Enhanced digital editions of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Fire and Ice saga are being released, but only via Apple iBooks. Of course, this means they will not be available to libraries.

The Verge says that “Clicking on a name in this souped-up digital version will allow readers to track that character’s journey, or dig deeper into a character connections and house lineage.”

The first book, A Game of Thrones: Enhanced Edition, went on sale yesterday to mark the 20th anniversary of the series. It also includes an excerpt of the long-awaited sixth novel in the series,  The Winds of Winter, which was briefly posted on Martin’s website. The second in the series, A Clash of Kings, is scheduled for release on October 27th, followed by A Storm of Swords on December 15th, A Feast for Crows on February 2, 2017, and A Dance of Dragons on March 30, 2017.

In an Apple statement George R.R. Martin said:

“We’re now entering a new period in the history of publishing. The digital book gives readers the ability to experience all this rich secondary material that had not been possible before. These enhanced editions available only on iBooks include sigils and family trees and glossaries. Anything that confuses you, anything you want to know more about, it’s right there at your fingertips. It’s an amazing next step in the world of books.”

Libraries, however, will be able to buy the new 20th anniversary “special deluxe” illustrated edition of A Game of Thrones (PRH/Bantam, $50), also available as an eBook. Vanity Fair recently released ten of the images in the book.

Just last month, on the launch day for the play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,  J.K. Rowling told the press that the story was now complete, saying, Potter “goes on a very big journey during these two plays and then, yeah, I think we’re done.”

In what seems like a reversal, she announced yesterday that she is returning to the wizarding world with a series of spin-off ebooks featuring characters from Hogwarts.

As The Guardian reports, starting on September 6, the tales will appear as short e-only editions, “Called Pottermore Presents, the series is a collection of Rowling’s writing for Pottermore.com, as well as new stories about characters including Potter’s potions master Horace Slughorn, Hogwarts headteacher Professor Minerva McGonagall and Ministry of Magic bureaucrat Dolores Umbridge.”

Pottermore calls them “a series of bite-sized eBooks that dig deep into the Harry Potter stories, with titbits taken from Pottermore’s archives and original writing from J.K. Rowling. The series offers Harry Potter fans added insights into the stories, settings and characters and were all lovingly curated by Pottermore.”

Variety reports they will cost three dollars and provides a brief summary of each title, including the news that the third title will feature “new information on McGonagall’s role in the second wizarding war.”

Pottermore further teases, “for those who want to quench their thirst for more knowledge about the wizarding world, such as why the Black family bestow such odd names to their children, how a witch or wizard becomes a portrait, or what J.K. Rowling really thinks about Professor Umbridge, step right this way to find out.”

The titles are available for pre-order on Amazon, Kobo, and iTunes but are not yet showing in library vendor systems.

Below is the bibliographic data from Kobo:

Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies, J.K. Rowling (Pottermore, September 2016; ISBN 9781781106280)

Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists, J.K. Rowling (Pottermore, September 2016; ISBN 9781781106297)

Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide, J.K. Rowling (Pottermore, September 2016; ISBN 9781781106273)

When T.S. Elliot described April as “the cruelest month,” he wasn’t talking about taxes. But for many, doing taxes leads to cruel thoughts about the need to better understand finances, which is probably why the week of April 23 – 30, 2016 was designated “Money Smart Week.” A partnership between the ALA and Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago since 2002, it is aimed at helping libraries create programs that teach people how to better manage their money.

This year, libraries have a new resource for the program, unlimited access for one month to several HarperCollins’ eBooks on finances, for a flat fee of $100, from April 15 through May 15, an outgrowth of meetings the the ALA’s Digital Content Working Group’s meetings with publishers in December.

Carolyn Anthony, co-chair of the group calls the promotion, “is a positive development and a clear indication that the relationship between ALA and publishers is moving in the right direction. We welcome experimentation with terms and pricing that will help libraries develop breadth in their digital collections.”

The books included in the program are listed below. Contact your vendors for further information.

Real Money Answers for Every Woman, Patrice C. Washington, (HarperCollins/Amistad, 2016)

The New Totally Awesome Money Book for Kids, Arthur Bochner and Rose Bochner, (HarperCollins/Morrow, 2007)

The Wall Street Journal Guide to the New Rules of Personal Finance, Dave Kansas, (HarperBusiness, 2010)

The Aspirational Investor, Ashvin B. Chhabra, (HarperBusiness, 2015)

The Opposite of Spoiled: Raising Kids Who Are Grounded, Generous, and Smart About Money, Ron Lieber, (Harper, 2015)

The Intelligent Investor, Benjamin Graham, (HarperBusiness, 2006)

The Truth About Money, Ric Edelman, (HarperBusiness, 2010)

The New York Times declares today that the storm and drang over ebooks is now over. Sales have dropped, bookstores are thriving on print sales and ebooks, once expected to dominate the market in 2015, have settled down to being just another format, representing about 20% of the market.

