Overdrive was the first company to offer all seven of the Harry Potter eBooks for library patrons to borrow digitally. Ever since they were made available they have been devoured by the public and long wait lists abound. Today Overdrive has announced that the entire saga will be made available in French, Italian, German, and Spanish translations.Since this system just went live today not all libraries will have these books available in all of the new languages. You can bet your bottom dollar that most libraries will be jumping all over these new translated books and they should be made available in the coming weeks.[ad#After Post 3]
Browsing Posts tagged Digital Publishing News
Verdict: 4 StarsThe NYT bestselling author of Storm Prey and Buried Prey is back with a book so suspenseful that I literally read it through squinted eyes, not sure of what I would find as I turned the page. What I found, though, was a work that carried our perceptions of what we think we know about our comfortable lives to a whole new realm of dysreality.Lucas Davenport is simultaneously working an investigation into his Minnesota town’s most gruesome killings to date, while on the hunt for the serial petty thieves who beat him and robbed him at gunpoint. While it appears that the thieves were just a couple of desperately strung out meth abusers and the brutal murders were the work of meticulous Mexican drug cartel members intent on sending a message, even those firm beliefs will be called into question before it’s over.An interesting sociological take on this book is the modern-day confusion so many people feel about the scenarios it presents. Was the computer software CEO really embezzling money from the drug cartel that used his company as a front for money laundering like the police initially suspect? Is our trust in computers misplaced, since it sets up a situation that allows the bank employees with the technological know-how to quietly pinch a few pennies here and there to the tune of $20 million?Spoiler Alert: I guess it’s not like books come with a banner that reads, “Warning: Children get raped and murdered in this book,” but at times the violence and its descriptions were a little too gratuitous for my tastes. However, I don’t feel like it was too over the top for a different audience of crime novel fans. The other reason for the loss of a star was the almost-forced feeling of blatant product placement; by page sixteen, there were no less than five out-of-place brand name mentions, so much that I wondered if the author was being paid to mention specific shoe or clothing brands.This was my first introduction into Sandford’s body of work and despite the grisly nature of his genre, I would certainly give his other books a read. To find Stolen Prey for Kindle click HERE, for Nook click HERE.
The official G.I. Joe iPad app has just received an upgrade that allows you to read your comics in full HD. This is courtesy of their distribution partner Comixology, who uses with CMX HD format.G.I. Joe comics has undergone a tremendous resurgence due to the movie that came out a few years ago. The push towards digital distribution has really expanded the user base. It also has attracted Max Brooks to write a series called “Hearts and Minds.” You might recognize this guy’s name, since he wrote the seminal book World War Z.Comics in HD take up more space on the new iPad than regular editions. Each one on average is between 50 and 60 MB each. To be honest, the G.I. Joe line of current comics weren’t really designed to display as many colors as the tablet can handle. It will take some time for the company to adjust and offer more content that is actually optimized for high resolutions. If you look at some of the Marvel Comics in HD and then the G.I.Joe ones, the differences are striking.
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A few months ago we wrote about the growing divisions between Amazon and The Independent Publishers Group. The two sides failed to reach a wholesale licensing renewal because Amazon wanted to augment the existing terms and offer less money for the books. It seems the two companies reached a new licensing agreement and 5,000 of the IPG eBook titles are available again via Amazon.When the IPG originally lost their ability for eBooks to be listed on Amazon, they sent out a mass email informing their users. Today they released another one and apologized for the entire situation. To sweeten the pot they have said for the period from June 1 through August 31, 2012, IPG will not take a distribution fee on Kindle sales, and 100% of the revenue for these sales will flow through to our publishers.The terms of the deal were not disclosed by Mark Suchomel or the IPG.
