Börsenverein, the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, revealed 2014 sales figures for the German book market. The overall market saw a 2.2% fall and a slight increase in e-book sales. The Association’s Managing Director Alexander Skipis cited a significant decline in bestseller titles (down more than 20% on 2013) and growing ‘monopolistic companies like Amazon’. The German book industry’s economic…
New EU VAT Law Hurting Self-Published Authors
This week the Guardian UK highlighted the effects of a new European Union (EU) law which was introduced in January this year across all 28-member states. The law addresses VAT paid on e-books and other digital services (including broadcasting and telecommunications). Up until last year VAT rates on digital services and products were applied according to the VAT rate in the country where the…
Is HarperCollins Set to Take on Amazon?
Business Insider reported yesterday that negotiations between publisher HarperCollins and Amazon are not going well. The big five publisher’s current contract is due to expire soon and it is unclear whether Amazon will continue to sell and promote HarperCollins titles beyond this date. Hachette was involved in a long-running dispute with the online retailer last…
Dutch Book Readers and Authors Awake to Amazon.nl and KDP
Dutch book readers and authors have a couple of new online places to visit this morning. In late September TIPM reported that Amazon was in negotiations with Dutch publishers ahead of a planned launch of Amazon.nl. It’s been no secret that the online retail giant was going to enter the Dutch book market and rumours of Amazon.nl…
The Cuckoo’s Calling | A Carcass or Crown For Rowling?
There is no doubt that the biggest publishing story this summer has been the inadvertent or deliberate disclosure that Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling, penned and published a crime novel under the pseudonym, Robert Galbraith. Ever since The Sunday Times ran an investigative piece on the real author of ‘The Cuckoo’s Calling’ more than…
Apple Guilty of Collusion with Publishers on e-Book Pricing
Judge Denise Cote of the Southern District Court, New York, yesterday ruled in favour of plaintiffs, The United States Department of Justice (DOJ). In her ruling she found defendant Apple Inc. guilty of colluding with publisher defendants to raise, fix and stablize the retail price of new release and bestselling e-books in violation of the Sherman Antitrust…
The Future of Publishing 2020: A Program for Publishers and Self-Publishers (Part 2)
In January this year, as part of my series of articles on The Future of Publishing 2020, I finished with A Program for Publishers and Self-Publishers – Part 1. I looked at the role of self-publishing, its development and shift (or acceptance if you will) into the world of mainstream publishing, specifically through new imprints…
Amazon Acquires Book Review Community Goodreads
Perhaps the biggest news so far this year in the book world is the announcement by Amazon late today that it will acquire Goodreads, the social media book review and recommendation community. Subject to some closing conditions of the deal (the purchase price has not yet been revealed), Amazon will acquire Goodreads in the second quarter of this year. Goodreads has shown extraordinary growth…
The Biblio-Mat Book Dispenser | The Monkey’s Paw Bookstore
Photo: Inquisitr.com The Biblio-Mat is a random book dispenser built by Craig Small for The Monkey’s Paw, an idiosyncratic antiquarian bookshop in Toronto. Biblio-Mat books, which vary widely in size and subject matter, cost two dollars. The machine was conceived as an artful alternative to the ubiquitous and often ignored discount sidewalk bin. When a…
Fancy A Coffee and A Book?
Hillcrest Media, parent company of self-publishing service Mill City Press and several traditional imprints, have formed a partnership with Dunn Bros Coffee to create an online bookstore called CoffeeandBooks. The new venture will also have an in-store presence across the midwest and south regions of the USA and is now accepting authors eager to challenge the traditional bookselling model. CoffeeandBooks is…