In this Publishers WeeklyInternational news website of book publishing and bookselling including business news, reviews, bestseller lists, commentaries http://www.publishersweekly.com/ story, booksellers' associations representing over 4,500 stores express their dismay at the Department of Justice's settlement decision.
Links of the week July 23 2012 (30)
Our new feature links to interesting blogs or articles posted online, which will help keep you up to date with what's going on in the book world:
30 July 2012
Both the American Booksellers Association and the National Association of College Stores, which together represent roughly 4,500 booksellers, expressed their concerns and astonishment over the Department of Justice's response to 868 comments regarding the consent decree with settling publishers involved in the DoJ%u2019s suit on the agency model. Of those comments more than 90% opposed the settlement, including 200 from bookstores. "We find it truly astonishing that DoJ has failed to recognize the myriad harmful effects of its proposed remedy," said ABA CEO Oren Teicher in a flash alert to the organization's members Monday afternoon. "But we remain hopeful that the court will take steps to fashion a solution that does not punish indie booksellers and other e-book distributors who are working hard to serve consumers by maintaining diversity and vitality in the world of books." Teicher, who pointed out that e-book prices are in fact lower since the agency model was introduced, went on to say that "the proposed settlement . . . in all likelihood, will create the very conditions likely to foster and strengthen an online retailers monopoly in e-books."
The General Secretary of the Society of Authors in the UK on the threats to authors from the deteriorating situation in the libraries
Authors are getting cross. Generally a polite bunch, authors are alarmed at the ongoing, serious threats to libraries (which they continue to campaign against) and also the knock-on effect for the lowest-earning authors. The Government is encouraging libraries to replace paid staff with volunteers. Such %u201Ccommunity libraries%u201D currently account for less than 1 per cent of British libraries but their numbers are increasing. The concept chimes with the Big Society philosophy and the need to make the most of shrinking budgets. However, there has been little advice or oversight from DCMS as councils rush to increase the use of volunteers. Authors; heavy users of libraries as well as %u2018suppliers%u2019, are concerned that these changes will lead to a worse and piecemeal library service rather than the %u2018comprehensive and efficient%u2019 service that councils are legally obliged to provide. Libraries need a broad, appropriate and balanced range of books, newspapers, magazines and reference works, sufficient funding to update, maintain and augment the stock and adequate staffing by suitably trained staff.
The Search is on for the Greatest American novelist USA Today is surprised to find this coming from the UK paper the Guardian.
I'm kind of surprised to see the U.K.'s Guardian devoting so much ink to American fiction right now. Then again, ask 100 people who their favorite American novelist is, and you might get 100 different answers. In a feature that's partly influenced by readers, writer Matthew Spencer aims to find out which author should be crowned the greatest American novelist.
23 July 2012
"Destroy Amazon!": Rakuten Kobo and Kodansha's Tokyo Love-in The ground shifts in Japan, as giant firm Rakuten, owner of Kobo, uses the gift of a tee-shirt displaying the slogan to telegraph a new partnership with big publisher Kodansha against the internet retailer.
TOKYO: The keynote panel discussion at Tokyo's E-Book Expo, as part of the Tokyo Book Fair last week, wasn't expected to get the pulses racing despite the presence of Mikitani-san, whose company Rakuten has acquired Kobo, and Noma-san, the leader of the giant publisher Kodansha. We feared that the dot-com arriviste and the bastion of traditional Japanese publishing would do little more than exchange platitudes. Such an exchange would signal that the publishing establishment had pigeon holed Kobo alongside the much reviled Amazon and that the prospect for the whole industry getting out its digital limbo was slim. At the local train station, the poster reads: "A reading revolution. Whole new ways to enjoy books. (From) Rakuten Kobo" That's what we expected. Instead, we got a Rakuten Kodansha love-in, which heralds a sea change in Japanese publishing.
How I got a big advance from a big publisher and self-published anyway In Penelope Trunk's blog she relates the not very impressive story of her encounters with publishers who can't tell her anything about promoting her book.
I have a new book out today. It's called The New American Dream: A Blueprint for a New Path to Success. You will notice that the link goes to Hyperink. They are an independent publisher. I sold this same book, two years ago, to a mainstream publisher.