Later today we’ll announce the winners of the inaugural ebookish awards – so you have a small window in which to ponder our lists of finalists, drop us a line via Twitter (@ebookish #ebookishawards) or leave a comment on this page to tell us who (or what) should top each category and why, to suggest contenders we’ve overlooked, and to make predictions about next year.
ebookish.com.au
EBOOKISH.com.au is an Australian website about digital publishing, e-reading, related gadgets and the future of the book.
ebooks
Ebooks are coming to Australian independents in 2011
Bookseller & Publisher’s annual pre-Christmas survey, published yesterday, found that 40% of Australian booksellers not already selling ebooks are planning to do so in the next six months.
Hachette titles digital at last
A selection of Hachette Australia titles are now available as ebooks via Apple’s iBookstore. Ebookish.com.au understands that this is the first time Hachette Australia titles have been made available as ebooks, but we are waiting for confirmation on that.
Who’s signed what: Australian publishers and ebooks
Did you know that as we put together an update on ebooks in Australia a few weeks back, Penguin Australia had yet to sign with Amazon, which meant its ebooks were available from Borders and Angus & Robertson powered by Kobo, but not for Kindle?
Digital could form 20-30pc of market
Digital titles could make up between 20 and 30 per cent of the trade book market within two to five years, according to industry representatives who attended a round table event on the future of reading last month.
Bibliomania, or My Great Big Book Cull
My name is Charlotte Harper, and I’m a bibliomaniac. According to Wikipedia, bibliomania is an obsessive–compulsive disorder involving the collecting or hoarding of books to the point where social relations or health are damaged. I feel my symptoms and behaviour qualify me absolutely. I sneak into bookshops whenever I can, I regularly spend my last [...]
Five million e-ink devices sold in 2009
According to a Sony spokesman, some five million e-ink reader devices were sold worldwide in 2009, and sales are projected to hit 12 million this year. Wow.
Google Editions live by Christmas
Around 160 book industry types were on hand at an Australian Booksellers Association seminar on ebooks in Sydney on Tuesday when Google’s Mark Tanner let slip that the tech giant’s ebookstore will launch in the US before Christmas.
New Kindles en route to Australia
Amazon’s new Kindle, which had sold out within days of its launch in late July, begins shipping to customers in Australia today. We’ll be trialling it in coming days and posting a review next week.
Kindle 3 sells out, BeBook Neo reviewed
Late last month, US-based tech giant Amazon announced a new, lighter, smaller, faster and cheaper Kindle e-reader device with 50 per cent better screen contrast. Initial stocks sold out within days.