Author Warren Adler Releases Five New E-Books

Author Warren Adler has made five e-books, none of which have been previously published in any format, available in the Kindle Store (www.amazon.com/kindlestore). These books, all of which draw from Adler's skill as a novelist and his keen insight into the nature of intimate human relationships, will also be available in print editions through CreateSpace. All five books in the series - "The David Embrace," "Flanagan's Dolls," "The Womanizer," "Residue" and "Empty Treasures"--are available for sale today for $7.95 with the e-books exclusive to the Kindle Store for two years.

"Warren Adler has long been involved in digital publishing ventures, and we're thrilled he's decided to publish his new series in e-book form exclusively in the Kindle Store," said Russ Grandinetti, Vice President, Kindle Content. "We think Adler fans and readers who are just discovering his work will enjoy this new series."

Adler is also making available an anthology of "Warren Adler Short Story Contest Winners," featuring the winning pieces from the Warren Adler Short Story Contest, a contest Adler conceived to promote and revive the medium of the short story as a popular mode of literary expression. The anthology is available for $4.95, and is also exclusive to the Kindle store for two years.

The Onion, "America's Finest News Source," Creates Five New e-Book Collections Exclusively for Kindle Customers

The Onion has created five e-Book collections exclusively for the Kindle Store (www.amazon.com/kindlestore). These collections, presented by the Onion --"America's Finest Tech News," "Chronicles of the Area Man," "The Finest Reporting on Literature, Media, and Other Dying Art Forms," "The Best of Jim Anchower," "The Best of Herbert Kornfeld"--are $2.99 and will be exclusive to the Kindle Store for one year.

"Our customers are fans of books by the Onion in print format, and the Onion is one of our most popular Kindle Periodicals," said Russ Grandinetti, Vice President, Kindle Content. "We hope Kindle readers will enjoy these five exclusive titles, which are the perfect way to add even more levity to your holiday season."

"We are excited to present these five new titles to our readers which were created exclusively for Kindle," said Marc Lieberman, VP Business Development at the Onion. "We are always looking for innovative ways to publish 'America's Finest News Source,' and this is a natural fit."

The Onion is a national publication and website that delivers award-winning satirical news. Every week, the Onion misinforms more than 1.8 million weekly readers of the print edition and about 10 million unique visitors online each month. In recent years, the Onion expanded into radio and video, winning a Peabody Award in 2009 for its online video series, Onion News Network. This January, the Onion will launch two television shows, premiering on IFC and Comedy Central, respectively.

Amazon.com Announces Best Music of 2010

Amazon.com has announced its picks for best music of 2010. The list includes the editors' picks for the Top 100 Albums of the Year, Top 100 Customer Favorites and a breakdown of Best of the Year lists in a variety of musical genres.

"From the stunning debut of editors' pick Broken Bells, to the triumphant return of customer favorite Eminem, we heard a lot of great music this year," said Craig Pape, director of Music at Amazon.com. "Our Best Music of 2010 lists are designed to help customers navigate through the rich selection of releases and discover new artists they might not normally pick on their own."

The Best of the Year Music Store is now live on Amazon.com, offering customers a large variety of music to browse, along with unique lists such as "50 outstanding albums of 2010 you may have missed."

"Creating Amazon's Best of the Year music list is a big process, but it is a lot of fun for the music team. We dig into music in every genre we can think of," said Jeff Reguilon, a music editor at Amazon.com. "From rock to pop, to new age, country and everything in between, we do our best to highlight awesome music that we think our customers will love."

Top 10 music editors' picks for best albums of the year:

1. Mumford & Sons, "Sigh No More"

2. Arcade Fire, "The Suburbs"

3. The Black Keys, "Brothers"

4. The National, "High Violet"

5. LCD Soundsystem, "This Is Happening"

6. Kanye West, "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy"

7. Broken Bells, "Broken Bells"

8. Vampire Weekend, "Contra"

9. Deerhunter, "Halcyon Digest"

10. Big Boi, "Sir Lucious Left Foot... The Son of Chico Dusty"

Top 10 customer favorites for 2010:

1. Taylor Swift, "Speak Now"

2. Lady Antebellum, "Need You Now"

3. Arcade Fire, "The Suburbs"

4. Susan Boyle, "The Gift"

5. Eminem, "Recovery"

6. Kanye West, "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy"

7. Sade, "Soldier of Love"

8. James Taylor and Carole King, "Live At The Troubadour"

9. Vampire Weekend, "Contra"

10. Mumford & Sons, "Sigh No More"

Seth Godin and Amazon Announce "The Domino Project"

International-bestselling author Seth Godin and Amazon have announced that Godin's new publishing imprint "The Domino Project" will publish an initial list of six titles using Amazon's new "Powered By Amazon" publishing program. Powered by Amazon enables authors to use Amazon's global distribution, multiple format production capabilities, including print, audio and digital, as well as Amazon's personalized, targeted marketing reach.
Godin will serve as the lead writer, creative director and instigator for a series of "Idea Manifestos" under his new imprint, The Domino Project, which will include books by other bestselling authors, entrepreneurs and thought leaders. These books will be made available for sale in print editions via Amazon.com and as audiobooks via Amazon.com and Audible.com, at bookstores nationwide and as e-books exclusively in the Kindle Store.

