“Earlier this week in Brussels a ‘books without borders’ declaration was created. The signatories endorsed the principle that there should be no barriers for consumers to acquire ebooks across borders of territories, of platforms or of devices. They agree that we need a neutral VAT regime for books.”
Category: publishing
“Fifty Shades” Breaks Print Sales Record
“The first book in the trilogy has sold one million print copies in 11 weeks, beating The Da Vinci Code’s previous record of sales of one million in 36 weeks. According to Nielson Bookscan the book has also broken the weekly record for paperback sales, selling 397,889 copies.”
About My Book (And Other Bad Ideas)
“This was the first significant thing I’ve done professionally that flat-out failed. There have been other undertakings that didn’t go as well as I hoped, but with time and distance I can make them sound like less than the fiascoes they were. There’s no massaging this one.”
Writers Campaign To Change UK’s Punitive Libel Laws
“In the summer of 1996, I learnt that my new novel, then circulating in proof form, had been accused of libel by a literary critic, and former boyfriend of mine, called David Sexton. Then, as now, the British libel laws were exceptionally punitive, not least in placing the burden of proof on the defendant. The merest hint of it is likely to get a book cancelled. This is what happened to me.”
How We Visualize What We Read
“Strangely, when we remember the experience of reading a book, we imagine a continuous unfolding of images. We imagine, in essence, that the experience of reading was like that of watching a film. For instance I remember reading Anna Karenina: ‘I saw Oblonsky, and then I saw Oblonsky’s house, and then I saw this, and then that …’ But this is not what actually happens.”
Demand For Paper Shrinking As E-Books Catch On
“Mass market paperback books appear to be the segment that has been most affected by this trend thus far, but the effects are likely to accelerate in the coming years as the penetration rate of e-readers continues to rise.”
Trending: #badwritingtips Brings Out The Writers On Twitter
“Some of the advice offered was practical in alerting first-time writers to the more obvious pitfalls to avoid in the use of plot, narrator, language and so forth. Even if it was dripping with the high levels of sarcasm one associates with a) writers, b) people on Twitter and especially c) writers on Twitter.”
Brazil Offers Prisoners Reduced Sentences For Every Book They Read
“Brazil will offer inmates in its crowded federal penitentiary system a new way to shorten their sentences: a reduction of four days for every book they read.”
The Library Of Congress Names ‘Books That Shaped America’
88 titles, from Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine to Toni Morrison, Randy Shilts and César Chávez.
‘Social-Writing’ Website Gets New Superstar Member (And She’s Ready To Share)
Margaret Atwood “has signed up to Wattpad to share her writing with its online community of nine million other users. … [She] has posted two new poems on the website, is planning to share a piece of fiction this autumn and will also be the final judge of a poetry contest to be held in July.”