Kobo Launches in Turkey - GalleyCat

Panzer made a stop at the GalleyCAT site today. Our big bad kitty hasn't been in a while. Just a little digging around uncovered news about Kobo.

According to a post by Dianna Dilworth, Kobo will have ebooks available in Turkey in May. Kobo has entered into a partnership with the D and R bookstore chain. As well as the ebooks the Kobo ereader will now be available through D and K's subsidiary idefix.com

Turkey?

Panzer says, "Hmm ... I wonder where I can find a Turkish translator for my books?"

Note: This is a very short post. You'll only need half a cup of tea for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Kobo

Hugo awards shortlist dominated by rightwing campaign - The Guardian

Panzer's was just tootling around in the Catosphere enjoying a leisurely trip when the Panzermobile was buffeted by growling and snarling sounds. Following all the noise took our brave kitty to The Guardian site. There he discovered somebody let those obnoxious, noisy Puppies out again.

According to a post by Dave Barnett, it's time for the Hugo Awards nominees list. You remember the Hugo Awards for science fiction and fantasy, right? Panzer told you about them last year. You know ... The awards with Rabid Puppies and Sad Puppies ... And the way the Puppies get their BFFs' work nominated. All the Puppies have to do is have all their other friends, relatives, and neighbors buy a membership in the group and then they all nominate the Puppies' BFFs' work.

Pretty simple, huh?

Those Puppies have the system all figured out.

And guess what?

It worked again this year.

Got to keep my paws clean.

Panzer says, "You can read all about this year's romp in the puppy litter box in Mr. Barnett's post, just watch where you step. Looks to be a repeat of last year."

Note: This is a l-o-n-g post. You'll need a cup of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection.

To read The Guardian post, tootle over to Hugo Awards

To read Panzer's post on last year's Puppygate, tootle over to Puppygate

Barnes & Noble's Longtime Leader, Leonard Riggio, Is Stepping Down - The New York Times

Panzer was awakened from his evening nap by the Panzermobile's emergency news siren sounding. Our poor nap-deprived kitty headed into the Catosphere to follow the news beacon. The trail took him to The New York Times site. At the site Panzer found a post about Barnes and Noble had tripped the Panzermobile's sensor.

In the post Alexandra Alter reports Barnes and Noble founder Leonard Riggio has decided to retire in September. Mr. Riggio bought the original Barnes and Noble bookstore in 1971 and has been at the helm since. Mr. Riggio will remain on the Board of Directors; but, according to the article he intends to travel and visit other countries in his retirement. The post includes a history of the Barnes and Noble bookstore chain and the business' ebook entry against Amazon with the Nook.

Don't wake until morning.

Panzer says, "With all that traveling it doesn't sound like Mr. Riggio will have much time to devote to the bookstores anymore."

Note: This is a very l-o-n-g post. You'll need two cups of tea, a muffin and a creme-filled doughnut for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Barnes and Noble

A new app is trying to get India to read more by being the Netflix of books - Mashable

I lost my smartphone.

Panzer's trip today was a fun exploration in the Catosphere. Our brave kitty stopped in at the Mashable site. With just a little digging he found news about a new startup app company called Juggernaut.

According to the post by Sonam Joshi, a new smartphone app by Juggernaut is launching in India. The initial offering will be small at only 100 titles. The price per ebook will be between "Rs 10 (15 cents) and up to Rs 150 ($2.25)". For easy smartphone reading, the ebooks are less than 25,000 words. Currently, the books are commissioned. Juggernaut compares their service to Netflix. If the company finds the right approach, there appears to be a huge smartphone reading app market in India.

Panzer says, "This kitty will be watching Juggernaut to see how it goes."

Note: This is a l-o-n-g-ish post. A cup of tea and a muffin should be enough for today's reading session.

To read the post, tootle over to Juggernaut

Apple Services Shut Down in China in Startling About-Face

I can see across the ocean from up here.

Panzer was out in the Catosphere yesterday just taking in the sights and enjoying himself. Our big bad kitty boy happened to stumble across a post at The New York Times site about Apple. Not wanting to disrupt your habit of reading his Monday Panzerism, he decided to save it until today.

