To rephrase a line from the really fun comedy The Truth about Cats and Dogs, "You can love books, just don't loooooove books." Unfortunately, a new survey has found that for many fiction readers, their favorite characters are stepping out of the pages and into their daily lives. Before you have to wonder if Christian Grey has invaded more than a few bedrooms, never fear, it's … [Read more...] about Are Your Favorite Characters Taking Over Your Life?
the guardian
Is Social Media a Reliable Source for the News?
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?
New SelfPub Writing Award Backed By The Guardian
With indie authors often barred from prestigious writing and book awards, smaller companies have had to launch their own forms of author recognition. IndieReader and Foreword Reviews are known for two of the more widespread awards, as is Amazon/CreateSpace's ABNA awards. But in a publishing climate in which many newspapers and media outlets still have policies against even … [Read more...] about New SelfPub Writing Award Backed By The Guardian
The Guardian Expands to Australia in Digital Form
The Guardian is one of the most popular newspapers in the United Kingdom. Deputy editor Katharine Viner announced today that the company was opening up an Australian digital edition later this year. It is thought that this move will eventually be a platform to launch further publications into Asia. "We already have a large number of Australian readers who tell us they want … [Read more...] about The Guardian Expands to Australia in Digital Form
Print Sales Rose Over the Holidays, But Is It a Sign of a Coup?
All of the early smart predictions about digital publishing allowed that there were markets for print books and markets for ebooks. High-resolution photo books fare better in their print formats, while no one can argue that the romance genre fans don't love digital. A recent article in The Guardian demonstrated that, while print sales rose over the holidays, it is in these … [Read more...] about Print Sales Rose Over the Holidays, But Is It a Sign of a Coup?
The Guardian and Audible Reach New Agreement for the Guardian Audio Edition
United Kingdom based The Guardian newspaper has forged a relationship with Audible, for an audiobook version of the famous paper. Every week the Guardian Audio Edition will hit Audible, and give you a feel for the UK's book scene and new releases. Audible will also sponsor the Guardian Books homepage, its weekly books podcast, and its books review pages, with co-branded … [Read more...] about The Guardian and Audible Reach New Agreement for the Guardian Audio Edition
More Bad News for the Publishing Industry?
Ebooks were supposed to be the end of the publishing industry. Then it was Amazon and the resulting loss of a number of brick-and-mortar bookstores; of course, Amazon’s traditional publishing arm was also to blame for destroying the publishing industry. The Department of Justice lawsuit against Apple and several publishers was going to end the publishing industry, and … [Read more...] about More Bad News for the Publishing Industry?
HarperCollins’ Head on the Changing Role of Publisher
Juliette Garside for The Observer spoke with the head of HarperCollins UK about the wild shifts in the publishing industry over the last few years. Victoria Barnsley, CEO of the UK and international divisions, spoke eagerly about the hottest title coming from the publisher this year, and it’s not a book; it’s a tablet-based reading app, a complete reinvention of the well-known … [Read more...] about HarperCollins’ Head on the Changing Role of Publisher
Digital Technology Revives Our Need for Reading
If the staggering sales of e-readers over the holiday season, coupled with the reports on ebook borrowing and sales for 2011, are any indication of the resurgence in reading habits, there may be a vital reason. Studies have now shown that humans have a basic need to read. An article by Gail Rebuck for The Guardian explains: “Psychologists from Washington University used … [Read more...] about Digital Technology Revives Our Need for Reading
The Guardian Launches Free Android News App
The Guardian has just launched their free Google Android application available to customers worldwide. The Guardian iOS application is not free and many companies have successfully monetized their content in the Apple ecosystem. They revised their subscription model in January offering varying levels of access. The British news source has claimed over 67,000 for their … [Read more...] about The Guardian Launches Free Android News App
The Guardian Launches “Shorts” to Compete with Amazon Singles
United Kingdoms The Guardian is a major news agency and is getting into the short form ebook game to compete with Amazon. The new program called "Shorts" is a new series of ebooks will mostly be written by existing Guardian staff. The subject matter will be mostly abiding by the existing expertise of the staff writers at their various publications. What is Shorts all … [Read more...] about The Guardian Launches “Shorts” to Compete with Amazon Singles