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You are here: Home / Archives for digital

Children prefer to read books on paper rather than screens

March 10, 2017 By achuka Leave a Comment

This is interesting, and worth following the link to the cited research paper…

There is a common perception that children are more likely to read if it is on a device such as an iPad or Kindles. But new research shows that this is not necessarily the case.

In a study of children in Year 4 and 6, those who had regular access to devices with eReading capability (such as Kindles, iPads and mobile phones) did not tend to use their devices for reading – and this was the case even when they were daily book readers.

Research also found that the more devices a child had access to, the less they read in general.

It suggests that providing children with eReading devices can actually inhibit their reading, and that paper books are often still preferred by young people.

These findings match previous research which looked at how teenagers prefer to read. This research found that while some students enjoyed reading books on devices, the majority of students with access to these technologies did not use them regularly for this purpose. Importantly, the most avid book readers did not frequently read books on screens.

http://theconversation.com/children-prefer-to-read-books-on-paper-rather-than-screens-74171

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: digital, ebooks

Netflix-Komixx adapting Wattpad story into YA film

December 3, 2016 By achuka Leave a Comment

In bringing together a 15-year-old author, a toon production company and the world’s largest SVOD service, new young-adult film The Kissing Booth tells a lot about evolving creative processes in 2016.

Netflix is adapting the novel written and published by rookie teen author Beth Reekles on Wattpad, where it garnered more than 19 million views on the online free publishing site. UK-based film and TV production company Komixx Media Group is producing the feature-length film for the SVOD, with writer/director Vince Marcello (Teen Beach Movie) on-board to direct from his own screenplay.

For Komixx, which produces preschool series Toby’s Travelling Circus and Wanda and the Alien, the Netflix commission represents a milestone in its strategy to acquire and produce more YA drama for tweens and teens.

via Kidscreen » Archive » Netflix-Komixx adapting Wattpad story into YA film.

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: adaptation, digital, eBook, film, movie, YA

Hachette buys mobile game company Neon Play

June 18, 2016 By achuka Leave a Comment

bookseller

Hachette has bought mobile games development studios Neon Play in a “substantial” acquisition. Hachette c.e.o. Tim Hely Hutchinson has said the acquisition “could be one of several” for the company in the app space.

Neon Play was founded by co-owners Oli Christie and Mark Allen in Cirencester in 2010 and to date has created over 30 games, including Paper Glider, Flick Football and Panic Traffic London, attracting over 60m downloads. 

The studio, which has won 20 business awards including the Queen’s Award for Innovation, will be tasked with "creating, developing and marketing new mobile games” as a standalone business under the Hachette UK umbrella.

Although terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, Hely Hutchinson said it was a "substantial acquisition designed to lead to substantial revenues”, and was also a "serious first step" for Hachette in a bid to make its business "more digital”.

Referring to the mobile gaming industry as "complementary" to the book industry, Hely Hutchinson anticipates that trade and educational publishers will become “more like 50% digital” within the next five to 10 years. He told The Bookseller mobile gaming is “part of the future of the book industry”, with games the biggest and fastest growing part of the app market, while e-books, currently in decline, are “so similar to print books … they barely count as digital objects”.

"Most things digital are growing and therefore in order to make our business vibrant, and continue to be vibrant, we need to develop more digital dimensions," he said. "This is our first step, it probably won’t be the last step, but it’s a first step in making our business more digital."

via Hachette buys mobile game company Neon Play | The Bookseller.

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: apps, digital

Major Publishers ebook Revenue Continues to Plummet

February 13, 2016 By achuka Leave a Comment

goodereaderOver the course of the last twelve months major publishers have all reported that e-book revenue has begun to plummet.  This downward trend has continued into 2016, as HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and Hachette have all reported diminished revenue.

Simon & Schuster has just released their quarterly financial results and e-book sales accounted for just 21% of total publishing revenues in the fourth quarter, down from the 24% they accounted for in the same quarter a year earlier.

via Major Publishers ebook Revenue Continues to Plummet.

