The Authors Guild Launches Amazon Tracking Site, the New War Literature, and More

by Staff
2.8.10

Every day Poets & Writers Magazine scans the headlines—from publishing reports to academic announcements to literary dispatches—for all the news that creative writers need to know. Here are today's stories:

Macmillan titles, both print editions and e-books, are once again available for purchase on Amazon. (New York Times)

In a related development, the Authors Guild launched a Web site where authors can now track the buy button status of their titles on Amazon.

The British Library will offer thousands of rare first editions of nineteenth-century novels as free e-book downloads available to the general public this spring. (Telegraph

The French-American Foundation launched a reciprocal exchange program on publishing and new technology in New York this week.

Book preservation specialists at the University of Mumbai, India, are hard at work restoring centuries-old books for future generations. (Independent)

The New York Times reported on the new American war literature, much of which is characterized by "almost an old-fashioned, Victorian way of looking at war."

The major U.K. publishers plan to follow Macmillan's lead in demanding changes to how Amazon sells and prices e-books. (Bookseller)

The Australia-Asia Literary Award, launched in 2008 as the richest literary prize in the region, was scrapped last week due to economic pressures. (Yahoo)

The CEO of Sun Microsystems resigned via haiku. (Gizmodo)

Ninety-three percent of e-book readers polled in a new survey are satisfied with the devices they already own, but still want to see improvements. (Electronista)