Should online retailers put more effort into the editorial process for AI books? (13 Sept 2025) Each month, between 10,000 and 40,000 e-books are released that utilize ChatGPT or other AI platforms. However, the actual number of AI books that do not disclose their use is likely higher. Things are so bad at Amazon that…
(3 Mar 2022) Amazon plans on shutting down all 24 of their bookstores in the United States. These bookstores were often found in big cities and filled a niche, with all of the indie bookstores that have closed. They will also be closing two other physical retail concepts: Its “4-star” stores, which sold products that…
(8 July 2021) Last year a number of early career academics discovered that their PhD theses, which had been deposited in institutional open access repositories, were being sold for profit via Amazon Seller pages. In this post Guy Lavender, with contributions from Jane Secker and Chris Morrison, discuss the implications of this episode in relation…
The company states policy in response to inquiry by several Republican senators over recent removal of book by conservative author. (11 Mar 2021) Amazon. com Inc. said it recently removed a three-year-old book about transgender issues from its platforms because it decided not to sell books that frame transgender and other sexual identities as mental…
Amazon is the only US publisher that does not sell e-books or audiobooks to libraries. Amazon has published thousands of e-books since 2009. Public libraries are a way for Americans to access books and media, some of which are paywalled by Amazon. (11 Mar 2021) Amazon does not sell its thousands of e-books or tens…
(14 Jan 2021) Amazon is accused of fixing the price of e-books sold on the e-commerce site through anticompetitive agreements with the nation’s top five publishers, according to a complaint filed Thursday. The class action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York alleges that Amazon and the publishers entered into…
(4 Dec 2020) In what came as a surprise to many librarians and industry observers, a report in The Hill this week revealed that the nonprofit Digital Public Library of America has been in discussions with Amazon Publishing on a potential a deal to make Amazon’s e-book content available in public libraries. And in a call with Publishers…
(17 Aug 2020) The leading American professional associations for authors, publishers, and booksellers write to the House Antitrust Subcommittee about what they call Amazon’s ‘scale of operation’ and ‘share of the market.’ In a letter provided to Publishing Perspectives this morning (August 17), three leading American publishing industry professional organizations tell the House of Representatives’ Antitrust…
(24 May 2019) Today Amazon has unveiled new portal in the Kindle store for Traditional Chinese and is launching with 20,000 Traditional Chinese titles. It includes translations of popular books like George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Fire and Ice series. Find out more from Good E-reader here.
(6 Mar 2019) After much review, Amazon came to the decision to discontinue its pop-up kiosk program, and is instead expanding Amazon Books and Amazon 4-star, where more comprehensive customer experience and broader selection is provided. The Digital Reader has the full story here.