By Andres Hax

On November 15, Spanish publisher Ediciones B launched a new digital imprint, B de Books. The publisher says it will keep prices competitive, with e-books ranging from 1.99 to 9.99 Euros. Some 300 titles will be available to start and B de Books has signed agreements with several major digital distribution platforms, including Amazon, Libranda and Apple.

In addition to touting their low prices, B de Books claimed to be “the first e-book publishing venture without DRM encryption,” according to Madrid newspaper ABC. The assertion immediately came under fire from blog Actualidad Editorial, where Arantxa Mellado pointed out that “for years now in Spain small, independent editorial houses have been working exclusively in digital format and without DRM? And selling at prices below €5?”

She noted that some publishers, like “Ganso y Pulpo even give away books. And others take time innovating with formats, pricing and business models: Muso a las 9, Editorial Intangible, La Tortuga Cassiopeia, Sinerrata Editors, Sigueleyendo and Minobitia, to name a few.”

In related e-book news, Planeta has also launched two new low-priced e-book imprints: Zafiro (for romance) and Scyla (for science fiction, fantasy and horror). The books are available in EPUB format and range in price from €0.99 to €4.99.

Sources: ABC, Iolanda Bethencourt, Actualidad Editorial