FutureBook

Author Gavin James Bower has written this post for FutureBook: The future of the book, if you believe the hype, hinges less on publishers and more on one of the retail and technology giants – Apple, Google, Amazon – dominating the space, both in terms of market share and platform.  Read more »

John Mitchinson, co-founder of Unbound writes for FutureBook: I spent yesterday talking to authors about new book projects, learning some tricks about the dark art of search engine optimisation, and writing copy for an exciting new project we’re putting up on the Unbound site (www.unbound.co.uk) on Friday. Read more »

Philip Stone, Charts Expert: Karen Slaughter's direct-to-digital ebook exclusive, The Unremarkable Heart, climbs to the top of this week's eBestseller list thanks to solid Kindle and iBookstore downloads. It has a "digital list price" of 56 pence according to Amazon, who have discounted it by 21% (12p), to just 44p. Apple are selling it somewhere in between the two - at 49p. Benjamin Daniels' Confessions of a GP returns to the Top 10 following a three-week hiatus while Tea Obreht's The Tiger's Wife charts thanks to its recent Orange Prize for Fiction win. Read more »

Rachael Beale has kindly reviewed The Waste Land iPad app for FutureBook: Rumours of the death of the enhanced ebook have been greatly exaggerated. While we wait for the EPUB3 standard to be finalised, adopted and developed for, book apps are continuing to emerge in the App Store, and none more eagerly anticipated - by me, at least - than Faber Digital's iPad app of The Waste Land. Read more »

We have finalised the programme for our workshop on the 16th June. Venue is Propsero House, 241 Borough High Street. More info here. In my opinion, Sophie Rochester of The Literary Platform has put together one of the most interesting programmes for a digital publishing event to date.  Read more »

Philip Stone, charts expert: "Britain's Got Talent" judge Michael McIntyre's memoir, Life and Laughing, second only to Stephen Fry's The Fry Chronicles as the bestselling memoir of 2010, takes top spot in this week's eBestseller list, ahead of Karin Slaughter's The Unremarkable Heart - Random House Group's first direct-to-digitial fiction title. The latter contains the opening chapter of Slaughter's forthcoming Fallen, which hits shelves (both physical and digital) next month. Read more »

Chris Book of AudioBook start-up Bardowl reviews D-Day app for FutureBook: First some context. I'm a technologist, my reviews will always be more technology focussed than content. I'm an audiobook fan and I listen more than I read. 

I am interested in Military History and especially WW2 so when the opportunity to review a new iPad app all about the D-Day landings I jumped at the chance.  Read more »

A case study from Tom Abba, writer and academic: For a some time now I’ve been growing tired of hearing about ePub conversion and xml workflows. The ebook is an essential element of a publishing strategy, but it’s far from being the only part of it. Like a boring uncle at a wedding, it is dominating the whole conversation; we’ve stopped talking about content, and form, and writing, and new digital platforms have become the backdrop for marketing spend and window dressing, not experimentation or genuine innovation. Read more »

Carole Blake, joint-MD of literary agents Blake Friedmann has kindly reviewed the Gems and Jewels iPad app for FutureBook: By the time I was offered the code to review this app, I already owned it, having bought it the day it was released.  I had been waiting for it since it was casually mentioned in a talk at the FutureBook Conference last November, but I’d forgotten which publisher was cooperating with Touch Press in developing it.  Immediately the release was announced on Twitter I bought i Read more »

The great and the good of the book industry came together last night for The Bookseller Industry Awards. FutureBook sponsored the digital innovation award with the shortlist made up our innovation awards announced in March. Read more »