According to the post by Paul Mozur and Jane Perlez, Apple is having problems in China. China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television regulator shut down Apple's iBooks Store and iTunes Movies. One reason for the shut down may be that these two are in competition with some Chinese Internet companies. Speculation is that Apple Pay may be next because it too is in competition with other Chinese companies.

Panzer says, "It seems to this little kitty ... If you're a U.S. company and successful in China, you are going to get spanked and sent home."

This is a long and complicated post. You will need a cup of tea and two muffins for today's read.

To read the post, tootle over to Apple

A New Panzerism

Panzer on learning new skills:

I heard What's His Name telling Mom he's going to teach me how to clean my own litter box.

Well ...

I've got some breaking news for him ...

That is not going to happen ...

We cats already know how to clean our litter boxes ...

It's simple. I just don't want to.

But ...

Why should we ...

When we've taught our humans to do it for us?

Press Release: Bookmasters, Baker & Taylor, Printondemand-worldwide Form Partnership

Panzer was taking a leisurely trip in the Catosphere when he decided to make a stop at the Book Business site. Digging around he found a post with some news about Baker and Taylor.

I see somebody growing bigger.

The post is a press release about Bookmasters, Baker and Taylor, and Printondemand-worldwide (PODW). According to the press release, the three are forming a partnership.  Bookmasters and Baker and Taylor publish and distribute in the U.S. and Printondemand-worldwide does the same in the U.K. With the new partnership all three will have access to each others publishing and distribution markets for their books, ebooks and other products. The post also mentions the fact that Follett just bought Booksmasters and Baker and Taylor which Panzer told you about a few days ago.

Panzer says, "So basically, Printondemand-worldwide formed a partnership with Follett Corp.  Hmm ... I wonder if there's another buyout in the future."

Note: This is a l-o-n-g-ish post. You'll want a cup of tea and muffin for the reading session. If you plan to read Panzer's other post, add another muffin.

To read today's post, tootle over to Baker and Taylor

To read Panzer's earlier post on the Baker and Taylor buyout, tootle over to Follett

Amazon Wins $30 Million Deal to Sell E-Books in NYC Schools - Fortune

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when the Panzermobile was buffeted by clapping and cheering. Our brave kitty followed all the noise to the Fortune site. There he found big news about Amazon.

$30 million is a lot of kitty treats.

According to a post by Hilary Brueck, Amazon just signed a new contract with the New York City Schools worth $30 million. Under the contract the company will be supplying ebooks to New York City school students at the beginning of the next school year. The students will not need to buy Kindles; instead the ebooks can be read on tablets and other devices. Also included in the post is a short video about Amazon's video streaming service.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... That means no more heavy backpacks for NYC students. Everything will be on a tablet."

Note: This is a medium post. Even if you watch the video, you'll only need a cup of tea and a muffin.

To read the post, tootle over to Amazon

Partners Hoping to Move Distribution Clients to Midpoint - PW (Publishers' Weekly)

Panzer made a quick trip into the Catosphere. Our inquisitive kitty was looking for information on Partners Publishers Group. He heard the print book distributor for independent publishers had closed its doors a couple of weeks ago. With a little digging around at the Publishers' Weekly site he found some interesting news about the company's plans.

According to the post by Judith Rosen, Partners Publishers Group is giving their independent publisher clients the option to move their book distribution to Midpoint Trade Sales. No information is available about the terms of the contracts publishers are being asked to agree to with Midpoint.

Doesn't look good to me.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... If they don't agree to the terms with Midpoint Trade Sales, is there anybody else to do their book distribution? Doesn't sound fair to me ... But ... What do I know? I'm just a cat."

Note: This is a short post. A cup of tea should do it for today's reading.

To read the post, tootle over to Partners distribution moved to Midpoint

2016 Smashwords Survey Reveals Insights - Smashwords

 Panzer had barely made it into  the Catosphere when he heard clapping and laughing. Following all the raucous noise, our kitty boy found himself at the Smashwords blog. It didn't take any digging at all to find the post that made everyone so happy.

