The news for today centers on an Amazon fund for Indie authors and publishers; ebooks on portable devices; a Wolters Kluwer acquisition; and Oxford moving to strengthen their STM journals list.
Amazon Launches $6M ‘Fund’ To Boost Kindle Direct Publishing, Lending Library
“Amazon this morning announced that it has set up a $6 million annual fund dedicated to independent authors and publishers. Dubbed KDP Select, the fund aims to let indie authors and publishers “make money in a whole new way”. Here’s how it works: if a KDP author or publisher chooses to make any of their books exclusive to the Kindle Store for at least 90 days, those books are eligible to be included in the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library and can earn a share of the KDP Select fund. The Kindle Owners’ Lending Library is a collection of books that Amazon Prime members who own a kindle can borrow once a month, with no due dates.”
Research: E-Books at $10 Billion, Bookstores Under Pressure in 2016
According to a report from Juniper Research “by 2016, e-book revenues from portable devices will reach nearly $10 billion and bookstores that don’t merge digital and traditional commerce may face extinction.” The report projects that “about 30% of e-books will be purchased on tablets, 15% will be purchased on smartphones and roughly 55% will be purchased on e-readers,” but the main lesson to be drawn is that “unless bookstores can marry the digital and the physical, then they’re going to go under.” One wonders if the same can be said of publishers and libraries.
Wolters Kluwer Health Acquires Leading Open Access STM Journal Publisher in India
Chalk another one up for expanding open access models as “Wolters Kluwer Health … has acquired Medknow PVT Ltd., a…Scientific, Technical & Medical (STM) journal publishing operation headquartered in Mumbai, India and one of the largest open access publishers in the world. The acquisition expands Wolters Kluwer Health’s Medical Research business’ presence in key developing markets and supports its strategy to increase locally written content and incorporate more open access platforms into its business model. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Oxford University Press acquires two journals from Preston Publications
As part of an effort to strengthen their STM journal list, Oxford University Press (OUP) has announced ” the acquisition of two titles, Journal of Analytical Toxicology (JAT) and Journal of Chromatographic Science (JCS), from Preston Publications, in a transaction managed by DeSilva+Phillips.” According to Alison Denby, Editorial Director for OUP’s US Journals Program, Oxford is “delighted to be able to take on the publishing for these two titles. They have a rich history and we look forward to continue to build their reach, readership and influence.”
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