Industry News

By Megan DiMaria

Welcome to the February edition of industry news column. 

• That's a lot of $$! Attorneys for class plaintiffs in the ongoing Apple e-book price-fixing case argued that damages be set between $231 million and $280 million. For more info . . .
• Amazon Publishing launches Waterfall Press, a new Christian imprint. For more info . . .
• Brown Girls Publishing, a new digital publishing house, launched yesterday. The company will publish all genres. For more info . . .
• Morgan James Publishing launches CLM Entertainment, a new fiction imprint that focus on cultivating and nurturing strong character. For more info . . .
• Not a big shocker here: Amazon posted a fourth-quarter profit. For more info . . .
• Well, this is too bad. Barnes & Noble report holiday retail sales dipped. For more info . . .
• Castle Gate Press, a new small press, is accepting manuscript submissions for adult, young adult, and new adult manuscripts written from a Christian worldview that “contain a touch of the fantastic.” For more info . . .
• Subscription e-book service, Scribed (think Netflix for books), is adding an app for Kindle Fire and updating other apps. The service provides access to 100,000+ titles For more info . . .
• Another subscription e-book service, Epic!, launched last month. Their focus is on  books for readers 5-12 years old. For more info . . .
• An online retailer for animal lovers! Books for AnimalLovers, a retailer offering books about animals launched the end of 2013. The e-tailer offers physical books—no e-books—as well as nonbook gift items. For more info . . .
• Good news! ABA president Steve Bercu declares, “Independent bookselling is strong, vital, and growing.” For more info . . .
• This sounds promising. Handseller, a digital platform for personalized book recommendations, became available to independent bookstores last month. For more info . . .
• With a $50,000 grand prize, the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA) contest opens for submissions February 16th. For more info . . .
• A rose by any other name? Publish America is now called America Star Books. See for yourself, the PublishAmerica URL now defaults to the America Star Books website. Not familiar with Publish America? Check out this site.
• Publishers try a new twist on an old marketing tactic: Christian fiction bind-ups. For more info . . .
• Troubled Christian self-publisher, WinePress, closes. For more info . . .
• No big surprise here: Survey finds most authors want to earn more. For more info . . .
• Simon & Schuster expanding its library e-book marketing program. For more info . . .
• Also, Simon & Schuster launched Simon451, a new adult trade science fiction imprint. For more info . . .
• The rumors were true, Salem Communications did acquire Eagle Publishing. The move creates “one of the country’s most powerful conservative media companies.” For more info . . .
• Barbour Publishing launches Shiloh Run Press, a new imprint that will focus on both genre fiction and non-fiction. For more info . . .
• This seems a bit Twilight-Zone-ish to me, but Amazon plans on shipping items it thinks you'll like--before you even click the purchase button. It’s called anticipatory shipping. For more info . . .
• Chicago Review Press has acquired Academy Chicago Publishers. For more info . . .
• Wattpad concluded 2013 with more than 18 million registered users. The online writing and reading community uploads 64,000 stories are uploaded everyday. For more info . . .

Megan DiMaria is Novel Rocket’s industry news columnist. An author and speaker, she enjoys cheering on writers and loves to encourage others as they journey through life’s demands and delights. Megan is the author of two women’s fiction novels, Searching for Spice and Out of Her Hands.