Links of Interest: August 21, 2019

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News

  • The New York Times revisits the problem of illegitimate and fake book sales at Amazon. A reporter was able to order, via Amazon, numerous illegitimate editions of George Orwell’s books, which are still under copyright protection in the US. Amazon’s response? “There is no single source of truth for the copyright status of every book in every country that retailers could use to check copyright status.” Michael Cader of Publishers Lunch calls Amazon’s argument “worthy of a child” and says the problem is of Amazon’s own making. Read David Streitfeld in the Times.
  • Bibles and children’s books will be exempt from China tariffs until December 15. But everything else remains on the list of products that will be subject to a 10 percent tariff as of September 1. Read Jim Milliot in Publishers Weekly.
  • About 70 percent of works that were up for copyright renewal between 1924 and 1963 were not renewed. That would put them in the public domain and make them eligible for free release by libraries and others. Learn more at News You Can Bruise by Leonard Richardson.
  • Panorama Picks are here. The latest Panorama Picks have been released by the Panorama Project, spotlighting under-the-radar backlist titles library patrons have been waiting to borrow in nine different regions across the United States. Each region’s list features 25 titles in fiction, nonfiction, and young adult categories for a total of 517 unique titles—467 of which appear on two or fewer regional lists—reflecting the diverse interests in each region. Browse the latest picks.

Traditional Publishing

  • Salinger’s estate finally agrees to release the author’s work in ebook format. But still no audio: “[Salinger] abhorred the idea of his books being performed or interpreted in any way in another medium.” Read Alexandra Alter at The New York Times.
  • Cengage faces new class-action lawsuit from authors. The matter concerns how royalty payments are made from digital sales and subscriptions. Read Andrew Albanese in Publishers Weekly.
  • Penguin Random House UK to publish children’s books from Wattpad. Wattpad Books has already partnered with Macmillan in the US for sales and distribution; in the UK, PRH will be its partner. Its first title will release in August. Learn more from Ed Nawotka in Publishers Weekly.

Amazon

  • The Atlantic takes a look at Amazon Publishing. Amazon’s traditional publishing arm now releases 1,100 titles a year, and its ultimate master may be Amazon Prime. Read Blake Montgomery.
  • Audible continues its Originals expansion. Amazon-owned Audible has partnered with Skybound Entertainment (known for The Walking Dead) to create audio-only originals exclusive to Audible. Read Shannon Maughan in Publishers Weekly.

Bookselling

Trends

  • Houseplant culture books are a growth area. Interest in houseplants could be a result of climate change, the high cost of living, a desire for more greenery, and/or … Instagram posts. Read Shimona Hirchberg at BookNet Canada.
  • There’s a boom in environmental children’s books. It’s being called the Greta Effect after the 16-year-old environmental activist. Read Donna Ferguson in The Guardian.
  • How magical realism differs from fantasy. With more agents and editors seeking works with fantastical elements, it’s important to understand what they mean by certain terms. Read Christopher Shultz at Lit Reactor.
  • Where are the people of color on YA book covers? We Need Diverse Books looks at 1,400 covers and compares 2014 and 2018 covers. POC representation has gone up, but the number of covers with white characters has remained about the same. Read Jenny Kimura.
  • There’s a new email newsletter, Publish MENA, on Middle East and North Africa publishing. Like Publish Africa (which we mentioned last issue), the newsletter is edited by Mark Williams and published by StreetLib. Learn more and subscribe.

Sales and Marketing Toolbox

  • KDP has a new sales dashboard. The folks at Written Word Media examine the new features. Read Kelsey Worsham.
  • Big changes are coming to Facebook ads. Author and marketing expert David Gaughran explains why it’s a big deal. Read at his blog.
  • Beware of unsolicited calls from marketing companies. If you’ve self-published, your contact information may be found by or become available to unscrupulous people who want to sell you dubious marketing packages. Read Victoria Strauss at Writer Beware.
  • Google now indexes podcasts. Podcasters, rejoice! Learn more from Google.

New Imprint Alerts

  • Harper Horizon is a new nonfiction imprint from HarperCollins. The line will debut in 2020 and publish 15 to 20 books a year. Titles will “encourage readers to live life by embracing values such as integrity, optimism, patriotism, family values, community, respect, sacrifice, creativity, hard work, wisdom, and inspiration.” Read the press release.
  • Orion launches Dash, a digital fiction imprint. The first titles will release this fall. Learn more from Mark Chandler at The Bookseller (subscription required).
  • NYU Press has a new imprint devoted to scholarly authors who address cultural topics from personal perspectives. Called Avidly Reads, the imprint will launch this fall. Learn more from Alex Green in Publishers Weekly.
  • Britannica Group is partnering with UK’s What on Earth Publishing to launch Britannica Books. It’s a new “fun-reference” imprint for kids, publishing five to 10 titles per year for children ages three to 14, with the first list debuting in fall 2020. Read Emma Kantor in Publishers Weekly.