You are viewing your 1 free article this month. Login to read more articles.
YouWriteOn.com, the Arts Council initiative for new writers, has called for a boycott of Amazon after the retailer's move to push publishers into using its own print on demand service.
Last week Amazon caused anger among small and independent publishers in the US when it told them that all p.o.d. titles would have to be printed at Amazon's fulfilment centres by its p.o.d. service BookSurge. It sparked fears that Amazon was trying to squeeze competitors out of the p.o.d. market.
There are no current plans to introduce BookSurge into the UK. However, YouWriteOn.com has invited all p.o.d. authors to list books on its site with a free link to any bookseller apart from Amazon. It called this "effectively...a proactive boycott of Amazon".
"It seems that Amazon are effectively attempting to monopolise the p.o.d. industry, and monopolies are never to the benefit of individuals. This will inevitably lead to less choice, less opportunities, and less royalties for p.o.d. writers," said Edward Smith, manager of YouWriteOn.Com. "It is also a red flag to the publishing industry in terms of how Amazon may use their influence on books from mainstream commercial publishing houses in the future."