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: digital, ebooks

YA e-Book Sales Decline 44.5% in 2015 (e-Books generally down 11.5%)

December 19, 2015 By achuka Leave a Comment

goodereader

The Association of American Publishers has just released their annual report that takes a look at the overall health of the industry and how well audiobooks, e-books, hardcover and paper sales are doing. The organization has reported that e-book sales have declined 11% on the year with YA falling a staggering 44.5% from the same period in 2014.

via e-Book Sales Decline 11.0% in 2015.

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: data, digital, ebooks, Kindle, sales

2016 Kidscreen Awards shortlist announced

November 25, 2015 By achuka Leave a Comment

The nominees in the PROGRAMMING Categories are:

PRESCHOOL

Best New Series
Hey Duggee (Studio AKA)
PJ Masks (Frog Box, Entertainment One UK, France Télévisions, Disney Junior)
Puffin Rock (Cartoon Saloon, Dog Ears, Penguin Children’s Books)

Best Animated Series
Clangers (Coolabi/Sprout/CBeebies/Factory)
Peg + Cat (The Fred Rogers Company, 9 Story Entertainment)
Puffin Rock (Cartoon Saloon, Dog Ears, Penguin Children’s Books)

Best Non-Animated or Mixed Series
Dino Dan: Trek’s Adventures (Sinking Ship Entertainment)
Hi Opie! (marblemedia in association with TVO and The Jim Henson Company)
Sesame Street (Sesame Workshop)

Best One-Off, Special or TV Movie
Peppa Pig: The Golden Boots (Astley Baker Davies/Entertainment One UK)
Ruby’s Studio: The Siblings Show (The Mother Company)
Sesame Street: The Cookie Thief (Sesame Workshop)

KIDS

Best New Series
The Adventures of Puss in Boots (DreamWorks Animation Television, Netflix)
All Hail King Julien (DreamWorks Animation Television, Netflix)
We Bare Bears (Cartoon Network Studios)

Best Animated Series
All Hail King Julien (DreamWorks Animation Television, Netflix)
The New Adventures of Figaro Pho (Chocolate Liberation Front, Luma Toons)
Steven Universe (Cartoon Network Studios)

Best Non-Animated or Mixed Series
Hank Zipzer (Kindle Entertainment, DHX Media, Walker Productions, Screen Yorkshire)
Horrible Histories (Lion Television)
Odd Squad (The Fred Rogers Company, Sinking Ship Entertainment)

Best One-Off, Special or TV Movie
Monster Beach (Bogan Entertainment Solutions)
Monster High: Freaky Fusion (Mattel Playground Productions)
Ten Pieces (Somethin’ Else, BBC Music)

TWEENS/TEENS

Best New Series
Dragons: Race to the Edge (DreamWorks Animation Television, Netflix)
Hetty Feather (CBBC In-House Productions)
Wild But True (Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, Beyond Screen Productions)

Best Non-Animated or Mixed Series
4 O’Clock Club Series 4 (CBBC In-House Productions)
Nowhere Boys Series 2 (Matchbox Pictures)
Trio: Cybergold (Nordicstories, Fabelaktiv)

Best Animated Series
Dragons: Race to the Edge  (DreamWorks Animation Television / Netflix)

Bob’s Burgers (Bento Box Entertainment & 20th Century Fox Television)

Best One-Off, Special or TV Movie

Lost Treasure Hunt (Argosy Film Group)
Pirate’s Passage (Mahon Pictures)

These shortlisted entries will now be reviewed and assessed by a fresh panel of judges, including Andy Yeatman (Netflix), Emily Hart (Disney Junior), Tara Sorensen (Amazon Studios), Jamie Piekarz (Corus Kids), Jennifer Dodge (Nickelodeon), Alison Stewart (BBC Children’s), Andrew Thomas (Hulu) and Deirdre Brennan (ABC Australia).

