The Spring 2014 update of the Global eBook report will be released on April 8, 2014

The Spring 2014 update of the Global eBook report will be released on April 8, 2014, with a presentation at the London Book Fair.

The new version will include notably:

• Latest data, comparisons and analysis on the evolution of ebook markets across Europe and in the US;
• A comparative analysis of surprisingly diverse strategies of ebook pricing in various markets across Europe;
• Market updates for Brazil and India;
• An overview of key activities of global players, notably Amazon, with regard to ebooks, and estimates of market shares in main markets;
• The newly introduced eBook Yellow Pages (beta), as a listing of companies relevant to ebook developments.

Links to download the report in PDF, ePub and Kindle formats will be available at www.global-ebook.com .

Join us at the London Book Fair for a panel debate, with Javier Celaya of DosDoce.com (Spain) and Jens Klingelhöfer of Bookwire (Germany) to discuss current trends and debates.

London Book Fair
April 8, 2014, from 10:00 to 11:00 am
Earls Court, Room Wellington

Support the Global eBook report by booking your advertisement in the eBook Yellow Pages (find details at www.global-ebook.com ) or become a sponsor.

Who does what in international ebooks? We start an Ebook Yellow Pages. Join us. Help us getting it started.

As ebooks go international, it is ever more relevant – and more difficult – to understand who does what, practically and professionally, on a global scale.

By launching an Ebook Yellow Pages, as a new section in the Global eBook report, we want to create a professional listing of dedicated service providers, distributors and aggregators, specialized publishers / imprints, reading platforms and communities, professional educational, et al.

Please help us in this effort by
– Making us aware of companies, services, platform that should be listed;
– Consider listing your own company;
– Buy an advertisement, to highlight your company’s competences and offer.

You find all details, incl. sample pages, and booking details at http://www.global-ebook.com (or http://www.wischenbart.com/page-4 )

We kick it off with the next update in April 2014 (deadline for submissions is March 10, 2014).

Looking very much forward to your feedback and input!

Ruediger Wischenbart

PS: Apologies for cross posting, but we need to spread the invitation on the broadest relevant scale. Thank you for your understanding and indulgence.

Who does what in global ebooks? Introducing eBook Yellow Pages.

Ebooks are currently re-inventing book publishing on a global scale. But not everything about ebooks is the same everywhere. Not at all!

This is why we introduce eBook Yellow Pages as new section to the Global eBook report, to highlight and organize B2B references to relevant companies and organizations.

Become a part of the grid, by having, like in a dedicated business listing, your company name, a short profile, a link, and a flashy ad in the Global eBook report, for just € 250.

The Global eBook report, updated every half year since 2011, is mapping and analyzing how ebooks evolve, with country close ups for most European countries, North America, as well as key emerging markets, in Brazil, China, Russia or India. Thematic articles summarize the expansion of global players like Amazon, Apple, or Kobo, compare ebook pricing strategies and ebook bestsellers for European main markets, and summarize controversial debates on piracy or DRM.

The new eBook Yellow Pages will be integrated in the April and October 2014 updates, listing specialized distributors and aggregators, dedicated ebook service providers, ebook-only publishing startups and sub-divisions as well as educational programs.

For only € 250 (instead of the regular € 300), the introductory offer includes your personal company ad (in PNG format), together with 3 lines of text and a link to your website, organized along main categories of company activities. In addition, the company name, short description and link will also appear at the bottom of one country close up. An index will display featured companies in alphabetical order.

Book your entry now, and have your company featured in both the April and in the October 2014 update.

Convenient payment by credit card. Submission of your wording and ad (in PNG) by email.

Register by email today with Sabine Stalujanis (sabine.stalujanis (at) wischenbart.com) , or check for more details and a few sample pages at www.global-ebook.com

Get the ideas for tomorrow’s publishing, in Germany, and globally: Join us for Publishers‘ Forum 2014 in Berlin

Getting a concrete reading of how the book industry changes ain’t an easy exercise.

We saw the dramatic rise of ebooks, first in the English language, now also in German. But most book markets in continental Europe are strained. We witness deep trouble in bookselling, as in France the book chain Chapitre was closed, and Weltbild in Germany filed for insolvency. We marvel at globalization – and new giants emerging, like in the merger of Penguin and Random House. But we also welcome so many new ventures, be it small book shops, or highly ambituous innovators in the digital environment, be it hugely ambituous new reading communities, or simply old houses that undergo radical change in their internal organization, their business model and their revenue streams.

At this year’s „Publishers‘ Forum„, on May 5 and 6, 2014, in Berlin, a gathering of leading book professionals from both Germany as well as international players, will review trends, and discuss consequences resulting from these developments. And I feel honored to have been asked to help in programming the event, together with its long time director and mastermind, Helmut von Berg.

After a few months of preparations, we can proudly reveal a growing line up of speakers and topics:

Speakers will include Richard Charkin, executive director, and Nigel Newton, founder of Bloomesbury Publishing and Johann Kempe, CIO of the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group; Brian O’Leary, consultant and educational expert Margret Ruep, Francis Bennet of Yale University Press, David Klett of Klett Publishing  and Stephan Schierke, President and CEO of arvato; selfpublished author  Hugh Howey, moderators David Warlock and Jörg Pfuhl, and distributors Jens Klingelhöfer of Bookwire and Thomas Raff of KNO VA.

The debate will focus on key topics such as reorganizing the value chain, the digitization of educational publishing, and new strategies for collaboration, discoverability and data analysis. Media partners include buchreport and Börsenblatt.

We can promise two exciting days packed with insights and hands-on expertise. And we keep you posted, as more details will be released.

Follow the Publishers‘ Forum website, this blog or our updates on twitter. See you in Berlin on 5 and 6 May, 2014!

Is „hating Amazon“ a good option? A new round in the controvery in Germany, and a reply.

„If I hate a company, it is Amazon“, was the cry of battle that Sibylle Lewitscharoff, winner of the prestigeous Büchner Prize in 2013, offered to her cheering audience at the opening of this year’s Buch Wien fair. As her address was published in Germany, in the daily Die Welt, an avalanche of 1500 posts on Facebook, a couple of hundred reader commentaries and many many tweets followed. However, the response was mixed between approval for the anti Amazon emotions, and more critical comments.

The debate coincided with an interview that Amazon’s Jeff Bezos had given to the CBS „60 minutes“ news show, and yes, this was the talk with the book drones. But more interesting to me at least was a short, yet pretty sharp comment of Bezos with  regard to the book trade, as he said: