By Edward Nawotka In the US, former HarperCollins CEO Jane Friedman has raised $3 million for a new venture called Open Road Integrated Media — a company few seem to know much about other than it will be involved in e-book marketing and promotion. The above video, in which Friedman is filmed in a recent conversation with former CEO and Chairman of the …
German Buch News: Swiss Doubt Over Fixed Prices; iRex Promises Color Reader
By Siobhan O’Leary In Switzerland, the financial crisis has reignited the debate over fixed book pricing, which was expected to go into effect in 2010. Now, in an interview with the Boersenblatt, Dani Landolf, Director of the Schweizer Buchhändler- und Verleger-Verbands (SBVV) (Swiss Booksellers and Publishers Association, says politicians are backing off their commitment to the policy, due in large …
Top US/UK Trade Talk: UK’s Sainsbury’s Expands Books; Slight Sales Drop at B&N, BAM
By Edward Nawotka In the UK, Sainsbury’s supermarkets are making further inroads into bookselling and plan to increase oval book sales by some 3% in 2009. “The supermarket chain told publishers at its annual supplier conference in London last week that it was targeting book sales of £36.25m in 2009-up from £27.6m in 2008, said The Bookseller. A large part …
German Buch News: German Book Prize Longlist; Bertelsmann Cancels Frankfurt Party
By Edward Nawotka The seven member jury of the German Book Prize has narrowed down an initial 150 submissions to 20 semi-finalists. A shortlist of six will be announced on September 16, with the winner being presented at the start of the Frankfurt Book Fair. The prize, now in its fifth year, is sponsored by the German Publishers and Booksellers …
What’s the Buzz: SXSW Wants You…to Vote on Possible Publishing Panels
By Hannah Johnson The best of the blogosphere and social media… Well, it looks like publishers are having another go at next year’s South by Southwest Festival (SXSW) in Austin, Texas next year. The festival is currently accepting panel suggestions for the Interactive conference, and the good news is that a number of panels have been suggested by people in …
German Buch News: No E-book for Dan Brown; Der Club Opens to Non-members
By Siobhan O’Leary Despite the announcement in the US that Doubleday will release an e-book edition of Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol simultaneously with their hardcover edition, Buchreport notes that Brown’s German publisher Lübbe has no plans to release an e-book version of the German translation. However, Lübbe Audio will be releasing an abridged audio edition for the same price as the …
Top US/UK Trade Talk: UK’s Orion Sets Bestseller Record, Random Goes Greener
By Edward Nawotka In London, The Bookseller is reporting that the publisher Orion has set a record by landing three consecutive books at #1 on the bestseller list in the past five weeks. “Thanks to a 37,450 seven-day sale, Ian Rankin’s Doors Open is this week’s new number one. It means that publisher Orion has enjoyed three consecutive number ones (over …
German Buch News: Hosseini Tops 2.5 mil., New €35,000 Translation Prize
By Siobhan O’Leary Following Berlin Verlag’s May release of the paperback edition of A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini’s books have now sold more than 2.5 million books in the German-speaking world. Even Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier gave the book a little boost when he recommended A Thousand Splendid Suns during a German Bundestag debate. He also lists The Kite Runner …
What’s the Buzz: Lit Sites Add Ads; Seeking Sustainable Arts Journalism
By Edward Nawotka GalleyCat is reporting that some of our favorite literary Web sites are adding advertising to the mix, including The Rumpus (created by the inimitable Stephen Elliott), The Millions, and HTMLGIANT. The change, says GalleyCat, is so they can pay their contributors. Recent essays posted on The Millions and The Rumpus addressed the very idea of writing for …
German Buch News: Bookstores Give Classical Music a Boost
By Siobhan O’Leary Sales of classical music products increased by 23% in the first half of 2009 and it’s booksellers who are partially responsible. According to figures published by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie, and reported in BuchMarkt, classical music generates about 100 million euros in sales in Germany each year, with about 10% of that sold in bookstores. Could this be an …