Every Website Can Now Be a Bookstore

Kindle for the Web enables customers to read full text of Kindle books in their web browser - no download or installation required
Websites are invited to participate in decentralized e-book sales

Kindle for the Web is Chrome OS launch partner



Two months ago, Amazon launched Kindle for the Web, making it possible to read free first chapters of Kindle books through web browsers. Today, Amazon announced that Kindle for the Web will expand to enable anyone with access to a web browser to buy and read full Kindle books - no download or installation required. For the first time ever, bookstores, other retailers, authors, bloggers and other website owners will be able to offer Kindle books from their own sites, let their readers start enjoying the full text of these books instantly, and earn referral fees through the Amazon Associates Program for sales made through their sites. Website owners can embed the Kindle for the Web widget in a matter of seconds and start offering Kindle books. The update to Kindle for the Web was demonstrated on-stage at a Google Chrome event today and will support Chrome OS devices, including the new Chrome OS Notebook, as well as the Chrome browser and other web browsers.

"Kindle for the Web makes it possible for bookstores, authors, retailers, bloggers or other website owners to offer Kindle books on their websites and earn affiliate fees for doing so," said Russ Grandinetti, Vice President, Kindle Content. "Anyone with access to a web browser can discover the seamless and consistent experience that comes with Kindle books. Kindle books can be read on the $139 third-generation Kindle device with new high-contrast Pearl e-Ink, on iPads, iPod touches, iPhones, Macs, PCs, BlackBerrys and Android-based devices. And now, anywhere you have a web browser. Your reading library, last page read, bookmarks, notes, and highlights are always available to you no matter where you bought your Kindle books or how you choose to read them."
Kindle for the Web joins Amazon's wide selection of free reading apps for iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Mac, PC, BlackBerry and Android-based devices that let customers read and sync their reading library, bookmarks, notes, and highlights with the device or platform of their choice.
The Kindle Store offers the largest selection of books people want to read, including 101 of 111 New York Times Bestsellers and New Releases from $9.99. Millions of older, out-of-copyright, pre-1923 books are also available to read. Kindle books offer readers many additional unique advantages, including:

• Buy Once, Read Everywhere apps let you sync and read your books, last page read, bookmarks, notes and highlights across Kindle devices and the most popular devices and platforms
• Amazon's Worry-Free Archive automatically backs up your books and highlights online in your Kindle library where they can be re-downloaded wirelessly for free, anytime on any Kindle device or app
• Amazon.com customer reviews, personalized recommendations and editorial reviews
• Instant 1-click buying using your Amazon account information

Kindle for the Web was demoed on-stage today at Google's Chrome event, where audience members saw the speed and fluidity of Kindle for the Web operating on Chrome OS. Kindle for the Web will support Chrome OS devices, including the all-new Chrome OS Notebook announced today. Kindle for the Web takes advantage of HTML5 to give users a rich application experience. Kindle for the Web will be available in the coming months. More information about Kindle for the Web is available at www.amazon.com/kindlefortheweb.

Amazon.com Introduces Windowshop for the Chrome

A new way to shop Amazon.com's millions of items on the Web

Amazon has announced that Windowshop is available starting today in Google's new Chrome Web Store. Like Amazon Windowshop for the iPad, Windowshop for the web offers a completely new browsing interface that is optimized for the speed and fluidity of modern web browsers. On their computer screens, customers will experience Amazon.com in a new way, while everything behind-the-scenes remains the same -- millions of in-stock items that feature Amazon's customary low prices and fast delivery.

"The new Chrome Web Store offers our customers a convenient way to experience Windowshop," said Eva Manolis, Amazon.com's vice president, Retail Customer Experience. "Windowshop's fluid UI is optimal for the impressive speed of the Chrome browser, and offers customers an experience they can only find with Amazon.com. We think customers are going to love Windowshop for the web."

The flowing browse experience gives customers a new way to shop and makes exploring everything from toys and DVDs, to coffee makers and digital cameras, easy, fun and fast. Windowshop is a visually rich display where customers can browse more than 40 product categories and get an up-close look at an item to review images, detailed descriptions, customer reviews, related products and multimedia content. Customers can view their personalized recommendations, as well as Amazon Bestsellers, New Releases, Most Gifted items, Most Wished For items and more from one single page using Windowshop.

Oprah's New Book Club Selections "A Tale of Two Cities" and "Great Expectations" Are Free on Kindle

The works of Charles Dickens and millions of other out-of-copyright works are available on Kindle for free.

