P-Publishers Dominate Frankfurt E- Nominees

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P-Publishers Dominate Frankfurt E- Nominees Jim Milliot -- 10/9/00 Large, traditional book publishers captured the majority of nominations in the first Frankfurt eBook Awards. Of the 12 nominations, four went to Simon & Schuster, two to Random House and one each to Penguin Putnam, iPublishing.com/Time-Warner Books, Denlinger's Publishers Ltd., 00h00.com (France) and Econ Verlag (Germany). The 12 nominees are all in the running to receive the $100,000 grand prize; four other works will receive $10,000; and the International eBook Award Foundation will give a $10,000 technical achievement award. The winners will be announced October 20 during a ceremony at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The nominees for best fiction work originally published in e-book form are Ed McBain, The Last Dance (S&S); Colleen McCullough, Morgan's Run (S&S); and E.M. Schorb, Paradise Square (Denlinger's). For best nonfiction work originally published in e-book form, nominees are Stephen Ambrose, Nothing Like It in the World (S&S); Larry Colton, Counting Coup (iPublish.com); and David Maraniss, When Pride Still Mattered (S&S). In the category for best fiction work originally published in print and converted to an e-book are Myla Goldberg, Bee Season (Doubleday); Michel Houellebecq, Extension du domaine de la Lutte (00h00.com); and Zadie Smith, White Teeth (Random House). For best nonfiction work originally published in print and converted to an e-book are Peter Gay, Mozart (Penguin), and Vilim Vasata, Uberleben in der Sintflut (Radical Brand) (Econ). Judging director Peter Mollman said he was "overwhelmed by the response from U.S. and foreign publishers." Indie Disappointment The independent e-publishing community was not happy that so few nominees came from independent publishers. In a story posted on eBookNet.com, Wade Roush chronicles the independent's displeasure, noting that while the nominees may be worthy titles, they "don't represent the fresh new writing talent now reaching readers thanks to e-publishing's democratizing effect." E-book author Jim Musgrave complained that if the awards "were meant to bestow honors to publishers and authors who have established themselves in the publishing world, then they have failed miserably." Susan Bodendorfer, publisher at Wordbeams, noted that "it's disappointing, but not at all surprising, to see that the pioneers of ePublishing were overlooked." Mollman defended the selection process. "We had excellent judges who worked extremely hard," he told PW. Mollman said the nominees were chosen based on literary merit, and added that who the publishers of the e-books were played no role whats ver in the selection process. The Indie Nominee The only original e-book nominee for the Frankfurt eBook Award that still exists solely in electronic format is Paradise Square, published by the Edgewater, Fla., independent publisher Denlinger's. Gus Postreich, senior v-p and executive editor of the electronic publishing division, said the company was "thrilled" to be the only independent publisher to have a title nominated. Postreich told PW he "wasn't surprised" that the large publishers garnered most of the nominees. "E-books is a growing field and [large publishers] are trying to catch the wave," he said. Denlinger's e-publishing division has been releasing e-books for a little more than two years and has approximately 150 titles that run on its proprietary software; 35 titles are available in the Rocket eBook format. Titles can be downloaded from the company's Web site at www.thebookden.com. The company accepts unsolicited manuscripts; it charges no up-front fees and pays authors a 10% royalty. The majority of its e-books sell for $6.95. Postreich hopes to have a print edition of Paradise Square available within a month.

News

P-Publishers Dominate Frankfurt E- Nominees
Jim Milliot -- 10/9/00

Large, traditional book publishers captured the majority of nominations in the first Frankfurt eBook Awards. Of the 12 nominations, four went to Simon & Schuster, two to Random House and one each to Penguin Putnam, iPublishing.com/Time-Warner Books, Denlinger's Publishers Ltd., 00h00.com (France) and Econ Verlag (Germany).

The 12 nominees are all in the running to receive the $100,000 grand prize; four other works will receive $10,000; and the International eBook Award Foundation will give a $10,000 technical achievement award. The winners will be announced October 20 during a ceremony at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

The nominees for best fiction work originally published in e-book form are Ed McBain, The Last Dance (S&S); Colleen McCullough, Morgan's Run (S&S); and E.M. Schorb, Paradise Square (Denlinger's). For best nonfiction work originally published in e-book form, nominees are Stephen Ambrose, Nothing Like It in the World (S&S); Larry Colton, Counting Coup (iPublish.com); and David Maraniss, When Pride Still Mattered (S&S).

In the category for best fiction work originally published in print and converted to an e-book are Myla Goldberg, Bee Season (Doubleday); Michel Houellebecq, Extension du domaine de la Lutte (00h00.com); and Zadie Smith, White Teeth (Random House). For best nonfiction work originally published in print and converted to an e-book are Peter Gay, Mozart (Penguin), and Vilim Vasata, Uberleben in der Sintflut (Radical Brand) (Econ).

Judging director Peter Mollman said he was "overwhelmed by the response from U.S. and foreign publishers."

Indie Disappointment
The independent e-publishing community was not happy that so few nominees came from independent publishers. In a story posted on eBookNet.com, Wade Roush chronicles the independent's displeasure, noting that while the nominees may be worthy titles, they "don't represent the fresh new writing talent now reaching readers thanks to e-publishing's democratizing effect." E-book author Jim Musgrave complained that if the awards "were meant to bestow honors to publishers and authors who have established themselves in the publishing world, then they have failed miserably." Susan Bodendorfer, publisher at Wordbeams, noted that "it's disappointing, but not at all surprising, to see that the pioneers of ePublishing were overlooked."

Mollman defended the selection process. "We had excellent judges who worked extremely hard," he told PW. Mollman said the nominees were chosen based on literary merit, and added that who the publishers of the e-books were played no role whats ver in the selection process.

The Indie Nominee
The only original e-book nominee for the Frankfurt eBook Award that still exists solely in electronic format is Paradise Square, published by the Edgewater, Fla., independent publisher Denlinger's. Gus Postreich, senior v-p and executive editor of the electronic publishing division, said the company was "thrilled" to be the only independent publisher to have a title nominated. Postreich told PW he "wasn't surprised" that the large publishers garnered most of the nominees. "E-books is a growing field and [large publishers] are trying to catch the wave," he said.

Denlinger's e-publishing division has been releasing e-books for a little more than two years and has approximately 150 titles that run on its proprietary software; 35 titles are available in the Rocket eBook format. Titles can be downloaded from the company's Web site at www.thebookden.com. The company accepts unsolicited manuscripts; it charges no up-front fees and pays authors a 10% royalty. The majority of its e-books sell for $6.95.

Postreich hopes to have a print edition of Paradise Square available within a month.