Editor-in-Chief Andrew Richard Albanese stands in this week for publishing analyst Carlo Carrenho with a review of the headlines from across the international publishing world.
Around the Book World: Monday, June 29th, 2026
Publishing analyst Carlo Carrenho kicks off the week with a review of the headlines from across the international publishing world.
‘Plutonium, or Salt?’ When It Comes to Books, How Much AI Is Too Much?
“This AI moment—in the industry, in the world—is revealing a lot about what we believe to be important,” observes Rakuten Kobo CEO Michael Tamblyn, “and about why we all do the jobs we do.”
Abu Dhabi: Kobo Plans To Begin Supporting Uploads of Arabic
The 12-year-old international digital book service’s CEO Michael Tamblyn addressed the Abu Dhabi book fair’s conference.
Coronavirus Worklife: Kobo Joins Mondadori in Providing Free Ebooks to Italians in Lockdown
Amid Europe’s largest coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak, Italian citizens in lockdown are able to read free Mondadori ebooks in a program facilitated by Kobo.
Michael Tamblyn on Kobo’s 10th Anniversary: ‘A Better Reading Life’
This weekend marks Kobo’s first decade. CEO Michael Tamblyn looks at how his far-flung international retail success is a former startup ‘still standing.’
Rakuten Kobo’s 2018 Bestselling Ebooks and Reading Trends in Canada
They’re reading an average 73 hours per year, says Canada’s big ebook and audiobook service, and Rakuten Kobo sees a lot of US politics on its most-read lists in 2018.
At Frankfurt’s ‘The Markets’ Conference: Pieter Swinkels of Rakuten Kobo
‘We allow other industries to cannibalize what used to be time devoted to books,’ says Rakuten Kobo’s Pieter Swinkels ahead of his appearance at Frankfurt’s The Markets conference.
Canada’s Rakuten Kobo Arrives in America at Walmart: Ebooks and Audiobooks
Touting 6 million ebooks and a $9.99 audiobook subscription, the new Walmart partnership with Rakuten Kobo gives the Canadian retailer what it hasn’t had in the US market: brand recognition.
BookNet Canada and Rakuten Kobo Award 2018 Ebook Coding Prize
Getting ‘aesthetically pleasing and accessible content’ out of what the judges gave her as a mashup of sci-fi and Lewis Carroll, Katy Mastrocola beats the competition.