The 65th Oprah Book Club pick is a Charles Dickens double-header. The selections are "A Tale of Two Cities" and "Great Expectations," and Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced that both are available on Kindle for free, along with millions of other out-of-copyright works. These free Kindle books can be read on the bestselling $139 Kindle (www.amazon.com/kindle) with new, high-contrast Pearl e-ink or on iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, BlackBerry, Android-based devices, PC, and Mac using free Kindle reading apps (www.amazon.com/kindleapps).

"We've found that customers love to discover--or rediscover--classic books on Kindle and we're sure these Dickens books will find new readers as an Oprah's Book Club selection," said Russ Grandinetti, Vice President of Kindle Content. "Millions of free, out-of-copyright books are available to read on Kindle, including these two classic Dickens books."

There is also a Penguin edition available in the Kindle store for $7.99. The Penguin edition includes illustrations of 18th century fashion and culture in Dickens' Victorian world, information about the early reception for both "A Tale of Two Cities" and "Great Expectations," a filmography of Dickens' novels, further reading about the author as well as what informed the thematic elements of these classic novels.

LivingSocial Announces $175 Million Investment by Amazon.com

LivingSocial (www.livingsocial.com) has secured a $175 million investment from Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN). LivingSocial has also secured an additional $8 million investment from Lightspeed Venture Partners. LivingSocial will use this investment to maintain a steady drumbeat of worldwide launches and overall business growth while continuing to serve more than 10 million subscribers across the U.S., Canada, UK, Ireland and Australia in more than 120 locations. Because of LivingSocial's rapid expansion, the company is currently booking revenues of more than $1 million a day on average and is projected to book well over $500 million in revenue in 2011.

"To be the biggest player in the local commerce space there is no one better to work with than Amazon," said Tim O'Shaughnessy, CEO of LivingSocial. "As the social shopping space continues to heat up, LivingSocial is committed to staying focused on providing the high level of quality that consumers and merchants have come to expect when working with us."

As the online source to find amazing experiences at an unbeatable value, LivingSocial lets anyone experience the hottest restaurants, shops, activities and services in their area. The company has dedicated area experts on the ground in every location working directly with business owners, and constantly researching the best in local adventures to bring a savings of 50% to 70% for consumers.

Recently, LivingSocial expanded its business by acquiring adventure company Urban Escapes, and launching three new verticals including LivingSocial Family Edition, Campus Deals and LivingSocial Escapes, a travel site that offers unbeatable savings on curated adventures. In addition, the company continues a regular flow of launches - on average one per day - and has expanded its reach in Australia with a controlling stake in Jump On It, making it live in five countries.

Amazon.com and Penguin Group (USA) Announce Fourth Annual Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Competition

Two grand prize winners, one for general fiction and one for best young adult novel, to be published by Penguin Group (USA)

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Penguin Group (USA) (NYSE:PSO) today announced the fourth annual Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition, the international competition seeking the next popular novel. Due to the popularity of the additional young adult category in 2010, the competition will again award two grand prizes: one for general fiction and one for best young adult novel. Each grand prize winner will be published by Penguin Group (USA). The 2011 competition will again be open to unpublished and self-published novels. Writers around the world are encouraged to begin preparing their manuscripts for entry into the competition, which will launch on Jan. 24, 2011.

"The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award is a great way for unpublished or self-published authors to reach an even wider audience for their work," said Jeff Belle, Amazon.com's vice president, U.S. Books. "We are looking forward to working with Penguin again on the contest and seeing a new crop of books by talented authors."

"Penguin is delighted to be the publishing sponsor of this contest for the fourth year running," said Tim McCall, Penguin's vice president of Online Sales and Marketing. "Our mission to discern, nurture and amplify exciting new voices is being served by the talented writers that have entered the competition."

Eligible writers with an English-language novel manuscript can submit their work between Jan. 24 and Feb. 6, 2011. Submission details can be found at www.amazon.com/abna. Up to 10,000 total initial entries will be accepted, with up to 5,000 each in the general fiction and young adult fiction categories. Amazon.com editors will select 1,000 entries from each category to advance to the next round. In the subsequent round, Amazon.com editors and at least one top reviewer on Amazon.com will read excerpts of the 2,000 entries and narrow the pool to 500 quarter-finalists (250 in each category). Reviewers from Publishers Weekly will then read, rate and review the full manuscripts, and 50 semi-finalists for each category will be selected. Penguin editors will evaluate the manuscripts of the 50 general fiction and 50 young adult fiction semi-finalists, and choose three finalists for each award.

The top three manuscripts in each category will then be read and reviewed by two panels of esteemed publishing professionals. The 2011 panelists for the general fiction category are: Lev Grossman, author of the New York Times bestseller "The Magicians" and book critic for Time Magazine, literary agent Jennifer Joel of ICM and Marysue Rucci, Vice President, Editorial Director with G.P. Putnam's Sons. The panelists for the young adult fiction contest are: Gayle Forman, journalist and author of the New York Timesbestseller "If I Stay," literary agent Julie Just of Janklow & Nesbit and Jennifer Besser, Vice President and Publisher, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers.