digital books

A new deal negotiated by book publishers will increase the prices for digital books from $12.99 to $14.99.

Amazon.com will have to give publishers more control over the prices of digital books to match an agreement the world's largest Internet retailer forged with Macmillan, according to the Authors Guild.

Publishers including Harlequin, Random House and Scholastic are offering free versions of digital books to Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other e-retailers, as a way of letting readers try out the work of unfamiliar writers.

The hope is customers who like what they read will go on to obtain another title for money. Not everyone thinks this is smart.

The parties to the Google book settlement, which would legalize the creation of a vast library of digital books, have asked the judge overseeing a revision of the agreement for an extension to this Friday, Nov.

Experts say a new round of talks, and the government’s intervention, are almost certain to delay a settlement Google was eager to see ratified quickly.