-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
From Print to E-Book-Inside the Transformation of the Book Industry
by Richard Curtis
The digital transformation of the past fifty years has been widely chronicled, but the story of how the book industry went from print to digital has never been adequately told.
As a widely admired literary agent and the founder of one of the very first e-book publishers, Richard Curtis was present at the creation. He knows the whole story as only an insider can. Digital Inc. is the first book to recount in detail the conversion of printed books to digital and the struggles of publishers to embrace a new business and creative paradigm after five hundred years of dedication to print on paper. The upheaval changed not just books but the people who write, read, and publish them.
Digital Inc. blends a thoroughly researched history with an account of how Curtis and a team of hotshots built their electronic book company from scratch and turned it into a multimillion-dollar company in the vanguard of digital transformation, pioneering innovations that still shape the book business today. The story of how the e-book morphed from an idle fantasy into an industry-shaping powerhouse is told against the backdrop of decades of tumult in publishing, from the birth of international media conglomerates and the explosion of social media to the rise of Amazon and the emergence of new business models unimaginable a generation ago.
In the tradition of Hackers, Fire in the Valley, and Soul of a New Machine, Digital Inc. explores the personal, social, and creative complexities-as well as the daunting technical and economic hurdles-that the progenitors of the e-book revolution had to overcome. Curtis's wise and witty voice brings to life the colorful characters who revolutionized publishing and continue to transform it in the rapidly-dawning age of AI.
For everyone who cares about books and their continuing impact on our culture-from writers and publishing professionals to countless avid readers-Digital Inc. is an absorbing, eye-opening guide to today's new world of books and how it came to be.
"A stimulating and in-depth chronicle of publishing's digital revolution... Publishing professionals will find this fascinating." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"An engaging narrative of an industry embroiled in unpredictable change ... lively and definitive." ―Kirkus Reviews
"For anyone who lived the e-book revolution in publishing, this is a must-read. For anyone concerned with how book publishing may cope with future changes for which it is never ready, Richard Curtis's account is an essential study." ―Donald Maass, literary agent and author of The Emotional Craft of Fiction
This information about Digital Inc. was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Richard Curtis is a leading New York literary agent, publishing authority, e-book pioneer, and authors' advocate. While running his eponymous literary agency, he wrote numerous columns, blogs and articles for Publishers Weekly and other writers' publications, leading to four information-packed books about writing, agenting and the book business. He was the first president of the Independent Literary Agents Association and subsequently president of the Association of Authors' Representatives.Curtis's fascination with emerging media and technology led to his founding one of the first commercial e-book publishers - seven years prior to the introduction of the Kindle and the advent of the E-Book Revolution. He developed e-book business and royalty accounting models that are still in use today. His popular blog, Publishing in The Twenty-First Century, describing the wonders and challenges of the digital paradigm, was followed by both professionals and lay audiences. Curtis is also author of dozens of works of fiction and nonfiction. His satirical end-of-year verses for Publishers Weekly, published over a span of 45 years, made him the unofficial poet laureate of the book industry. His plays have been performed in a variety of venues in New York. He has written, produced and directed a number of podcasts.
If you liked Digital Inc., try these:
by Evan Friss
Published 2026
An affectionate and engaging history of the American bookstore and its central place in American cultural life, from department stores to indies, from highbrow dealers trading in first editions to sidewalk vendors, and from chains to special-interest community destinations
by Emma Smith
Published 2022
A history of one of humankind's most resilient and influential technologies over the past millennium—the book.
by Patricia Lockwood
Published 2022
From "a formidably gifted writer" (the New York Times Book Review), a book that asks: Is there life after the internet?
Every good journalist has a novel in him - which is an excellent place for it.
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
