Unesp Hits 50,000 Downloads of Free University Press E-books

In Global Trade Talk by Maria Fernanda Rodrigues

By Maria Fernanda Rodrigues This post comes from our sister site, PublishNews Brazil: The university press Fundação Editora Unesp joined the digital era by going beyond merely digitizing its books: in March 2010, it released a free digital collection of unpublished papers and thesis written by its teachers and students. During the last year Unesp registered 50,000 downloads of the …

Is “Spotify for Books” Possible?

In Guest Contributors by Guest Contributor

The concept of cloud reading, also known as “Spotify for books,” sounds appealing, but has different implications depending on your position in the market. By Javier Celaya MADRID: During most of the meetings I held with national and international publishers at the last London Book Fair earlier this month, I was asked by many what my thoughts were on the …

Free E-books from PEN World Voices Festival Writers

In What's the Buzz by Edward Nawotka

By Edward Nawotka The PEN World Voices Festivals has an extraordinary line up of writers this year. In case you weren’t able to make it to New York, the Festival organizers are offering free e-books summarizing some of the writing from each day’s participants and tailored to that day’s programming. Instructions: click on the version you want to download. Open …

What Kinds of Content Should Authors and Publishers Give Away for Free?

In Discussion by Edward Nawotka

By Edward Nawotka Sometimes giving it away for free seems to work: Cory Doctorow gave away several of his early novels online for free and it has subsequently turned him into a successful, traditionally published author. Or so that’s the story he likes to tell. Of course, giving away an entire book has it’s risks. Notably, that the book will proliferate …

Project Gutenberg Offers Free E-Books

In What's the Buzz by Helen Gregg

By Helen Gregg Is your iBookshelf unacceptably sparse? Project Gutenberg, the free online database of public domain literature, has begun to put some titles into ePub formats to be read on mobile reading devices. The e-publishing blog eBookNewser has begun to list Project Gutenberg titles in its “Free E-Book of the Day” list, starting with the classics Pride and Prejudice …

Seth Godin’s What Matters Now for Free

In What's the Buzz by Hannah Johnson

By Hannah Johnson Early this morning, Seth Godin made his latest book, What Matters Now, available as a free PDF download. You can download it here or read it on Scribd. The book is a collection of short contributions from over 70 thinkers (including authors, journalists, marketing experts and others) about issues that…matter now. The book quickly became a trending …

German Buch News: Libreka’s Free E-books; Wholesalers Expand Offerings

In German Buch News by Siobhan O'Leary

By Siobhan O’Leary Libreka.de, the online book search database run by the Marketing- und Verlagsservice des Buchhandels, a subsidiary of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, wants you to know that you can, in fact, get something for nothing. According to the Boersenblatt, they’ve just launched a promotion called “Download Days“, in which a selected ebooks can be downloaded free of …

Global Trade Talk: Changes Coming for the Google Settlement?; Free Sci-Fi from Hachette

In Global Trade Talk, News by Edward Nawotka

By Edward Nawotka On Friday, the Department of Justice (DoJ) filed a brief recommending that the Google Book Settlement should be rejected by the court as it does not meet copyright and anti-trust laws. “Department officials urged the settlement parties to head back to the table,” reports Publishers Weekly. “‘A properly structured settlement agreement in this case offers the potential for …

What’s the Buzz: Digital Pub Insights; Free Downloads

In News, What's the Buzz by Hannah Johnson

By Hannah Johnson The best of the blogosphere and social media… Twittered and blogged about from every corner of the internet yesterday, the Kindle version of The Lost Symbol is outselling the hardcover version on Amazon.com despite the retailer’s hardcover discount of nearly 50%. Publishers have been reluctant in the past to release ebook and hardcover versions simultaneously because they …