets Titles from Perseus
Auryn Points Parents to Great Gift Subscriptions for Kids this Christmas
Award-winning children's enhanced storybook creator Auryn, who recently launched its StoriesAlive subscription reading service for kids, has put out a list of vetted and dynamic kids' subscriptions for tablet-based content. These subscriptions all aimed at the under-teen set, are expected to be welcomed gifts of reading, learning, and fun, for children and toddlers. First, … [Read more...] about Auryn Points Parents to Great Gift Subscriptions for Kids this Christmas