In the post Smashwords founder Mark Coker discussed the results of the annual Smashwords survey. The survey showed that once again romance fiction is the top seller, boxed sets are also big sellers, and pre-orders are a major driver for bestsellers. Several other findings from the survey are also discussed.

 Also included in the post was Mr. Coker's slide show presentation of the survey results at the April 14 RT Booklovers Convention which is included below. If you would rather read the post, the link is after the slide show.

Here's the slide show:

2016 Smashwords Survey - How to sell more books from Smashwords, Inc.

Note: This is a l-o-n-g post. You'll need a cup of tea and two muffins for your reading today.

To read the post, tootle over to Smashwords: 2016 Smashwords Survey Reveals Insight into the Ha...:

Book publishing is a resilient business: Kobo CEO

Panzer made a trip today to the CNBC site. With some digging around and rearranging of posts, he found one about Kobo.

50 to 80 years old?

The post by Luke Graham includes a video of an interview with Kobo CEO Michael Tamblyn. Mr. Tamblyn states in the interview that Kobo found in a study that 50 to 80 year olds are the ones driving the ereading business, not the 20 to 30 year olds as previously thought. It was also found that these same readers buy both ebooks and print books. Included beneath the video is a recap of the interview as well as extra information about audio books and their sales.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Who's buying all those adult coloring books then? Is it the 20 to 30 year olds or the 50 to 80 year olds? Inquiring cats want to know."

Note: The video and the included post are long. The combination makes this a cup of tea and a large muffin read for you.

To watch the video and read the post, tootle over to Kobo CEO

Follett Corp. Buys Baker & Taylor - PW (Publishers' Weekly)

Panzer's trip into the Catosphere today took him to the Publishers' Weekly site. There, a little digging by our kitty explorer brought to light some news about distributor Follett Corporation.

They own college bookstores too, right?

According to a post by Jim Milliot, Follett Corp. has completed the purchase of Baker and Taylor. Follett distributes books, both print and digital, to libraries, preschool through high school, and to schools and colleges. Baker and Taylor distributes books, videos and music to public libraries and institutions. The acquisition by Follett of Baker and Taylor is an obvious market consolidation tactic that will create a juggernaut in the product distribution market to schools, colleges and libraries.

Panzer says, "Who says Amazon is the only behemoth sellers have to watch out for?"

Note: This is a medium length post. A cup of tea and a small muffin should do for your read today.

To read the post, tootle over to Follett Corp.

A New Panzerism

Panzer on helping Mom with her spring cleaning:

Mom said it's time for spring cleaning. She started in the bathroom.

She got one of those jars of mashed up flower stuff humans put on the toilet tank.

She said she wanted the bathroom to be spring-time good-smelly.

I think she called it a poo-poo poe-pery jar.

Then she said she had everything clean in here.

Well ... I don't think so.

I want to help her with her spring cleaning.

So ...  A quick flick of my awesome right paw ...

Look ... It floats.

And ...

A splash ...

And the toilet tank top is cleaned off.

Anything else you need help with Mom?

Chill. It's Not Books vs. Amazon. You Can Have Both!

Panzer has been very busy yesterday and today. Our well-liked kitty had visitors from out of town and was playing the friendly host. So today's trip into the Catosphere was short. Our speedy kitty boy stopped in at the Wired site. His digging around there unearthed a post about Amazon and bookstores.

According to the post by Davey Alba, there's no reason to worry about Amazon and ebooks causing mayhem for bookstores. In the post Alba quotes industry experts who say ebook sales were reportedly down 10.5 percent in the first five months of 2015, while bookstore sales were up 2.5 percent. So the prediction of the demise of paper books and bookstores appears to have been greatly exaggerated.

It's been two busy days. I need a nap.

So what is Amazon doing about all this decrease in ebook sales? Amazon is concentrating more on their own paper book publishing imprints and opening their own bookstores, that's what. As Panzer already told you, Amazon has opened a store in Seattle, Washington, and will be opening another in California.

