By Edward Nawotka It has seemed like every week this summer there has been a new announcement about a large quantity of titles being added to one e-bookstore or another. Whether it’s Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Sony or Google, the message has been consistent: “My e-book store is bigger!”, “No, my e-book store is bigger!” It’s a bit like children …
German Buch News: Amazon’s New 500 Euro Fine
By Siobhan O’Leary Amazon.de has announced that as of August 24th, it will be charging German publishers a penalty of 500 Euros for any form of non-compliance with the terms of its Vendor Manual and operational policies, particularly regarding shipping instructions. One unnamed publisher from a well-known house complained to BuchMarkt that publishers should not have to pay for simple, …
German Buch News: More on Amazon v. Orwell; Bookface.de
By Siobhan O’Leary The German trades are full of talk about the Amazon Orwell deletion. Among the most notable is the short opinion piece by Boersenblatt editor Holger Heimann which compared the deletion to a bookseller sneaking into someone apartment to reclaim books that have already been purchased. “Disaster is inevitable. A precedent has been set,” he wrote. Buchreport.de highlights …
Top US/UK Trade Talk: Searching for Superheroes; Earnings Reports
By Edward Nawotka The Wall Street Journal looked at the shifting focus of movie producers at this weekend’s Comic-Con. They are moving away from mainstream superheroes (who are all accounted for) and looking toward the fringes for new, unheard of talent. PW focused on earnings reports: Lagardere Publishing was up 11% in the first half of 2009, to just over …
Indonesian Publisher’s Sales Spike Post Terrorism, Credit the Long Tail
By Edward Nawotka JAKARTA: “These bombings have been very disturbing,” says Mark Hanusz, owner and publisher of Equinox Publishing in Jakarta, Indonesia. “Four years ago, when the Australian Embassy was bombed, it didn’t affect me so much, but this time it has impacted me much more personally. Of the people injured in the Marriott Hotel, I knew four of them …
Top US/UK Trade Talk: Frank McCourt’s Passing; Amazon’s Deletions
By Edward Nawotka Though it’s not strictly trade news, many have noted the passing of bestselling and Pulitzer Prize-winning Irish-American memoirist Frank McCourt, who died from cancer on Sunday afternoon. He was 78. Frank, may a properly pulled pint be waiting for you when you arrive at St. Peter’s Gate. Trade news on both side of the Atlantic has focuses …
Bonus Material: The Godzilla of Japanese Online Shopping
By Edward Nawotka If this were a Japanese monster movie Mothra would be played by Amazon.co.jp. Amazon in Japan has always been a contender, but one that is too often on the losing side of the fight. (Recently, for example, the company was asked to pay $119 million in overdue Japanese taxes after being accused of failing to properly report …