Category: publishing

“Researchers in Israel say they have developed a computer program that can decipher previously unreadable ancient texts and possibly lead the way to a Google-like search engine for historical documents.”

“The Kirkus Discoveries program gives independently published authors a chance to obtain an unbiased, professional review of their work, written in the same format as a traditional Kirkus review. This review can be a valuable tool for promoting the book to potential readers, literary agents and major publishing houses.”

“The day after Amazon.com filed its objections to the [Google books] settlement in federal court, the Authors Guild fired back with a letter accusing the book retailing giant of wanting to corner the market on e-books. In its 41-page brief Tuesday, Amazon called the settlement ‘a high-tech form of the backroom agreements that are the stuff of antitrust nightmares.'” The guild’s response: “Amazon’s hypocrisy is breathtaking.”

“You can do what you want to a classic – set Hamlet in outer space or have a monkey play the prince – and it will bounce back. It can be stretched and pummelled and it will always return to its original shape. The classics are classics because they are foolproof. Plagiarism enhances them. Satire strengthens them. The internet proliferates them.”

“The city’s entire library system – from its branches to book drops to Web site – is shut down to save money. … All city departments have been told to reduce spending to make up a $43 million gap in Seattle’s 2009 budget. The public library is trying to cut 2 percent, or about $1 million, and the weeklong closure of its downtown central library and 26 branches aims to save $655,000.”

“2. In [this novel], painful personal setbacks often occur at the same moment as sea-monster attacks, suggesting a metaphorical linkage of ‘monsters’ with the pains of romantic disappointment; for example, Marianne is rebuffed by Willoughby at Hydra-Z precisely as the giant mutant lobsters are staging their mutiny. Have you ever been ‘attacked by giant lobsters,’ either figuratively or literally?”

“The full-colour, touch-sensitive screens of the latest handsets are winning over those who doubted whether screens could ever match the convenience of the traditional paperback, and setting off a race between publishers to get their authors into a new market.”

It “places one company in a prime position to become the world’s de facto librarian instead of encouraging open access, open standards and a plurality of services and service providers. Neither Google nor any other company should be entrusted with that responsibility, and nothing in the detail of the agreement or the funds that will be made available to authors as a consequence can change this.”

“Germany opposes the Google Inc. book settlement, claiming in court papers it would ‘irrevocably alter the landscape of international copyright law.’ The agreement ‘runs afoul of the applicable German national laws, as well as European public initiatives to create non-commercial worldwide digital libraries,’ the government said yesterday in federal court papers in New York.”

“The event, the world’s largest literature festival, sold nearly 80% of all its tickets for more than 750 events this year, mirroring a record level of 1.85m ticket sales announced by the Edinburgh festival fringe yesterday. The book festival, held chiefly in a village of tents in the New Town, was also larger than last year…. The bookshops on site also saw a ‘significant upturn’, the festival said….”