The Bookseller reports that Google has reached an agreement with publisher Hachette Livre to scan out-of-print French e-books. Between 40,000 and 50,000 books will be scanned, and Hachette Livre will decide which ones are made available as e-books. (I wonder if it will include any Arsène Lupin novels?) Google hopes to reach similar agreements with other French publishers. The deal took two months longer than it was supposed to, but both parties seem satisfied with its terms. A little strange, given how much acrimony there was in Europe over Google’s scanning projects not long ago....

A few days ago, I mentioned Borders’s financial problems—it had to delay payments to some publishers because it needed all the cash on hand it could keep as it was trying to refinance its debt after a new appraisal reduced the value of its assets. Now Galleycat reports that two of Borders’s executives have resigned: executive VP Thomas D. Carney and CIO D. Scott Laverty have both stepped down. Meanwhile, The Bookseller notes that Borders is going to meet with publishers about concerns over the retailer’s financial crisis. Publishers Weekly reports that at least one of the “big six”...

Earlier this year, Guinness released a free multimedia iPad app with selected records from its latest Book of World Records (now known as simply Guinness World Records). This month, however, marks its first release of a true “e-book” edition, published by its long-time print publisher Hachette Book Group. The Guinness Book of World Records was originally developed in the 1950s by the director of Guinness Breweries, the beer company that brews the well-known stout, as an almanac for settling bar trivia disputes. It has since caught the imagination of the entire public; my librarian mother tells me that the...

The UK bookseller Waterstone’s has started selling Hachette e-books again, The Bookseller reports. Waterstone’s had previously stopped selling them two months ago over uncertainty surrounding UK publishers’ switch to agency pricing terms. Waterstone’s is now on agency terms with HarperCollins and Hachette, but has yet to reach them with Penguin. Waterstones has stopped offering points on its membership card program for any e-book purchases, given that this would conflict with publishers’ agency control. W H Smith started selling Penguin and Hachette books on agency pricing last week, and Amazon has been selling them already. However, some prices are still...

After announcing its cooperative arrangement with Hachette Livre for Google Books operations in France, Google has now said that it is in “notional” talks with UK publishers to come to a similar arrangement, The Bookseller reports. The company also announced Hachette had signed up with its forthcoming e-book program, Google Editions, and hoped to launch it “shortly.” Industry observers are pleased with the deal, which seems to have produced a similar result to the Google Books settlement without expensive, time-consuming litigation. However, the French Publishers Association is still skeptical, warning that Google "has never respected its commitments as regards...

Google has come to a settlement with French publisher Hachette Livre in regard to the scanning and use of scanned French books for its Google Books project. The deal apparently gives Hachette considerable control over what titles are scanned and used. Hachette will also get to use Google’s scans of its books for print-on-demand and e-book sales. The Bookseller’s FutureBooks reports on the settlement and posts the press release. The Bookseller itself has more backstory, noting that Hachette had filed an objection to the Google Books settlement with the US court in September. Google says that it does not...

The Bookseller’s FuturEBook blog has a piece by Philip Jones looking at ten conclusions about the way agency pricing is being introduced in the United Kingdom. Although Jones comes from a pro-agency point of view, he isn’t shy of pointing out that it is mainly aimed at keeping Amazon from taking over the e-book market and has been pretty badly implemented in the UK so far. Maybe there are reasons for this, mostly legal for sure, but retailers we've spoken to appear to be unclear why Hachette set a fixed 'D-day' for some, but not—most...

Independent French bookstores are eyeing e-books with fear, the Wall Street Journal reports (story behind paywall; to read the whole thing see this Google search). In France, as in much of the rest of Europe, laws forbid stores from marking down printed books much below standard cover price, to protect small bookstores from the greater economic heft of large chains that could otherwise undersell them quite easily (as Wal-Mart has been doing in the US with its $8 hardcovers). However, these laws don’t apply to e-books, which are routinely being marked down to 25% below cover. ...

The Bookseller is reporting that Hachette, in response to the removal of its ebooks by a number of seller, as reported here, has made the following statement: Hachette had declined to comment on the move but issued a statement overnight confirming that it was "in a short transition period from wholesaler terms to the agency model for our e-books". The statement added: "While the process of their introduction may seem a bit bossy, the point of agency terms if to create a level playing field for large and small booksellers alike and we believe most people will quickly come to understand that...

The Bookseller is reporting this response to Hachette going to the agency model. According to them, Amazon is still selling Hachette ebooks and is still setting its own prices as of Monday morning. In addition to the above, Tesco and WH Smith have removed Hachette's ebook editions from sale. Kieron Smith, managing director of The Book Depository, which is supplied e-books by Gardners, said the company had taken the decision to remove the books from sale and did not plan to sign the agreement. Smith said: "One of the many reasons is we want to apply consistency of offer to...

So reports The Bookseller. Starting on September 20, Hachette UK will be setting ebook prices on resellers websites. This will apply to all resellers, including Amazon and Apple. In an email seen by The Bookseller, Gardners, wrote to retailers telling them of this change from Hachette, which it said would be effective from Monday, 20th September. Gardners provides e-books for retailers including Tesco, The Book Depository and independent bookshops. In an attached agreement document for retailers, it said: "[Retailers] shall agree that it shall not alter the customer price of any e-book without [Hachette's] prior written consent." More information in...

1,141,273 in actual fact, according to his publisher Hachette Book Group. Worldwide, Patterson has sold over 205 million print copies. According to an article in The Bookseller, Patterson said: "Things have really changed in the digital space. With more and more people reading on iPads, Kindles, and Nooks, taking time to create interesting, user-friendly, enhanced ebook editions is becoming more and more important. And if e-books get people who might otherwise not be reading to pick up a book, then that makes me happy."...