The Bookseller.com

29th August 2008

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E-books threat to publishers?

24.07.08

Do electronic books threaten the future of traditional publishing? That is the question posed by the Independent following the launch of the Sony Reader at Waterstone's. Its conclusion: "Not in the short term, because sales of e-book readers will only cannibalise a tiny proportion of physical book sales for the foreseeable future. In fact, evidence from the US suggests that dedicated book readers who use the electronic readers also continue to buy books.

"The long-term danger for publishers is if they don't invest in digital technology for their content. They could also lose out if they just make classics available for e-book readers and not the most recent popular titles. Henry Volans, head of digital publishing at Faber, said: 'There is no reason whey people who have e-books should suddenly only be interested in Dickens. They will want the big new titles as well.'"

Independent

waterstone's publishers Sony digitisation