 

The nominees in the DIGITAL Categories are:

PRESCHOOL

Best eBook
Disney Story Central (Disney Publishing Worldwide)
Little Emily (Ever After Tales)
My Little Pony: Twilight’s Kingdom Storybook Deluxe (PlayDate Digital)

Best Game App—Smartphone
Monkey See Monkey Dance (Smartoonz Entertainment)
Sesame Street Video Maker (Sesame Workshop, IDEO Toy Lab)

Best Game App—Tablet
My Very Hungry Caterpillar (StoryToys)
Peppa Pig: Golden Boots (Entertainment One and Kids Industries)
Sesame Street Art Maker (Sesame Workshop)

Best Learning App—Smartphone
Blaze and the Monster Machines (Nickelodeon Digital/CHEWY)
Sesame Street—Let’s Get Ready! (Sesame Workshop)
Sunny’s Hootenanny (Loudcrow Interactive/Twofold Films)

Best Learning App—Tablet
Elmo’s Animals: A Sesame Street S’More App (Sesame Workshop)
Mickey’s Magical Math World by Disney Imagicademy (Disney Publishing Worldwide)
Tiggly Tales (Tiggly)

Best Streaming Video Platform
Hopster (Hopster)
Nick Jr. (Nickelodeon Digital)
PlayKids (Movile)

Best Web/App Series
The Adventures of Annie & Ben (HooplaKidz)
Fanny Foozle (Aether Entertainment, Cosmic Toast Studios)
Lalaloopsy Kitchen (MGA Entertainment)

Best Website
ABCmouse.com Early Learning Academy (Age of Learning)
Nickjr.com (Nickelodeon Digital)
Peep and the Big Wide World/El Mundo Divertido de Peep (WGBH Educational Foundation)

KIDS

Best Game App—Smartphone
Adventure Time: Magic Man’s Head Games (Cartoon Network Digital)
Crayola Color Alive! (DAQRI)
Mix+Smash: Marvel Super Hero Mashers (Disney Publishing Worldwide)

Best Game App—Tablet
Adventure Time Game Wizard (Cartoon Network Digital)
Toca Life: City (Toca Boca)
Weirdwood Manor (All Play, No Work)

Best Learning App—Smartphone
The Centsables Dash for Cash (DNA Creative)
Plum’s Creaturizer (WGBH)
Safari Tales (Kuato Studios)

Best Learning App—Tablet
The Foos Coding 5+ (codeSpark)
Weirdwood Manor (All Play, No Work)
Zoombinis (TERC and FableVision Studios)

Best Streaming Video Platform
Cartoon Network app (Cartoon Network Digital)
Nick.com (Nickelodeon Digital)
Toon Goggles (Toon Goggles)

Best Web/App Series
Life Hacks for Kids (DreamWorksTV)
Talking Tom and Friends: The Animated Series (Outfit7 Limited)
Wonder Quest (Maker Studios)

Best Website
Design Squad (WGBH Educational Foundation)
The Next Step: Make a Scene (Secret Location/DHX Media/Temple Street Productions/Bell Fund)
Nick.com (Nickelodeon Digital)

These shortlisted entries will now be reviewed and assessed by panels of professional judges, including Rachel Bardel (CBeebies Interactive), Sara Berliner (Night & Day Studios), Noemie Dupuy (Budge Studios), Matthew Evans (Nickelodeon), Robin Raskin (Living in Digital Times), Josephine Tsay (GlassLab Games), Amy Kraft (Monkey Bar Collective) and Anne Richards (Cracking Wise Interactive).

The nominees in the BROADCASTING Categories are:

Channel of the Year
Cartoon Network (US)
Gulli
PBS KIDS

Best Channel Design
Boomerang
PBS KIDS

Best Programming Block
Sunny Side Up (Sprout)
Gulli Good (Gulli)

Best Channel Website
Channel One News (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
PBS KIDS
Tiny Pop (CSC Media Group, part of Sony Pictures Television)

Best On-Air Host or Hosting Team
Louis-Philippe Deslauriers, Alexandra Janvier and Josée Leblanc (Groupe Média TFO)
Channel One News—Azia Celestino, Tom Hanson, Arielle Hixson Keith Kocinski, Demetrius Pipkin and Maggie Rulli (Houghton Miffin Harcourt)

Read more: http://kidscreen.com/2015/11/23/2016-kidscreen-awards-shortlist-revealed/#ixzz3sUNLUssn

 

http://kidscreen.com/2015/11/23/2016-kidscreen-awards-shortlist-revealed/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=2016-kidscreen-awards-shortlist-revealed

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: awards, digital, entertainment, prizes, television, TV, video

Children’s books triumph over threatened e-book takeover | The Australian

November 21, 2015 By achuka Leave a Comment

from The Australian

“I think the (global) industry has seen off the threat, to be honest­,’’ Ms Drake said. “The growth in e-books is stagnating across the world, particularly in America. A couple of years ago, it was the great threat; it hasn’t really­ worked out that way.’’