Among the many reasons that ebooks have not taken over is one that may be key, they are not significantly cheaper, as a result of bloody battles between publishers and Amazon. Says the NYT, “As publishers renegotiated new terms with Amazon in the past year and demanded the ability to set their own e-book prices, many have started charging more. With little difference in price between a $13 e-book and a paperback, some consumers may be opting for the print version.”

The NYT admits that we may not be seeing the full picture, “The declining e-book sales reported by publishers do not account for the millions of readers who have migrated to cheap and plentiful self-published e-books, which often cost less than a dollar.”

It may be too early to say what the ultimate impact of ebooks will be. The story ends by quoting Carolyn Reidy, CEO of S&S, who says this could just be a pause in ebook sales and we don’t yet know the reading preferences of next generation.

In case you’re wondering, the article doesn’t say anything about libraries.

In a press release today, independent publisher W.W. Norton announced that they will make their eBooks, as well as those from the publishers they distribute (among them is Overlook, Fantagraphics and New Directions), available to libraries through Baker & Taylor, OverDrive, and 3M.

No news yet on terms to libraries.

W.W. Norton will be exhibiting at ALA Annual in San Francisco beginning this Friday (booth #1119).

Press Release: Norton E-Books Available Through Libraries

Hoopla will demo a new approach to library e-book lending during this week’s BEA (Booth # 1239), the pay-per-circulation model, already being used by the platform for video and audio.

Publishers Weekly quotes Hoopla founder and Midwest Tape v-p Jeff Jankowski, “We are totally against the one copy/one user platform.That platform, and the whole platform of the physical library business, or the old video rental store, was based on dissatisfaction—you almost never get what you want. If you want the new John Grisham, for example, chances are you’re going to have to wait three or four months.”

PW adds, “Jankowski acknowledges that, as with many new library products based on a transactional model, success can be the scariest prospect. If a product proves popular, it can complicate budgeting…” but that many librarians who were initially skeptical, have come to appreciate that it allows them to only pay for what is actually used.

The platform is to be released “later this year.” Meanwhile, one of Hoopla’s main tasks will be convincing publishers to sign on.

Official press release

If you heard the promo for Karen Russell’s interview on NPR’s Fresh Air yesterday, and thought, “I didn’t know she had a new book out,” you are not alone.

Her new book is actually an eBook-only novella titled Sleep Donation. Dozens of writers have released eBook-only short fiction, many of them “bridge” stories between titles in a series, to tide fans over between books, (such as Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novella, High Heat, RH/Delacorte). But when an author with Russell’s literary cred does it, it gets attention.

Adding further to the media allure, this is the first release from Atavist Books, a joint venture between media mogul Barry Diller and movie producer Scott Rudin, run by former Picador USA publisher Frances Coady (more on the company here, but fair warning, this story buys the Kool Aid that it is “revolutionary,” even though there are many others in this business). Adding even more media-worthy names, it comes with an audio read by indie actress Greta Gerwig, and even has an interactive cover designed by that oxymoron, a famous book designer, Chip Kidd. Plus, it has its own website.

Unfortunately, however, it does not seem to be available to libraries.

Appropriately, the novella is about an insomnia epidemic ravaging America, the result of people paying too much attention to electronic devices (take note, Arianna Huffington; this could be a cross-promotional opportunity for your book).

In addition to the attention from Fresh Air, the novella was also the lead title in Entertainment Weekly’s book section last week, in a story titled “Let’s Get Digital” that includes Joe Hill’s short story Wolverton Station (from HarperCollins/Morrow and available to libraries), Greg Iles’s novella, The Death Factory (also HarperCollins/Morrow and available to libraries) plus upcoming titles by two other literary darlings, Column McCann’s Gone (released March 18 by another ebook-only publisher Byliner and apparently not available to libraries) and Adelle Waldman’s New Year’s, a companion story to her The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P., coming in May, from the old world publisher where Francis Coady used to work, Macmillan/Picador (presumably one of those places she refers to as “print originators [who] tend to see digital as a slightly embarrassing offshoot of print.”)

We’ve written about backlist titles hitting the NYT E-Book and Combined Best Seller lists as a result of sudden discounts by retailers.

The NYT explores the impact of  such “flash sales” in a story that appeared yesterday. Sourcebooks was a recent beneficiary. Their 1994 title, The Oracle Glass, by Judith Merkle Riley, hit the list last week after being featured simultaneously as a Kindle Daily Deal and a Nook Daily Find.

While some of these books quickly return to their former level of sales, for others, it has helped readers discover authors raising the sales of all their titles.

Don’t discount old-fashioned marketing, however. It can still renew sales of print backlist titles. See, for instance, City of Women, by David R. Gillham (Penguin/Putnam/Einhorn), now on the trade paperback list.

We’ve been following some of the changes to best seller lists brought about by e-books; backlist titles making their debuts as a result of Amazon discounts, titles appearing before print publication, and erotic fiction making inroads.

