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Outrage Grows to University of Missouri Shutting Down Press
Opposition to the University of Missouri's decision to shut down its press is growing. A publishers rep and an author have launched a letter-writing campaign and a Facebook page, "Save the University of Missouri Press."
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News Briefs: Week of May 28, 2012
Prichard Leaving Ingram and more.
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Podcast: PW's Week Ahead for Friday, May 25
What’s black and white and green all over? 50 Shades of Grey, of course.
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David Plouffe To Speak at Publishers for Obama
David Plouffe, senior advisor to President Obama, will speak at the "Publishing People for Obama" event on June 18 in place of Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who has a scheduling conflict. For more information about the fundraiser, which now has about 220 people planning to attend, e-mail Barbara Lowenstein at barbara@bookhaven.com.
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Amazon's Spam Policy Reminder
An e-mail Amazon sent to some of its authors earlier this week was just a reminder of its policy concerning public domain works and "other non-exclusive content" and not a change in policy, an Amazon spokesperson said.
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U.K. Publisher Head Attacks 'Grotesque' Tactics of Copyright Opponents
In a speech delivered May 24 at the Wesminister Media Forum, Richard Mollett, chief executive of the U.K.’s Publishers Association attacked the tactics adopted by opponents of strong copyright legislation.
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Tracking Amazon: 'The Great Gatsby' Spikes Following Trailer Premiere
One day after the trailer for the upcoming adaptation of The Great Gatsby hit the Internet, F. Scott Fitzgerald's book has jumped to #27 on Amazon's bestseller list, seeing a 66% increase in sales. The YouTube trailers have already seen over 2 million views.
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Author Solutions Announces 100,000th E-book
Self-publishing giant Author Solutions, Inc. has announced the release of its 100,000th e-book, Arise, O Phoenix.
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Tracking Amazon: PW Select Title 'Tune in Tokyo' Hits #5
Tune in Tokyo: The Gaijin Diaries, which was featured in the first issue of PW Select in December 2010, was Amazon's Kindle Daily Deal on May 22, knocking it down to $0.99, and consequently propelling it to #5 on the Kindle bestseller chart.
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Fifty Shades Trilogy Tops 10 Million Sold
Six weeks after Random House took over the publication, and distribution of E.L. James's Fifty Shades trilogy, the publisher reports that the series has sold over 10 million copies in print and digital.
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Berkley Touting Its Own 'Fifty Shades' Imitator
While numerous publishers are looking for, and wondering, whether they can find their own erotica title to ride the success of Fifty Shades of Grey, one imprint is claiming to have landed something tapping directly into E.L. James's fans.
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PW Podcasts
Our new podcast series is featured on our homepage, and can also be found here. Check back each Friday for a new edition.
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Tracking Amazon: '7 Habits' Audiobook Becomes Top Seller
CD audio books don't often make Amazon's top 100, let alone its top 20. But on May 21, the #15 title was the audio CD version of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The audio book, released last month, jumped to #15 from #916,784, making it the greatest sales increase of the day by a huge margin.
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News Briefs: Week of May 21, 2012
Bookstore sales fell 3.7% in March and more
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DeAgostini Publishing Tackles the U.S. Market
After a year of interviews and discussions, DeAgostini began a product test last year, and the company was encouraged enough by the results to launch a major presence in the U.S. beginning with a debut at BookExpo America (booth 2840) and building to a rollout of a full line next year. The company has hired Darren Deguire, formerly with Advance Publications, as general manager, and rented office space on Broadway just south of the Flatiron Building in New York City. The first products have been drawn from material originally published for other markets, but Franks said DeAgostini plans to develop titles that originate in the U.S. as soon as possible.
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FSG, ‘Scientific American’ Roll Out New Imprint
Since Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Scientific American, both Macmillan brands, announced in fall 2010 that they were joining forces, Amanda Moon, senior editor of what is being called the Scientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux imprint, and Scientific American editor-in-chief Mariette DiChristina have been culling both of their resources to ready the publication of their first books. To generate buzz for the debut title, the May issue of Scientific American has an excerpt from What a Plant Knows by Daniel Chamovitz, which will be released May 22.
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Happy Workplace=Happy Workers
The economy may be rousing from its slumber, but it’s not yet fully awake. Job numbers are improving slowly: the U.S. Department of Labor reported that an anemic 115,000 nonfarm payroll jobs were added in April 2012. Unemployment hovers stubbornly around 8%, refusing to budge much. Logic would dictate that business is a buyer’s—that is, an employer’s—market these days.
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Callaway Digital Arts to Close New York Studio and Relocate to San Francisco
Callaway Digital Arts, an interactive developer for the iPad with offices in New York and San Francisco, is shutting down its New York offices and development studio and relocating all of its operations in San Francisco.
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Utah Court Narrows Minors Access Online Law
People cannot be prosecuted for posting content constitutionally protected for adults on generally-accessible websites, and are not required by law to label such content that they do post, U.S. District Judge Dee Benson held May 17.
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Podcast: PW's Week Ahead for Friday, May 18
The family that is book publishing is preparing for another annual reunion – otherwise known as BookExpo America.