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Overdrive is working on a developer solution for e-reader and tablet companies that want to incorporate digital library lending into their devices. The company is working on a full suite of API solutions for companies to augment the library borrowing experience and even make new apps.The OverDrive Developer Portal will serve as the online gateway for approved developers to gain secure access to OverDrive APIs. To date, dozens of OverDrive partners—including ILS vendors, mobile app makers, library partners and others—have expressed interest in the new tools. Via the Developer Portal, interested vendors can apply for access. Once approved, they’ll find software, documentation, test scripts, and technical support information to enable rich integration with OverDrive digital content.The API release by Overdrive will be staggered and their is three major features to employ. The first is Metadata API – which allows access catalog information such as title, author, description and title samples.The second is the Availability API – which provides unique title-availability information from library holdings including number of units or copies, units available for lending, number of copies on hold, etc. The last and most important one is the Search API – Allows a variety of third-party platforms and applications to search OverDrive digital collections.The most exciting part of the new development tools will be for e-reader companies to bundle their device with the ability to borrow digital books from your library. Companies like Kobo, Sony and Amazon will eventually offer the ability to borrow books instantly and have them delivered to your e-reader, without having to jump through a ton of hoops. What this equates to, is more control over delivering a branded experience and the flexibility to make changes without having to rely on Overdrive to fix any problems.Overdrive is basically providing a ton of tools over the next six months that will allow most people to write their own apps with library lending functionality built right into it. I envision many savvy programers to make a great app to read, borrow and return books and deliver a cool social media experience.[ad#After Post 3]
GoodEReader has covered a variety of methods for indie authors to connect through social media to advertise their works and build relationships with other authors and professionals in the publishing industry, as well as stressed the importance of establishing oneself through social media outlets. Recently, we wrote about an equally important way that authors are using social media, specifically the Spreecast video platform, in order to support charitable giving in honor of Joshua, the son of writer Maxwell Cynn.The IndieGoGo campaign to raise money for Joshua’s medical care due to a rare form of leukemia has been hugely successful, thanks to the auctioning of books and services by the writers who formed the project. As of today, the program is only $500 shy of the $10,000 goal. GoodEReader has hosted Spreecast events in the past as a way to connect authors and readers, namely with online book signings and hashtag social events, and the IndiesUnite event will connect donors with the family of this special young man.In honor of the campaign and all of the people who gave their support, campaign creator Eden Baylee is hosting a Spreecast event in order to let friends spend some time in this social interaction. The event will be produced by GoodEReader and feature Eden, Maxwell, and a host of other contributors.In order to join in, click HERE to use the enclosed link for the event on Friday, May 25th, beginning at 9:00pm Eastern time. You must have a webcam and the latest version of Flash installed in order to appear on camera with the group and the ability to sign in through Twitter or Facebook, or you may participate as a guest via the embedded chat.
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GoodEReader has been following the workings of a non-profit group, Worldreader, and their efforts to bring digital readers and ebooks to outlying areas that are currently limited in terms of access to books, especially for public school students. They were the initiators of an ongoing years-long study on how access to Kindles affected reading test scores and attitudes towards literacy, and the results of the first year of the study were published recently.Worldreader has announced today that it has organized a reader-supported campaign to provide one million ebooks to users in Africa, one of the focal locations of the group’s efforts. This initiative is a recent follow up to the more than 100,000 ebooks that the organization has already provided for students in sub-Saharan communities.“Worldreader is committed to putting a digital library in the hands of all children throughout the world’s developing countries, and we’re thrilled with the support of FC Barcelona to send 1 million e–?books to students in Africa,” said David Risher, CEO and Co-Founder of Worldreader, in a press release issued today. “Together Worldreader and Barça are connecting students with their heroes to awaken their passion for reading and improve their lives.”As an interesting incentive, Worldreader has out their recipients’ love of sports to use in motivating the emerging readers. The group has enlisted the aid of a number of internationally well-known professional soccer players. These team members, who include Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez, Eric Abidal and Seydou Keita, will send encouraging messages to the students involved in the literacy program via the e-reader devices.Consumers can support the initiative by making donations to a dedicated site that Worldreader has established for this specific program. A $5 donation to millionbooks.worldreader.org will purchase one ebook for a student in the program.[ad#After Post Add]
A little over a week ago, GlueJar unveiled its new division, Unglue.it. This new venture is directed at taking away the barriers to reading for a lot of people, specifically public library patrons who are currently still at the whim of the publishers when it comes to ebook lending. CEO Eric Hellman spoke to GoodEReader about how this is supposed to improve access to content.Acting on the idea of “ungluing” a book using crowdfunding to remove any licensing concerns, readers makes pledges toward individual book campaigns. Once the funding goal has been met, the rights holders are compensated and the book becomes free permanently, across all devices and platforms. As the cost of production for an ebook is minimal once the initial book is created, campaigns like Unglue.it’s are working to take advantage of the accessibility that CCL can provide.“The business model for unglue is to take a percentage of any successful transactions, like a realtor,” explained Hellman. “It’s a marketplace rather than a discovery portal. Once the books are unglued, they’re available to be hosted anywhere. Because CCL does allow for distribution, libraries can get involved and host files from their sites as well.”The first concern when there is discussion of free access to ebooks and DRM-free content always comes back to piracy, an issue that Hellman explained will no longer be an issue with Unglue.it’s CCL model.“Once a book is unglued, there is no issue of piracy because the publisher has been paid for the book.” Following its ungluing, the book is available anywhere, including to public libraries. The rights holders, whether they are the publisher or the author or an author’s estate, have already received their agreed upon compensation. Since the rights holders are the ones who agree upon whether or not to accept the compensation, or even have the book included in a pledge campaign, for that matter, the stakeholders are liberated from concerns over illegal download and distribution while knowing that their content is being made available to readers across all platforms.“At launch we started with five campaigns and we’re working on a number of other campaigns. We had two from publishers and three from authors. In January we opened a preview of the site without any campaigns on it and we talked specifically about special features for the library market. The things that libraries tend to be interested in are metadata, so there are a number of things we’re looking at doing for the library market. Right now, we have 140 different enhancements on our list of things to do and we’re constantly adding to that.”GoodEReader will be speaking again with Hellman and the Unglue.it team at BookExpo’s IDPF conference on Monday, June 4th, in order to get the company’s perceptions on how readers are responding to the pledge campaigns.