Ms Drake admitted that “we all suffered to a certain degree when Borders and A&R went under’’, as those collapses entrenched­ the notion that bookstores were doomed.

However, alongside retailers such as Dymocks, Big W — which claims to be the nation’s biggest bookseller — realised kids’ books were key to holding back the digital tide. This is because­ most parents want to limit the time kids spend in front of screens.

“Parents don’t encourage their kids to read (e-books),’’ said Ms Drake, adding: “We deliberately engin­eered our range to be more appropriate for children, because we saw that that’s where the growth was going to be.’’

When the influential yet little-known bookseller started at Big W in 2008, children’s titles accounte­d for about 35 per cent of the discount department store’s book sales; now that is closer to half. Dymocks, meanwhile, has seen a 30 per cent rise in children’s book sales since 2010.

Social media-obsessed teens have also spurned the e-book revolution. Ms Drake said: “Where you’d think teens would be a signif­icant e-reading population, it never went that way. And certainly, with a phenomenon like Twilight or John Green, it was importa­nt (for teenagers) to have the artefact (the print book), and to be seen with the artefact.’’

via Children’s books triumph over threatened e-book takeover | The Australian.

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: digital, ebooks, print

How a children’s book publisher hopes to reach more of India’s 200 million children

October 4, 2015 By achuka Leave a Comment

On September 8, International Literacy Day, a publisher of children’s books took an unprecedented step to get more children in India to read, and to think creatively. That day Pratham Books launched StoryWeaver, an open source digital platform that aims to be a go-to repository of children’s literature online. Pratham Books have been publishing for eleven years now, with over 300 titles and 2,000 books in over 18 languages to their credit, and have now made these books available to everyone, under open source content licences.

The people at Pratham reckon that mainstream publishing just doesn’t reach too many of the approximately 200 million children in the country, especially when it comes to books that adequately represent Indian children in their own contexts and cultural milieus. Suzanne Singh, the Chairperson at Pratham, says, “There aren’t enough engaging, joyful books being published for children in Indian languages outside of Hindi and English. Most books will be age-old fables, folk tales, etc. of differing quality.”

Read, tell, build

What the StoryWeaver website does is to replicate the oral tradition of storytelling: it puts out a story and then invites people to either read the story as it is, translate it into a different language, or take the bare bones of the story to tell a completely new one.  Contributors can even add illustrations, or use the many prompts on StoryWeaver, from textual to illustrative, to write stories themselves. "I am happy to have my books on StoryWeaver and under open license. The possibility of reaching out to many more children and in many languages is just wonderful", says author and illustrator Madhuri Purandhare.

More on this via How a children’s book publisher hopes to reach more of India’s 200 million children.

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: digital, India, oral, platform, storytelling

New Foyles Store: Where ‘Physical Meets Digital’ | Digital Book World

October 2, 2015 By achuka Leave a Comment

More coverage (this time from Digital Book World) of the new Foyles store – going to be worth a trip to Birmingham just to visit…

The 4,300sqft bookshop, designed by lustedgreen, stocks a range of 15,000 titles and includes a number of digital innovations for enhancing customer service and experience. Only the second branch to be opened by the family-owned business outside of London in recent years, Foyles Grand Central employs fourteen expert booksellers under the management of Steven Harmon.

Digital enhancements include:

– three audio-visual author pods and a children’s story pod, where customers can hear and see best-selling writers read their work aloud
– booksellers with handheld tablets, running a new Foyles web platform offering access to a range of millions of books
– digital signage throughout the store including a floor-to- ceiling display screen

Positioned on the upper concourse, it sits next to John Lewis and The White Company in the landmark new retail development.

The first authors to feature in the AV pods, designed by Audionation, will be Simon Schama, Neil Oliver and some of the Man Booker Prize shortlisted authors. In the story pod children will be able to enjoy Michael Rosen performing his new poems.

