I do love a good first. The first t-shirt day of the summer; the first beer on a night out; the first time you wear a new hoodie. Last week saw the announcement of the first digital-only literary list in the UK, Blackfriars from Little, Brown. The list promises to curate 9 to 12 titles a year from new or established authors, and is launching in June. Now there’s a first to get out of bed for.

In the last two years, a lot of publishers have been buying into self-published ebook successes in a big way. There’s the Amanda Hocking trilogy, John Locke (the first man to really “crack” the KDP system and sell one million kindle ebooks), 50 Shades of Grey, and, quite recently, Wool by Hugh Cowey to name a few of the main deals. Some of these have earned seven-figure advances, something debut authors would only dream of. But are they worth it?

A few weeks ago Eric Huang kindly answered some questions about his role at Penguin and how they are working and collaborating with new companies to strengthen their offer as a publisher.

There is no doubt that Penguin is going through an interesting transition, attempting to re-define and break the mold, while bringing content to their audiences in new ways and with new people…

Last week saw the release of a new Kobo range, and (not to be outdone) the yearly release of the new Kindle line. Despite Bezos’ insistence that he doesn’t need his customers on the ‘upgrade treadmill’, Amazon released an upgrade to pretty much every single one of their devices, including two new Kindle Fire tablets and the predicted backlit eInk reader. So, as readers, what are we looking at for Christmas this year?

We keep hearing that America is a few years ahead of us in terms of technology. If this is the case then UK Publishers, Schools and Educators take note.

A recent report from the The Consortium for School Networking in America has highlighted that schools should be allowing their students to bring their own technology to the classroom, rather than just for use at break times. Whilst this is economically viable for schools it does pose a few problems, not only for the parents who will need to be buying this technology for their kids, but for educational Publishers. It essentially means that every title will need to work seamlessly across all devices. This is a big headache for educational publishers, who are creating digital components for their courses.

Last week there was a bit of a furore in the publishing world after a Guardian journalist Ewan Morrison slated social media promotion by self published authors, basically saying that as a promotional tool Twitter and Facebook etc were overrated and authors should focus on writing books, probably. I know that was a rabid paraphrase, but do go read the article if you want specifics because it’s interesting and incendiary, which are two of the best things an article can be.

Last week, after my observation that Waterstones is not in a better position to offer bundling now than it was last year, I had a brief debate on Twitter about pros and cons of bundling print and digital during which someone (oh so rightly) asked the question: ‘do customers even want an eBook version of the printed novel they just bought?’ This led to a couple of posts, and Sam Missingham brought out some numbers over on the Futurebook blog from a survey done with 4,000 customers 9 months ago. Here’s a summary:

Thursday, 24^th May 2012 (London)

Guest of Honour: Richard Mollet, Chief Executive, The Publishers Association

This seminar will offer a timely opportunity to consider the current and future challenges posed by structural change in the publishing industry emanating from the increased popularity of the eBook, declining sales of physical books and the rise of supermarket retailing. Timed to follow the consultation on Public Lending Rights from library loans and the coming changes to copyright law following the Hargreaves Review, it will address emerging issues concerning the future of book revenues in an already pressured market.

Delegates will assess future trends in book retailing, with planned sessions exploring the maturing eBook market, the growth of the tablet and mobile internet, and how they will affect the future of the eReader. The agenda includes discussion of the effect of reduced sales on publishers and authors, as well as high street, independent and online booksellers, and the future role of the book shop as retailers choose new, diverse models for book promotion, discounting and improving customer experience.

For more details or to book click here.

I’m not going to lie – I’ve always thought audio books were lame as hell.  The disappointing nephew of the hardback; the ugly duckling of the literary landscape. They bring back memories of long car rides to boring towns when my mum would put on a tape of some Victorian period drama read by an artist’s rendering of Jane Austen. Invariably I would hear half of it and then miss some and then hear some more of it and the leaps in narrative would piss me off and the English accent would clash with the Australian landscape, and the cases for the tapes were ugly and would get under my feet  – a car accident waiting to happen. 

This week, you may want to contemplate the Hierarchies of ebook design, while bearing in mind what happens When Publishing Technology Attacks.

And as Consumers Start to Take Notice of the E-Book Library Lending Problem, Mike Shatzkin is Thinking more about ebooks and libraries and what big publishers should do.

Meanwhile, it’s been argued that the Apple Antitrust Suit Would Aid Amazon Book Monopoly.

On the self-publishing front, there’s talk of The Rise of Indie Authors and How This Helps Publishing and Why You Could Be the Next Stephen King, but here’s 5 Mistakes To Avoid When Requesting A Book Review.

Meanwhile, on the mainstream route, What Is an Author’s Marketing Responsibility With a Traditional Publisher?

And finally, once you’ve had a play around with the ‘Cranberry’ launch of Jellybooks – Discovering, Sharing and group buying ebooks, and checked out The Books That Read You, here 19 Musicians Share What Books They’re Currently Reading.