E-book lives on

A piece on Wired suggests that the death of the e-book has been exaggerated. E-book reading and sales are stronger than ever with independent publishers and retailers such as Fictionwise.com, Booklocker.com, Hardshell Word Factory and Palm Digital Corp reporting sales increases in 2001 from between 100% and 400%. "What hasn't worked is heavily invested companies -- such as iPublish and MightyWords -- setting overly optimistic expectations. But what has worked, albeit on a smaller scale, is selling quality work from recognised authors (Palm or Fictionwise), or offering readers niche titles that they are interested in reading (Hard Shell and Booklocker)."

But Mighty Words to Close

Yet another e-publishing venture is coming to an end, as MightyWords CEO Chris MacAskill served official 30-day notice of termination to content providers. MacAskill says, "We regret to inform you that we have made the difficult decision to cease operations effective January 12, 2002."

The site offers only slight more details; while distribution partners are encouraged to investigate becoming BN.com affiliates, the FAQ tells content providers wondering "Whom do I speak with at BN.COM to sell my digital titles?" that "We do not have contact information."