Panzer says, "If Amazon is opening their own retail bookstores, it sounds like nobody has to worry about the disappearing bookstores."

Note: this is a l-o-n-g post. Bring a large cup of tea and two muffins for today's reading session.

To read the post, tootle over to books

To read Panzer's earlier post about Amazon's California store, tootle over to Amazon retail store

New Kindle Oasis Release Date and Information - Amazon Site

Panzer was reading his email today. And ... There it was ... Amazon's press release about the new Kindle Oasis. So, our brave kitty traveler took a trip directly to the Amazon site.

All the information Amazon has been releasing over the past week is true according to the release: smaller size, weighs less and a battery case. It will be available the end of April.

I'm done posting about it. Nap time.

And ... guess what? There's a huge back order, so ... you may have to w-a-i-t a while to get yours shipped.

Panzer says, "I told all my little kitty friends what Amazon was doing with their marketing ... Did you listen to me?"

Note: The Amazon sales description is small. You'll only need a half a cup of tea for your reading today.

To see the new Kindle Oasis and read all the details, tootle over to Kindle Oasis

Kindle Oasis Leaks on Amazon.ca Lists For $999 - The Digital Reader

Looking for publishing news for you today, Panzer's trip into the Catosphere took him to The Digital Reader site. With no digging at all our intrepid kitty found the latest information on the new Kindle ereader in a post by Nate Hoffelder. Panzer told you about the rumors about Amazon's new ereader last week.

According to the post, the new Kindle ereader will be called Oasis. The information was found on the Amazon.ca site. As reported last week, the Oasis will have a removable battery charger making the newest ereader slimmer and weighing less. Also included is the speculation that the real announcement will be made Wednesday.

Can you tell I can hardly wait? (Yawn)

Panzer says, "Just like I told you last week, they will dribble out the information a little bit at a time and build up customer anticipation. Then all you humans will rush to buy it."

Note: This is a short post. To read today's post you'll just need a half a cup of tea. If you want to read Panzer's two other posts too, you'll need a full cup of tea and half a muffin.

To read today's post, tootle over to Kindle Oasis

To read Panzer's first post on the new Kindle, tootle over to Amazon CEO

To read Panzer's second post on the new Kindle, tootle over to Amazon

A New Panzerism

Panzer on fun outdoor activities:

Today, I was trying to play with one of the Koi fish in the pond.

When What's His Name saw what I was doing, he came running and yelling and waving his arms at me.

Those rocks at the edge of the pond sure are slippery ...

And ...

He was flapping his arms like he could fly.

One of those slippery rocks just reached right up and tripped What's His Name.

He sort of ... well ...  kind of ... you know ... fell into the water.

But not all the way ...

Just up to his ears.

Audible, long known only for audiobooks, is branching out into podcasts - and news - NiemanLab

On Panzer's trip in the Catosphere today, he visited, NiemanLab, a site he's never been to before. It didn't take any digging at all to find a post about the audio book marketing site Audible.

I want answers.

A post there by Shan Wang says Amazon's audio book arm Audible has added a section called "Channels." It contains selected news podcasts and other features. There are podcasts of material from The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. It's currently available on both iOS and Android. Right now it's only available to Audible "Beta Tester" members. After beta testing, it will be available to Audible members.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This inquiring kitty wants to know: Is Audible going to try to go against iTunes? Or will they only feature their own produced podcasts?"

Note: This is a h-u-g-e post. You'll need a thermos of tea and two muffins.

To read the post, tootle over to Audible

Report: New Amazon Kindle Includes Rechargeable Case - PCMag.com

Panzer's trip into the Catosphere today was very short. PC Mag, the first place he stopped, had information about next week's new Kindle launch. Our inquisitive kitty told you a couple of days ago about the new Kindle launch scheduled for next week.

Angela Moscaritolo reports in her post that according to an unnamed source The Wall Street Journal reports Amazon's new Kindle will have a removable battery case. The user will put their Kindle in the case, charge the battery, and then remove the case. This makes for a much thinner Kindle.

