Top American author Lionel Shriver says we are all suffering from the pandemic of weight obsession.    

The author's decision to publish Joyland only in print ignores fans' needs

I love Stephen King. Not simply because he is one of the greatest storytellers of our time, nor just because he is one of the bestselling authors of all time (I am a literary agent, after all); but because he shakes things up. Back in 2000, he surprised the publishing world by producing a novel online, inviting voluntary contributions of $1 to his website, and followed this up with a novella which he released via his publisher in ebook only.

In 2013, he has decided to release his new horror novel, Joyland, in print form only, denying his fans the chance to buy it in ebook. Granted this is not part of his major brand books and published by a small independent in US called Hard Case Crime, but is this a game-changer? A Canute-like directing of the waves or a valiant attempt to revitalise a struggling trade, revive bookshops and reignite our passion for reading paper books? Whatever your view, he is an author engaged in the process of getting his book to his readers and for that, we applaud him.

But I think his defiant gesture of support for booksellers is well-intentioned but missing the point. It is not what readers want. All the evidence in recent years points to the fact that readers want their books when they want them and in a form of their choosing. One publisher told me that sales in Volume II of Stieg Larsson's trilogy spiked at 10.30 at night – readers wanted to download the new book at bedtime as soon as they had finished the first book.

Aside from reader power, which Amazon's effortless service has done so much to encourage, Mr King is ignoring another crucial aspect of why people have turned to ebooks. And that is the slow and gradual erosion of the bookshop experience. Bookselling has always been the toughest part of the chain, but in the UK we have lost Borders, Ottakar's, Books Etc, Dillons and many wonderful independent shops, all unable to fight against the tide of high discounts from supermarkets and e-tailers.

And when you do make the journey to your favourite local bookshop on the high street, you might struggle to find the book you seek. If stock is low, for obvious reasons, a customer will go online and buy the book they think they want. I write think, because the joy of bookselling used to be that someone would go to a store thinking they wanted one book, but leave with three.

Readers are promiscuous, unfaithful and insatiable. As it should be. Anyone who steps in their way – publisher or author – ought to be prepared for a fight. The age-old wisdom of publishing a hardback a year before paperback has been challenged with the advent of the ebook. A reader wants to buy the right book in the right format at the time of their convenience.

So, Stephen King and other authors, please continue to encourage readers into shops, but not at the expense of choice. And bookshop owners should be training a new generation of dynamic booksellers to engage, entice and hypnotise us into buying far too many books. Don't hold us back, bring us in.

• Stephen King
• Publishing
• Ebooks

Jonny Geller
guardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Professor of Neuroscience Barbara Sahakian warned against 'smart drugs' in an enthralling talk about the brain and decision-making at Hay Festival.    

A personal view from Hay Festival 2013, the greatest literary festival in the world, by The Daily Telegraph's Deputy Editor.    

John Bulmer tells the Hay Festival that he welcomes digital photography and talks about his time as a photographer during the Swinging Sixties.    

For your weekend reading pleasure, here are our top stories of the week.

They included a bookstore struggling to find homes for a half million books, the Nobel Prize candidates and a word that finally describes a book lover’s unique problem (embedded above).

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2. Once Told Tales Struggles with 500,000 Books

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4. Nobel Prize in Literature Candidates Chosen

5. Amazon To Allow Writers To Sell Fan Fiction

6. This Is a Bookshop Sign Goes Viral

7. Free Sites To Promote Your Book

8. How a Poem Spread to 1,500 Baseball Fields

9. Amazing Treehouse Reading Nook

10. Successful query letters for literary agents

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

What is the future of the online world? Robert Colvile meets Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt, the man who knows the answer.    

What is the future of the online world? Robert Colvile meets Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt, the man who knows the answer.    

John le Carré tells Jake Kerridge why, for his new novel, A Delicate Truth, he turned his unforgiving gaze on Britain .    

The 'heroic' work has been painstakingly pieced together by the writer's son, Christopher Tolkien.    

• Judge expresses “tentative view” the government will make its case against Apple
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Kindle Worlds, Amazon's latest venture, promises to make fan fiction profitable for authors and fans.    

Can’t be there to put your child or grandchild to bed? StorySticker lets you do create audio recordings of yourself reading their favorite book so that they can listen to your voice at bedtime.

The StorySticker audio book works through the combination of an app and a unique coded sticker that attaches to the inside of any children’s book. You can buy the stickers at a book retailer and paste it into your child’s book. Then you can download the free app and follow the prompts to record your reading. The recording is linked with the sticker and your child can hear your recording by scanning the StorySticker code or by selecting the book within the app.

stkr.it will introduce the StorySticker product line at BookExpo America in New York this week. “The joy of reading a physical book with a child is universal,” stated Mike Newman, president of stkr.it.  “StorySticker creates that joy for out of town grandparents and traveling parents – anytime, anywhere. With StorySticker, any children’s book can become a personal audio book.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

As you celebrate Memorial Day this weekend, take some time to remember all our soldiers stationed overseas.

If you want to help these men and women far away from home, we’ve collected five different ways you can share books with our troops. For instance, E-Books for Troops will help you send an eReader to our troops overseas. Army Sgt. Andre Corbin explained at the site:

When soldiers deploy, they have a mandatory packing list of equipment/clothing which must be fitted into a rucksack and a duffel bag – and it takes good packing to get everything required stowed. Any personal items must fit into a backpack, that is basically a carry-on bag – not a lot of room. When you only have about 1.5 cubic feet of space to pack personal items to last a year (or at least until care packages start arriving), you have to be very judicious in what you decide to bring … For me, a voracious reader who is addicted to the written word and regularly devours several novels/books a week, having the room for only a few books – even paperbacks tightly packed – could be a very frustrating dilemma.

 

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Alastair Sooke talks to the artist about her influences, from Gainsborough to Richard Long.    

Conch shells are nature’s amplifiers that also happen to hold an ocean inside its dry spirals. If you put an iPhone into its crevices, will it sound like your dream beach vacation or a $75 rip-off? If you have some tool skills and a lot of DIY energy, you can probably make this analog amplifier. If not, head over to WAAM Industries to turn your digital tunes into some summery sounds.

Via Geekology

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Last night, Judy Blume and her son Lawrence Blume appeared in New York City at a special promotional event for the film Tiger Eyes. Attendees watched the film and joined a Q&A session with both Blumes.

One audience member asked Judy how she dealt with the controversy and library challenges that followed her work.

Judy replied with some important writing advice: “You cannot write with a censor on your shoulder … I was a fearful kid and for some crazy reason, a pretty fearless writer.”

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

For your weekend reading pleasure, here are the most popular AppNewser headlines of the week. They include apps to clean your Android device, recommended apps for kids, and a Google Glass photographer. (video embedded above).

Click here to sign up for AppNewser’s daily email newsletter, getting all our publishing stories, book deal news, videos, podcasts, interviews, and writing advice in one place.

1. Recommended Apps for Kids

2. Open Source Google Reader Replacement Released

3. Hilarious VIdeo Imagines Google Glass Photography Styles

4. Best iPad Stylus for Writers

5. How to convert ePub Books for use on Kindle

6.  Send Free International Texts with These Apps

7. Best Writing Apps for Android Users

8. Elle is First Magazine To Launch Google Glass App

9. Free eBooks of the Week

10. OverDrive & SourceBooks Test Lending Same eBook to Millions of People

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.