Laura oversees news production in the mornings from the Gigaom East office in Manhattan, assigning, editing, and writing stories as needed. She also covers digital book publishing, and has a particular interest in Amazon and ebooks. She was previously the editor of Publishing Trends, a website and newsletter for the book publishing industry, and served as a staff writer for paidContent.
Amazon announced its most expensive Kindle yet, starting at $199. Should you buy it? Depends on how much you care about page turns. (To be fair, it also has a flat… Read more »
More than 1,000 authors in support of Hachette reached out to Amazon’s board of directors Monday, decrying Amazon’s treatment of Hachette titles. Read more »
Byliner, which aimed to find a new model for selling longform journalism online, crashed and burned this summer. Now the NYC-based digital publishing site Vook has acquired it. Read more »
Amazon on Wednesday launched the Kindle Kids’ Book Creator, which is software that helps authors create illustrated ebooks. It could also be a way for Amazon to beef up its subscription… Read more »
Nearly 1,200 German, Austrian and Swiss authors have signed a letter protesting Amazon’s actions in Germany against book publisher Bonnier. Read more »
Hachette Book Group CEO Michael Pietsch spoke out Sunday, saying that “Amazon is seeking a lot more profit and even more market share, at the expense of authors, bricks and mortar… Read more »
As Amazon and Hachette’s contract battle continues, a letter in support of Hachette will run in the New York Times this weekend, signed by more than 900 authors. In response, Amazon… Read more »
Barnes & Noble is expanding its same-day delivery program through a partnership with Google — but only in Manhattan, western L.A. and San Francisco for now. Read more »
Apple has acquired BookLamp, the Boise, Idaho-based startup that aimed to provide better book recommendations based on thousands of elements of a book’s text. Read more »