A new twist arrives this week; Until I Break, an erotic fiction title by Michelle Leighton debuts on the 6/2 NYT E-Book Only list at #13. That should be cause for celebration for any author, but in this case, Leighton has already withdrawn the book from publication.

Best Seller lists used to be the domain of newly-released titles, but e-books are beginning to change that.

The Oracle Glass, by Judith Merkle Riley, a title originally published in 1994, was released by Sourcebooks last fall in both trade paperback and as a $1.99 e-book. On May 6, it was offered as both a Kindle “Daily Deal” and a Nook “Daily Find.” It debuted at #8 on the NYT Combined Print & E-Books best seller list this week (arriving at #7 on the NYT e-book only list but not on the trade paperback list).

The author, who died in 2010, was not able to enjoy her book’s belated success. Sourcebooks will release another of her historical novels, Master of All Desires, in July. Her books are available from library e-book vendors.

Libraries can once again offer Penguin’s ebooks to their users on the same day that the hardcovers are released, reports the Associated Press. Beginning Tuesday, libraries will no longer have to wait six months after the hardcover release date.

The AP further reports that Penguin’s ebook pilot programs with libraries have shown that the “effect of library downloads on commercial revenues has been acceptable.”

Libraries will be charged the same as consumers, but, according to American Libraries, Penguin is expected to impose a one-year expiration date.

This is the opposite of the Random House model, which charges more to libraries than consumers, but for an unlimited period. Since the two companies are merging, many wonder which approach will prevail.

When Nancy Pearl talks books, buyers listen. On NPR’s Morning Edition yesterday, she presented four of her “Under the Radar” picks (the full list of seven, along with a link to the audio, are on the NPR site). Two of the titles received dramatic bumps  on Amazon’s sales rankings.

America Aflame: How the Civil War Created a Nation, David Goldfield, (Macmillan/Bloomsbury). Rose to #189 from #102,066)

Nancy says this book that claims the Civil War could have been avoided, made her “look back and reassess my knowledge and beliefs” about the war and its aftermath.
 

Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein, (Hyperion). Rose to #216 from #5,238)

This one is not “below the radar” among YA readers. It’s on both the Publishers Weekly and Amazon’s Best Books lists. However, it may be lesser known to adults, who, as Nancy says, will also enjoy this “story of deep friendship, incredible bravery and the difficult choices that life sometimes forces on us.”

It’s estimated that 75% of the public libraries in the US lend ebooks, a fact many people are surprised to hear.

NPR’s Diane Rehm Show gave exposure to the practice yesterday with a full program devoted to the subject. Responding to a question about why some publishers don’t make ebooks available to libraries, Jeremy Greenfield, editorial director of Digital Book World, said they are worried that lending will result in reduced sales. Carrie Russell, from ALA’s Office of Information Technology, countered that libraries are “confused by that argument since the evidence shows that library borrowers are the same people who buy,” referring to Library Journal‘s “Patron Profiles” and a Pew study.

Later in the show Greenfield said, based on his meetings with publishers, there is good news for libraries; publishers who make their ebooks available to libraries believe it helps, rather than hurts, their business and are planning to continue as well as expand their programs. In the coming year or two, he expects to see other publishers make their ebooks available to libraries.

However, he said, some publishers look at the studies skeptically, believing that library borrowers buy ebooks only when they are unavailable through the library and that a change in policy would result in fewer sales.

Also featured on the show were Vailey Oehlke, Director Multnomah County Library and Allan Adler of the AAP.

Marking another step in the growing acceptance of ebooks, two titles published by digital imprints were among the dozen titles winning RITA awards from the Romance Writers of America at a ceremony in Anaheim over the weekend.

The winner for best Contemporary Single Title is Boomerang Bride by Fiona Lowe. Originally published as an ebook by Harlequin’s Carina imprint, it was released in paperback as well. Currently it is an ebook-only title, available via OverDrive and B&T’s Axis360 platform.

The winner for best Romance Novella, I Love the Earl by Caroline Linden, is published by HarperCollins/Avon’s digital imprint, Impulse. It is also available via OverDrive and Axis360.

The RWA Librarian of the Year is Mary Moore, Reference & Adult Services Manager, Huntsville-Madison County Public Library, Huntsville, Alabama. She is profiled on the RWA site.

In addition, nine unpublished manuscripts won the association’s Golden Heart Awards.

The Wall Street Journal looks at the information now available on the reading habits of people using e-readers.

Ever wonder if you’re a slow reader? It took the average reader an hour to read 57 pages of The Hunger Games on an ebook.

Barnes and Noble has begun studying this information. They admit that “Some of the findings confirm what retailers already know,” but some of the insights are “already shaping the types of books that Barnes & Noble sells on its Nook.”

True to form, Amazon decided not to reveal what they do with their data.

What do writers think? Scott Turow tells the WSJ, “If you can find out that a book is too long and you’ve got to be more rigorous in cutting, personally I’d love to get the information.”

Privacy? According to the WSJ, “Some privacy watchdogs argue that e-book users should be protected from having their digital reading habits.”