Pay attention to me, kitties.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... My kitty sense tells me Amazon is using a great marketing tactic here. Dribble out the new Kindle information a little bit at a time to build up buyer anticipation. Then when it comes out next week there will be a rush to buy it."

Note: This is a very short post. You'll only need half a cup of tea for today's reading.

To read the post, tootle over to Kindle

To read Panzer's post about the new Kindle, tootle over to Amazon

New B & N Concept Store Sprouts in Winchester County - PW (Publishers' Weekly)

Panzer made a leisurely trip into the Catosphere today. Tootling around there, our big bad kitty boy stopped in at the Publishers' Weekly site. With a little digging around he found a post about Barnes and Noble's new concept stores that he told you about in March.

I think I know your secret.

According to the post by Jim Milliot, Barnes and Noble has picked a location in Eastchester, N.Y., for their first new concept store. The company's site plan has already been approved by the planning commission. Permits have also been approved for a restaurant at the location. In keeping with Barnes and Noble's secretive nature about the concept stores, rather vague descriptions were given about the store's interior at the planning commission meetings.

Panzer says, "It still sounds like they plan their stores to be like the new Amazon bricks and mortar stores to me."

Note: This is a l-o-n-g-ish post. You'll need a cup of tea and a muffin for your reading today.

To read the post, tootle over to concept store

To read Panzer's earlier post about Barnes and Noble's concept stores, tootle over to Barnes and Noble

Amazon CEO says a brand-new flagship Kindle is coming next week - engadget

Hmm ... A new Kindle.

Panzer headed over to the engadget site today. There our intrepid kitty traveler found a small post with some interesting information about Amazon.

According to the post by Nathan Ingraham, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced yesterday that the company will be releasing a new Kindle next week.

Panzer says, "I wish there was more to report; but he announced it in a tweet on Twitter. We'll just have to wait until next week."

Note: The post is very short. You'll only need half a cup of tea for today's reading.

To read the post, tootle over to new Kindle

A New Panzerism

Panzer on cat philosophy:

The truth is obvious ...

Once it becomes known.

Mom says I should act with good intentions.

Well ...

That's it for my good intentions.

I'll tell you this ...

The road to the veterinarian's is paved with Mom's good intentions.

And that's the truth.

The Case for Very Short Novels - PW (Publishers' Weekly)

Panzer just returned from today's trip into the Catosphere. Our big bad kitty boy made a trip to the Publishers' Weekly site. It didn't take any digging at all to find an interesting post about what qualifies as a novel. While this post is about paper books, everything in it applies to short digital novels as well. (Everything that is except the part about using novels as door stops or to fix wobbly tables.)

According to the post by Welsh novelist Cynan Jones, there should be no argument that there is a place for short novels for today's readers. He defines a short novel as one which can be read in two hours. Because of this time/length restriction, short novels must deliver their story line punch in the most economical word use possible. So, tight writing is a must. Mr. Jones also takes issue with the novella category of books as demeaning to the story form.

Nobody knows tight writing like me.

Panzer says, "All anybody who wants to know about telling a story using the smallest number of words needs to do is read my Monday Panzerisms."

Note: This is a l-o-n-g post. You'll need a thermos of tea and two muffins for today's reading.

To read the post, tootle over to short novels

The Short Mystery Fiction Society Blog: 2016 Derringer Award Results

Sleep is calling my name now.

Panzer here. All of you who've read Mom's author bio. know today is her and What's His Name's wedding anniversary. So I only made a very short trip into the Catosphere to go to the Short Mystery Fiction Society's site. Mom and I are members and we try to keep up on all the information at the blog and on the email list. When I checked in today, I found the list of the 2016 Derringer Award winners. The Derringers are given every year for outstanding short mystery fiction.

That's it for today. Mom and What's His Name are going out to celebrate and I'm going to take a nap. More publishing news tomorrow.

Note: The blog list is short. You'll only need a cup of tea for your reading today.

To read the winners, tootle over to The Short Mystery Fiction Society Blog: 2016 Derringer Award Results: