In brief
Barratt relocates for new Borders roleFormer Borders regional manager for New Zealand Justin Barratt, has relocated to Melbourne, Australia, to take up a role that sees his responsibilities increased to...
May deadline for rights holders to opt out of Google settlement
As part of a court-ordered process, Google Book Search is currently notifying authors, publishers and other rights holders worldwide, of their legal rights and options with regard to the proposed...
In brief
Penguin 2.0 coming to Australia in 2009Penguin Group USA has announced a new program called Penguin 2.0, described by CEO David Shanks as ‘the next evolution of the Penguin brand'....
NZ Digital Publishing Forum launched
New Zealand's booksellers association, society of authors and copyright agency have formed a new digital publishing initiative, the Digital Publishing Forum. Formed last week, the forum is a partnership between...
APA announces new digital publishing training
The APA has announced a new limited-place workshop to provide training on digital publishing. Publishing in the Digital Space: the E-ssentials is a two-day workshop to be held on 2...
ABA and APA join forces on environment and digital working groups
Booksellers and publishers will come together on two major issues affecting the industry following discussions at this year's Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) annual national conference, which wrapped up yesterday. Digital...
Microsoft shuts down book search
Microsoft has announced it is ending its book search programs Live Search Books and Live Search Academic and that ‘both sites will be taken down next week.' While the company...
ASA survey slams educational publishers
Educational publishing in Australia is in trouble and authors are paying the price, according to an Australian Society of Authors (ASA) report released this week. The survey of educational writers found...
‘Future of Publishing’ survey now online
A major survey of publishers, authors and others within the Australian publishing industry is underway. Commissioned by the Australia Council and Copyright Agency Limited and conducted by Bloom Partners, the...
Talking to the search engines in language they understand
After almost 18 months of work, Automated Content Access Protocol--the code that book and newspaper publishers hope will provide them with a universal way of communicating permissions information to internet...
‘Exceptionally strong’ year for Simon & Schuster
Total international revenue for Simon & Schuster increased 10% to US$886.1 million (A$943.4 million) in 2007, with operating income up 29% to US$88.1 million (A$93.8 million). The ‘exceptionally strong' results...
CBS distributes iLiad e-reader
Australian bookshops and libraries are now able to stock the state-of-the-art e-book reader iLiad, thanks to Central Book Services (CBS). 'A device as small and light as a single book,' iLiad...
OzCo, CAL and Bloom Partners look to the future
The Australia Council and Copyright Agency Ltd have commissioned book industry consultants Bloom Partners to conduct a new study into the future impact of digital technology on the publishing industry....
In brief
DOI newsThe Digital Object Identifier (DOI) Foundation has announced that the DOI system has made a number of steps forward, including a approval from the International Standards Organisation (ISO) on...
Dymocks picks iLiad as e-reader choice
Having announced a major foray into electronic books last month, Dymocks will now be the first retailer in Australia to sell the iLiad e-book reader, with plans to have it on sale...
New UK digitisation report warns of underinvestment
The UK's Booksellers Association (BA) has released a new report on digitisation, Embracing the Digital Age, which is co-authored by Francis Bennett, founder of BookData, and Michael Holdsworth, the chair...
Digital rights: APA responds to ASA
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) has released a statement defending its members against recent claims from the Australian Society of Authors (ASA) that nascent e-book download services such as the newly...
Dymocks responds to ASA concerns on digital rights
Dymocks' CEO Don Grover [pictured] has issued a response to the Australian Society of Authors' recent press release that expressed ‘serious concerns' over digital rights issues for authors.‘The basis for...
ASA warns on digital rights
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) has expressed ‘serious concerns' over rights and contractual issues caused by the increasing delivery of digitised content.The ASA's concerns have been prompted by developments...
Amazon launches Kindle e-book reader
Online retailer Amazon.com has released its long-awaited Kindle e-book reader in the US.The lightweight, slim, hand-held device uses an updated version of the ‘electronic ink' screen first seen on the...