Late News: DRM, Publishing and Books

It's the tail-end of Labour Day and my long weekend. Didn't enjoy the latter half as soon as I realised that, gosh, I need a routine.

Dashing this off before bedtime because, well, this has also become routine.


Tor junks DRM
Sci-fi/fantasy imprint Tor junked digital rights management (DRM) for its e-books. How big will the ripples be? At least one author seems happy about it.

And here's a case against DRM in e-books, and a publishing exec's experience in jailbreaking e-books.


Book publishing vibes
The KL International Book Fair, which ends on 6 May, is sending out positive vibes, from the tone of this report. Earlier, somebody at The Star sees good times for e-publishing and scary times for traditional publishing.

Also: It seems book publishers are following call centre operators to India. China and Singapore sign four publishing agreements on the first day of the China-Singapore Publishing Symposium.

Meanwhile, Egypt's publishing industry looks bleak.


Other news

• Textbook publishing houses in Kathmandu are allegedly fixing prices. Too bad the US Department of Justice is busy right now.
• Several weeks ago, a publisher wanted me to review a Jeremy Lin book. I said I was interested, but wondered whether Linsanity was on its way out. Now, it looks like it is.
• An edition of "Mein Kampf", annotated by historians, a gets (cautious) nod from German Jews. Yes, Germany will soon publish Hitler's "boring and unreadable" manifesto.
• The tortured history of the book review.
• Here's why reversion clauses in book contracts are important.
• News about Fifty Shades of Grey: All three books in the trilogy - OMG it's a trilogy? - took the first three places in the New York Times best-seller list. All three books are also available at MPH @ Publika, Solaris Dutamas. DON'T get it now.
• Fate of badgers in the UK linked to their portrayals in literature. Well, they started killing more sharks after Jaws came out....
• Apparently, Barry Eisley wants Amazon to end an old, existing monopoly - one established by legacy publishers.
• Over a third of the winners of Australia's most prestigious literary prize, the Miles Franklin Award, are now out of print.
• In praise of (good) editors - the kind I want to be.
• Bram Stoker, Dracula author, was once with the Daily Telegraph's books department?