In the midst of “summer reading” season comes word that another longstanding bookselling tradition may be headed for the digital dustbin. Seasonal sales once helped publishers and stores to organize their work, but in the age of e-books and social media, the seasons have merged.
“The publishing seasons were originally determined by when barges could deliver their cargo,” Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly senior writer, reports. “For now, publishers are hanging on to seasons for their organizational sanity, but with seasonal lists that can stretch beyond a thousand titles plus drop-ins, or late-breaking, the lines are getting more and more blurred.”
In the e-book price-fixing case that snared Apple and major publishers, funds collected as settlement fines may one day prove a boon for a business in need of a boost.
“In all, the five majors have now paid over $166 million to the consumer fund,” Albanese tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally. “When will readers see the money? Short answer is we don’t know. But if I were publishers, I’d want that money released soon. $166 million in e-book credits could make for a tidy holiday e-book season.”
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Every Friday, CCC’s “Beyond the Book” speaks with the editors and reporters of “Publishers Weekly” for an early look at the news that publishers, editors, authors, agents and librarians will be talking about when they return to work on Monday.