I dislike the term but Amazon's acquisition of 450 children's titles from Marshall Cavendish is a game-changer. It suggests that Amazon will stop at nothing in order to have good exclusive content for its new tablet Kindle Fire, and that its publishing ambitions are very very big. There is good and bad in this, and from what I can tell the discussion about the implications has barely begun, so here are my so far unanswered questions and other thoughts:

First, has anyone asked the authors if they want to be published by Amazon? Do they even get a choice? It seems not unreasonable to assume that an author who has been published by Marshall Cavendish who wakes up to find that they are now part of the Amazon empire (and all that brings with it) might be unhappy—as might their agent. I've yet to see any author/agent feedback but I expect it is coming.

Second, this is of course all about digital and Kindle Fire. Jeff Belle, the vice president for Amazon Publishing, has said that the company intended to convert all of the titles to e-books. “This is a case where there’s a great list of books that have not been digitized.” It is an admirable ambition (as are many of Amazon's endeavours including Kindle library lending), but again might a small word such as 'rights' get in the way. I'm guessing that Amazon has done its research, and that all the authors and illustrators involved with the 450 books bought have signed away these digital rights and won't mind them finding out that the end purchaser was not MC afterall but Amazon?

Third, Amazon will continue to publish in print under the Marshall Cavendish Children's Books name, and also obviously direct to the Kindle Fire digitally. But will the digital deal be exclusive to the Kindle? That is what I would expect and it is what the commentators are saying, but that clearly has implications for how other US retailers will then treat the print books. Again, that would seriously worry me as an author/agent in this relationship.

Fourth, there are serious rumours that the Kindle Fire will launch in the UK just after Christmas. This has been pitched as a North American deal, but many of the books mentioned are available in the UK under the Marshall Cavendish name so it seems unlikely that UK rights won't also be up for grabs at some point. Regardless of that, it also means that every UK children's publisher is also now an acquisition target.

Fifth, and following on from that, so is every other publisher. Belle added in a statement. "We believe the children's book market segment presents a unique opportunity to innovate in both print and digital formats. And since many of these titles are not readily available as eBooks, we see a chance to connect a terrific group of authors and illustrators with more readers. We also see the potential for similar deals across other categories in the future."

It is the first time that Amazon has bought an established list and as clear a hint as we will ever get that it is now in the market for other publishers. The detail may be somewhat in a muddle, but make no mistake this is a game-changer (sorry) for all. We heard a lot at the FutureBook Conference 2011 of how publishers needed to prove their worth, and there was a general sense of optimism that they were up for that challenge. The Amazon Marshall Cavendish deal makes it even more urgent.