As Amazon Publishing gears up for a new fall list that will include titles from its new imprints, booksellers are deciding whether they will carry titles from a company many consider their biggest competitor. In an article appearing in today’s issue of PW, some booksellers said they will definitely carry the titles and others said they will not, but most said they will stock titles under certain conditions.
Barnes & Noble fell in the latter group, with CEO William Lynch telling PW that the dominant bricks-and-mortar bookseller will stock books published by Amazon, “if we are provided all formats for all of our channels.” Lynch noted that “we will not stock physical books in our stores if we are not offered the available digital format. In recent instances, Amazon’s exclusive publisher deals have prohibited Barnes & Noble from selling certain e-books.” Lynch said that promoting books in its showrooms, “and not have the e-book available for sale would undermine our promise to Barnes & Noble customers to make available any book, anywhere, anytime. Given Amazon’s recent push for exclusivity with agents and the authors they represent, we feel it important to be very clear about our position on content going forward.”
To read the full account of how booksellers and agents are looking at Amazon Publishing, click here for the PW story.
