The Digital Book World Conference marked its fifth anniversary this week. With the selection of Jeff Bezos biographer Brad Stone as a featured speaker, show organizer Mike Shatzkin made plain the central role of Amazon in today’s book world – digital or otherwise. Also this week, the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project reported out on a new survey of more than 1,000 US adults – and while e-reading remains in growth mode, ink-on-dead-trees has held its ground and more.
“Pew reports that while, yes, e-books continue to rise in popularity, print remains the foundation of Americans’ reading habits,” Andrew Albanese tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally.
“What’s notable is that e-books and print seem to be settling on equilibrium—an equilibrium for each reader. Most people who read e-books also read print books,” notes the Publisher Weekly senior reporter. “Just four percent of readers are ‘e-book only.’”
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Every Friday, CCC’s “Beyond the Book” speaks with the editors and reporters of “Publishers Weekly” for an early look at the news that publishers, editors, authors, agents and librarians will be talking about when they return to work on Monday.