A live author talks programme is also planned for an events space accommodating 30-40 people. Cressida Cowell, author of the multi-million selling ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ series will open the children’s department on Saturday 17 October. Foyles has today announced further events including face-painting and a goody bag give-away on Saturday 26 September, and a Star Wars Reads Day on 10 October to mark the publication of the official new novel ‘Star Wars: Aftermath’ by Chuck Wendig.

Family audiences are central to the vision for Foyles in Birmingham, with children’s books a particular focus. Readers will also be able to enjoy the usual extensive Foyles range of fiction and non-fiction, with cookery, travel, music and more stocked alongside specially selected stationary and gifts.

The new in-store version of the Foyles website is designed for iPads, which all of the staff will be carrying to help them handle customer enquiries and orders on the go. The platform allows staff to respond to stock enquiries and, if an item is not in stock, order books for customers for delivery straight to their homes.

Recently recruited by Foyles as manager of the new store, Steven Harmon brings with him a wealth of retail experience in a number of different sectors in the region, having previously worked at Superdry, Hotter Comfort Concept shoes and most recently the stationery specialist Blott. He will report to Foyles Trading Director Siôn Hamilton and work closely with Janette Cross, Head of Customer Experience, to deliver excellent service.

Foyles Grand Central Birmingham is similar in size and style to existing Foyles branches in Westfield Stratford City, London Waterloo Station and Royal Festival Hall, also designed by lustedgreen. The opening brings the total number of Foyles bookshops up to six, with four branches in London, one in Bristol and one in Birmingham.

Siôn Hamilton, Trading Director of Foyles, comments:
“This is 21st century bookselling. We wanted a shop that affords a wide range of options to delight customers however they wish to connect with us. We are using technology to empower our staff, to share their love of books and to provide a more interactive and personal experience for our customers. By enabling booksellers with hand-held digital devices, we also are able to greatly increase the range that we can provide in our smaller stores and to respond better to customer needs.”

Simon Heafield, Marketing Manager of Foyles comments:
“With Foyles Grand Central, Birmingham we’ve embraced the latest digital technology to bring books to life, and author and readers closer together. We have taken the opportunity to enliven the instore experience by showcasing great books in an exciting new way. All of these technologies can be turned on and off and will be used in a sensitive manner. We are aware that many customers think of bookshops as an oasis of calm and these customers will be just as happy in the shop.”

via New Foyles Store: Where 'Physical Meets Digital' | Digital Book World.

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: bookselling, bookshop, digital, technology

Are e-Books Doomed?

September 27, 2015 By achuka Leave a Comment

Michael Kozlowski, who has been writing about e-books for quite some time, now considers the format doomed:

goodereader

Major publishers have gained the ability to dictate their own prices on e-books and this has dramatically increased the cost to the customer. In many cases the hardcover is actually cheaper than the digital version and this is primarily due to predatory pricing.

Publishers have been making moves to capitalize on the convenience and instant delivery of e-Books by making them more expensive than their printed counterparts. I have talked to many high ranking executives off the record and they have told me that they foresee the destruction of the e-book market and are anticipating higher profits on print down the road.

There are many companies that are heavily involved in the e-book sector that have went out of business over the course of the last year. Sony killed off their consumer e-reader division and abandoned the Reader Store in every country, but Japan. Diesel eBooks, Oyster, Entitle, Txtr, Blinkbox Books and others have all closed up shop because e-books are no longer profitable.

further extracts:

The Kindle “has disappeared to all intents and purposes”, said James Daunt the head of Britain’s biggest book chain Waterstones. He also reported that print book sales lifted by 5% in December 2014 and that they plan on opening at least a dozen stores in 2015 . Foyles, the London chain of bookstores, said sales of physical books had risen 11% last Christmas. Across the pond, Australian bookseller Jon Page of Page and Pages said “Sales were up 3% last year, and will increase by 6% in 2015, which is fantastic because for the last three years we’d actually seen a decline.”

In a few short years most digital bookstores will be out of business and Amazon and Kobo will likely be the only players left. The only digital bookstores that will survive will be companies offering both hardware/software solutions and everyone else will be gone. The destruction of the digital book market has already been set in motion and there is nothing that can prevent the format from being completely annihilated.

via Publishers Initiate Predatory Pricing on e-Books to Destroy the Market.

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: books, bookshops, digital, ebooks, print

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