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The Kobo Vox sure has been getting lots of comic book loving with the recent additions of Marvel and Darkhorse. Trajectory is adding more graphic novels exclusively to the Kobo Vox.Classics Illustrated is the name of Trajectory’s new digital publishing initiative. The series features the world’s greatest stories by the worlds greatest authors including: “The Last of the Mohicans,” “War of the Worlds,” “The Pearl Princess,” “Treasure Island,” “The Count of Monte Cristo,” “Huckleberry Finn,” “Alice in Wonderland”, “Jane Eyre” and hundreds more. Most people know these popular literary works by the books they read, but now people can read the comics!We’re thrilled to offer Classics Illustrated titles to our customers around the world,” said Michael Tamblyn, EVP Content, Sales and Merchandising, Kobo Inc. “With the Kobo Vox multimedia eReader and the Kobo eReading app for iPad, we are opening up a new way to enjoy classic works of literature.”[ad#After Post Add][showhide type='pressrelease']CAMBRIDGE, MA—May 22, 2012— Trajectory, Inc. announced today that the iconic Classics Illustrated comic and graphic novel series are now available in the Kobo eBookstore. The series consists of over 120 digital graphic novels presented in a comic book format with robust color illustrations that introduce great literature to readers of all ages. Trajectory is collaborating with Kobo, Inc. a leader in eReading to deliver the series on the Kobo Vox eReader.Comic book lovers worldwide get ready; the Classics Illustrated digital graphic novels published by Trajectory are now available for purchase at www.kobo.com. The series features the world’s greatest stories by the worlds greatest authors including: “The Last of the Mohicans,” “War of the Worlds,” “The Pearl Princess,” “Treasure Island,” “The Count of Monte Cristo,” “Huckleberry Finn,” “Alice in Wonderland”, “Jane Eyre” and hundreds more.
“We’re thrilled to offer Classics Illustrated titles to our customers around the world,” said Michael Tamblyn, EVP Content, Sales and Merchandising, Kobo Inc. “With the Kobo Vox multimedia eReader and the Kobo eReading app for iPad, we are opening up a new way to enjoy classic works of literature.”“Trajectory, Inc.’s Classics Illustrated has diversified and strengthened its already solid reputation as a thoughtful, intelligent publisher of canonical, traditional titles” said Dr. Katie Monnin, Professor of Literacy, University of North Florida. “From the perspective of an educator I foresee limitless potential in bringing Classics Illustrated into the classroom. Probably well known to teachers, parents, and librarians the Classics Illustrated titles are sure to be engaging and exciting comic book stories for an entirely new generation of readers. An A+ idea and comic book execution eBook format, I highly recommend these titles make their way into your child or student’s hands.”Novelist Anne Rice states from a recent PW Comics World piece, “I remember reading Jane Eyre in the Classics comics and how much I loved the details and seeing the madwoman in the attic in those little panels and seeing the whole novel play out. What always drew me were very detailed, representational drawings, rather than something abstract. I wanted to see a lot of richness and a lot of depth.” Classics Illustrated graphic novels, she said, “Have a freedom that is all their own to create an entire universe in detail fairly inexpensively, compared to a film.”“Our Canadian partners at Kobo are wonderful supporters of digital comic and graphic novel content with the outstanding Kobo Vox,” said Jim Bryant, Trajectory CEO. “Making the Classics available in digital form brings these brilliant works to where people live now, on their digital devices.”About Trajectory, Inc. –Trajectory is a Cambridge, MA based technology and marketing oriented publishing company that collaborates with leading authors, artists, and traditional publishers. Trajectory has 130 eBooks and apps in distribution.
Become a fan of Trajectory on Facebook. Follow Trajectory on Twitter.About Kobo, Inc.Kobo Inc. is one of the world’s fastest-growing eReading services offering more than 2.5 million eBooks, magazines and newspapers– and counting. Believing that consumers should have the freedom to read any book on any device, Kobo has built an open-standards platform to provide consumers with a choice when reading. Inspired by a “Read Freely” philosophy and a passion for innovation, Kobo has expanded to nearly 200 countries, where millions of consumers have access to localized eBook catalogues and award-winning eReaders, like the Kobo Touch. With top-ranked eReading applications for Apple, BlackBerry, Android, and Windows products, Kobo allows consumers to make eReading social through Facebook Timeline and Reading Life, an industry-first social experience that lets users to earn awards for time spent reading and encouraging others to join in. Headquartered in Toronto and owned by Tokyo-based Rakuten, Kobo eReaders can be found in major retail chains across the globe.
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