Breaking news on authors, publishers, and book-related topics

Michael Palmer dies aged 71

Nov 01 2013: Michael Palmer, physician and best-selling suspense author whose "Extreme Measures" was adapted into a 1996 film of the same name starring Hugh Grant and Gene Hackman, has died aged 71 from complications relating to a stroke and a heart attack.

Full Story

August bookstore sales fall 4.5% year on year

Oct 30 2013: August bookstore sales fell 4.5% compared to August 2012, according to preliminary estimates from the Census Bureau, which were delayed two weeks because of the government shutdown. For the year to date, bookstore sales have fallen 2.6%. So far this year, sales improved...

Full Story

Amazon's editorial head, Larry Kirshbaum, leaving; company scales back publishing business

Oct 25 2013: Larry Kirshbaum, editorial head of Amazon's New York and Seattle adult imprints and children's publishing, is leaving the company early next year. In connection with his departure, the most ambitious part of Amazon's publishing operations will be scaled back. Already ...

Full Story

Scribd launches new ebook subscription service

Oct 25 2013: Scribd has launched an updated subscription service that lets you read unlimited books for $8.99/month with the first month free. In their email to existing Scribd users they claim to have available "thousands of bestsellers and new releases, including titles by well-...

Full Story

35 titles for World Book Night 2014. titles announced. Half a million copies to be given away on October 23 2014

Oct 24 2013: World Book Night 2014 will be on October 23 in both the UK and USA. Half a million copies will be given away for free in the USA. The 35 World Book Night U.S. titles for 2014 are:

• The Zookeeper’s Wife, Diane Ackerman (W.W. Norton)
• Kitchen Confidential, Anthony ...

Full Story

Brouhaha brewing at GoodReads from disaffected longtime members. Extensive article at Salon

Oct 24 2013: Salon has an extensive article about the small but growing faction of longtime, deeply involved Goodreads members who are up in arms about recent changes to the site's enforcement of its policies on what members are permitted to say when reviewing books, and many of ...

Full Story

Amazon raises minimum "free super saver shipping" order to $35

Oct 23 2013: Amazon has raised its minimum order for "Free Super Saver Shipping" from $25 to $35, saying to customers that "this is the first time in more than a decade that Amazon has altered the minimum order for free shipping in the U.S."

Analyst Paulo Santos describes the ...

Full Story

Get your textbooks delivered by drone!

Oct 18 2013: Australia may soon be the first country in the world to see commercial courier deliveries by drone, if a launch by a textbook rental service and an Australian tech start-up goes according to plan. From March next year and pending regulatory approval, students will be ...

Full Story