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weekly round-up May 25, 2018 - the authors guild

Our round-up of key news affecting authors. In this week’s edition: The top ten stories that shaped the world, a rare-book vending machine, and more…

Traditional Publishers’ Ebook Sales Drop as Indie Authors and Amazon Take Off

GeekWire

Traditional book publishers are reporting the ebooks are declining, but those reports don’t measure direct-from-author sales. Certain adult fiction genres are standouts: “90% of all Romance purchases are ebooks,” the site’s latest report for Q2–Q4 2017 stated. “And we can see that Science Fiction and Fantasy, with roughly 75% of sales now ebooks & audio, is not that far behind.”

The Top Ten Stories That Shaped the World

BBC

From The Odyssey to One Hundred Years of Solitude, writers, critics, and academics voted these as the most influential and enduring works of fiction.

New Tax Laws Mean Increased Depreciation Deductions for Freelancers

The Freelancers Union

The Freelancers Union breaks down new tax laws to let you know how you can immediately claim more expenses, automatically expense your computer and other office hardware, and more.

This Bookstore’s Vending Machine Will Give You Rare Books for Just $3

Travel and Leisure

“Even though the mechanics behind this random book dispenser seem complicated, it’s actually easy to use. For $3, you can purchase a coin, drop it in the coin slot, and the Biblio-Mat will randomly select your next read. No two books are alike, so not only do you get one-of-a-kind souvenirs for your home library, there are endless opportunities for surprise and delight with each book you buy.”

How to Survive One of the World’s Biggest Literary Festivals

Literary Hub

Hay Festival of Literature and Arts co-founder and one the current directors, Peter Florence, answers ten questions about how to survive one of the world’s largest book festivals, from the weirdest thing that’s ever happened at Hay, to his all-time favorite event.