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iMinds Launches Eight-Minute Audiobooks
In an attempt to capitalize on people’s short attention spans and ever-increasing dependence on iPods and other MP3 players, a new company, iMinds, has launched a series of eight-minute audiobooks that offer compact overviews of general knowledge subjects ranging from the history of whale hunting to creationism. There are currently 72 iMinds MindTracks available for download at Audible and the iTunes store, and iMinds plans to roll out hundreds more by the end of 2010.
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Frankfurt Book Fair: Survey Finds Publishers In Search of New Business Models
Just over 72% of publishers taking part in a survey on the impact of digitization on book publishing said the development of new business models, new multimedia products and effective marketing strategies are the biggest challenges facing publishers as they make the transition from print to digital.
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Sony in Deals with Smashwords, Author Solutions
Sony has signed deals with Smashwords and Authors Solutions that will permit e-books published or distributed by the two companies to be sold through the Sony eBook Store.
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O'Reilly Media, Microsoft Press Team Up
O'Reilly Media and Microsoft Press have into into a joint agreement under which O'Reilly will assume distribution for Microsoft, convert Microsoft titles to e-books and co-publish about half of the press's list.
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Can the Google Book Settlement Be Saved?
Despite asking a federal judge to cancel the scheduled October 7 fairness hearing, the parties in the Google Book Search Settlement said they were eager to fix the deal and move forward. As the legal dust settled last week, however, a growing number of critics and observers claim the settlement has been effectively killed.
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IREX Offers New Digital Reader; Open Platform, More e-Book Competition
IREX CEO Hans Brons was on hand yesterday to unveil the latest entry in the digital reading device derby, the DR800SG, a $399 3G wireless stylus-touchscreen e-book reader with a 8.1” screen, designed and priced to compete with the Amazon Kindle ($299-$489) and Sony’s just announced wireless ereader, Daily Edition ($399).
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Copyright Clearance Center to Host Google Discussion on Wednesday
Talk about good timing—on Wednesday, September 23, the Copyright Clearance Center will host the sixth installment in its online informational seminar on the Google Book Search Settlement, including a discussion of the recent Department of Justice brief and its implications going forward.
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Free E-books Spur Sales at Kensington
While the question of whether offering free e-books will lead customers to buy more books continues as a hot industry topic, Kensington Publishing is utilizing targeted promotions offering free one-week downloads of e-book releases to push the sales of digital and print titles as well as attract readers to first-time authors.
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Children’s Publishing in the Digital Age
In a forum this past Tuesday on “The Current State of E: Publishing in the Digital Age,” a group of panelists discussed some of the thorniest issues that the industry is currently facing: where digital publishing stands and where it is headed. Speakers included Len Feldman of Follett Digital Resources, Andrew Weinstein of Ingram Digital, Erica Lazarro of OverDrive and Josh Koppel of ScrollMotion; digital publishing reporter Craig Morgan Teicher served as moderator.
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Espresso Book Machine Adds Google Books, More Stores
The maker of the Espresso Book Machine, On Demand Books, more than doubled the number of books that it supplies to bookstores and libraries that use its POD system with today’s announcement that it signed an agreement to provide access to more than two million public-domain titles in the Google digital files. More stores havew also signed on to use the machine.
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Court Acknowledges More Than 400 Submissions in Google Settlement
In an order posted Wednesday, federal judge Denny Chin said the fairness hearing for the Google Book Search settlement scheduled for October 7th will go on, despite the receipt of over 400 submissions.
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Lightning Enters France in Deal with Hachette Livre
Lightning Source has expanded into France through a joint venture with Hachette Livre to build a print-on-demand facility in Hachette’s distribution center in Maurepas, a city near Paris.
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DNAML Releases PDF to ePub Conversion Software
DNAML, a software development house based in Australia, has released PDF to ePub, new software that it claims will allow publishers, authors and production houses to easily and quickly convert PDF documents, the industry standard format for e-books.
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Google Hearing Raises Questions, Brings Concessions
In testimony before a hastily announced House Judiciary Committee hearing on September 10, U.S. Register of Copyrights Marybeth Peters, in her first detailed comments on the subject, called the Google Book Search Settlement “fundamentally at odds with the law.” In a blistering assessment, Peters told lawmakers that the settlement was in essence a compulsory license, and that only Co...
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Namelos Editions to Publish Electronic and POD Books
In January, Stephen Roxburgh started namelos, a consortium of editors, art directors and designers who work with authors to develop projects for placement with publishers. He began the second phase of his company, namelos editions, on Labor Day—"because it’s a lot of work," he said. Namelos editions will publish one-color children’s and YA fiction, nonfiction and poetry in electronic and print-on-demand editions. The company’s tagline...
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U.S. Register of Copyrights Slams Google Book Search Settlement
In a blistering assessment of the deal, Marybeth Peters told lawmakers at today's hearing that the settlement is in essence a compulsory license that would give Google the ability to engage in activities that are “indisputable acts of copyright infringement.”
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As Deadline Passes, NWU, Consumer Watchdog Join Google Books Objectors
The National Writers Union and Consumer Watchdog were among those to file briefs urging rejection as the Google Book Search Settlement deadline officially passed this morning.
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Authors Guild Slams Amazon Over Its Google Settlement Stance; Other Groups Opt Out of Settlement
After Amazon came out against the Google Settlement earlier this week, the Authors Guild has come back with a response.
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Kiyosaki’s Online Book Ready for Print
Robert Kiyosaki’s experiment to write a personal finance book in one-chapter installments and release them online for free has come to an end—and now it’s time for the hard copy of the book to make its way into readers’ hands the traditional way. Rich Dad's Conspiracy of the Rich, a $12.99 trade paperback, will go on sale September 8 from the Grand Central imprint Business Plus, featuring the material Kiyosaki posted online as well as selected comments from readers.
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Court Denies Amazon's Motion to Dismiss BookLocker Antitrust Lawsuit
Independent print-on-demand publisher and bookseller BookLocker said yesterday a court has denied Amazon’s motion to dismiss the antitrust lawsuit that BookLocker filed against Amazon, meaning that BookLocker can proceed with its case.
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