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, careless mistakes.

German publishers are confident about the future of their industry — and that future is digital, says Boersenblatt. According to a survey conducted by the Arbeitskreis Elektronisches Publizieren / Electronic Publishing Group (AKEP) and the Kommission Online der Deutschen Fachpresse (the Online Commission of the German Business Media), “the mood among publishers is considerably better” than the outlook in other industries. The quarterly survey is based on the “EPIX” index, which measures the expectations of German publishers regarding digital media based on sales figures, investment in e-publishing, and other factors.

Nobel Prize winner Imre Kertész has been awarded this year’s Jean Améry Prize for essay writing. Sponsored by the Austrian ERSTE Bank and the publisher Klett-Cotta, the 12,000 Euro prize will be conferred at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair.

About the Author

Siobhan O'Leary

Siobhan O’Leary is a literary agent, translator and writer based in Berlin. She previously worked in the Foreign Rights department of the Crown Publishing Group (Random House) and at the publishing consulting firm Market Partners International.