Google Ends E-book Reseller Program

Google said last week that it is ending its Google

eBooks reseller program worldwide at the end of January 2013. The move severs Google’s deals with the American Booksellers Association and Powell’s Books. Google will start selling e-books solely through its recently launched Google Play beginning next January.

B&N to Restore Cavendish Titles

The Authors Guild has brokered a one-time truce in Barnes & Noble’s battle with Amazon that resulted in the bookstore chain’s policy to not carry print books in its stores without the ability to sell e-book editions. In a letter sent to its members, the guild said that Barnes & Noble has agreed to its request to bring Cavendish children’s books back to the stores’ shelves. Amazon Publishing purchased Cavendish’s children’s book list in December 2011, and one month later, B&N announced that it would not stock any Amazon published titles in its stores.

New Twists in Class Action Pricing Suit

A month of legal skirmishing between the law firm heading the class action lawsuit against five publishers and Apple alleging a conspiracy to raise e-book prices culminated March 30 with Hagens Berman filing responses to motions to dismiss the case and to a motion by Penguin to stay the proceedings and move to arbitration. In opposing the motion to dismiss, Hagens stressed that the raising of e-book prices was done “in three coordinated steps.” Hagens also noted that at this stage, the plaintiffs “are not required to defeat Defendants’ proferred competing inferences.”

Bloomsbury Buys Fairchild

Bloomsbury Publishing has completed its acquisition of Fairchild Books. The New York-based Fairchild specializes in educational material and textbooks for fashion students.

Correction

In our March 26 issue, in the London Briefcase feature, the picture of author Rick Yancey was incorrectly tagged as Joe R. Lansdale.