[youtube]http://youtu.be/JkkVPJBkvqA[/youtube] “There’s a book burning going on in America, You’re invited. Especially the kids. You see they’re shutting down your local bookstores. Shutting down libraries. Publishers are dying. American literature will be next on the flames.” James Patterson is on the loose. After throwing money at it (pledging over $1.5 million to bookshops in America and the UK) Patterson is now throwing books on the fire to wake up the the government and promote his #SaveOurBooks campaign. Patterson has started a White House petition where he is asking the president to pledge that once a month, he will go into a library, bookstore, or appear...
The New Pelican Has Landed
After a 30 year slumber Pelican Books has returned. In its heyday it was an essential ingredient to a well-rounded view of the world. Coming from the mind of Allen Lane, who revolutionized the reading experience with the introduction of Penguin paperbacks, it provided affordable non-fiction to the masses: Costing no more than a packet of cigarettes, and aimed at the true lay reader, Pelicans combined intellectual authority with clear and accessible prose. As the first British publisher of intelligent non-fiction at a genuinely low price, Pelican became an informal university for generations of Britons. With books on economics and...
Barnes & Noble is going back to its roots, shifts focus back to print
Granted they just announced a new bundling program for the holiday season, ‘B&N Sync Up!’ where you can buy one or more paperbacks from a specially curated selection and get the NOOK Book digital edition for just $4.99 but if you look a little closer at two other recent moves you just might get a glimpse of where they world's largest bookstore chain is heading. 1. B&N enters the print on demand business. “With the introduction of the NOOK Press print service, we’re providing authors, creators, crafters and more with a powerful new tool to bring their writing to print,” said Theresa Horner, General Manager...
First Editions / Second Thoughts: A Book Collectors Dream Auction to Benefit Pen America
Outlined in ink and filled with a deep crimson oil paint, the words “PAST STUFF” have been hand-painted on the front cover of the third volume of Ed Ruscha’s Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings by Ruscha. Underscoring this work’s unique quality, traces of the brushstroke are visible in the paint, and the hand-painted letters have wavering borders. A red censor-like block has also been painted over Ruscha’s name on the text’s spine. The goal of the Pen American Center is simple and to be supported at all cost: To defend freedom of expression and to celebrate the literature that such freedom...
Folio Society focused on emerging from the darkness
They have been in business for 65 years and have almost 2,000 titles under their belt. They produce some of the most beautiful and well-made books on the planet. They work with the leading illustrators in the world. Yet the Folio Society remains far from a household name. Why? Their business model stinks. They operated exclusively as a membership book club and didn't spend any energy actively promoting their titles until two years ago! Focusing on high-quality production values centered on packaging, typography, and illustration should not automatically negate attention to distribution, marketing and building brand awareness. It is the age...