Details for The Watty Awards 2021 have been revealed and this year the Wattys are looking for completed novels across a dozen categories and have added a new contest category for Best Cover, which is backed by Canva.
Roger Packer
Amazon Publishing signs deal to offer all its ebooks and audiobooks to US public libraries
Amazon Publishing is to make all its 10,000 ebooks and audiobooks available to US public libraries.
Serial thriller — Kakao buys short fiction sites Radish and Tapas for nearly $1 billion
South Korea's Kakao Entertainment is taking a big bite of the short fiction market by buying two US serial platforms --- Radish and Tapas --- in a deal totalling $950 million as the global sector hots up with another South Korean company Naver recently taking over WattPad for $600 million and Amazon getting ready to launch its own Vella operation.
Kobo Plus subscription scheme opens in Portugal
The Kobo Plus ebook and audiobook subscription scheme is opening up in Portugal in a partnership with LeYa and other Portuguese publishers.
Hugh Howey sets up Self-Published Science Fiction Competition with blogger judges
Self-publishing champion and best-selling author Hugh Howey is launching the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition.
Kindle Unlimited KENP rate for April 2021 sees small rise as KDP fund annual increase slows down
The Kindle Unlimited KDP Select Global Fund for April 2021 rose by $100,000 to $35.5 million while the KENP rate for April 2021 went up slightly to $0.0045 from $0.0044 in March 2021.
Scrivener 3 comes to Windows with new interface and range of improvements
It's been a while coming but a major update of Scrivener is now available for Windows with a modernised interface and many improvements that the company has been working on for years.
Amazon adds KDP paperback printing in Australia
Amazon's KDP Print is starting to print paperbacks in Australia from May 19, 2021, which will mean faster and cheaper shipping to Australian authors and readers, but could also bring price hikes for authors to keep their royalties at the same level.
Audiobook streamer Storytel sees strong rise in subscribers
Scandinavian audiobook subscription service Storytel increased its number of subscribers strongly over the past year to 1,625,000 in the second quarter of 2021 from 1,154,800 in the first quarter of 2020, representing a rise of 40%.
Shortlist selected for $30,000 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize
Kobo has revealed the shortlist of books in contention for its Emerging Writer Prize which offers cash awards totalling CAD$30,000 to the winners.
Kindle Storyteller 2021 offers £20,000 prize again in fifth year of award
The Kindle Storyteller UK Award 2021 is now open for entries until August 31, 2021 and is paying out a top prize of £20,000 again in the fifth year for the award.