The Malaysian Insider :: Books
The Malaysian Insider :: Books |
| ‘Anansi Boys,’ ‘American Gods’ headed for TV Posted: 07 Feb 2014 04:48 PM PST Set after "American Gods", "Anansi Boys" has a mild-mannered English accountant discover that he is actually brother to Spider, a stylish and outgoing inheritor of godly powers. The siblings are reunited after their father's death and Charlie soon has to deal with the unexpected and fantastical events that follow Spider's introduction to his London life. It's being made into a miniseries for the BBC under the guidance of production company Red, which has "Last Tango in Halifax", "Bob & Rose" and "Queer as Folk" on its credit roll. "American Gods", meanwhile, is to visit the US under the guidance of FreemantleMedia, the company behind "American Idol", "American's Got Talent" and "The Tomorrow People". The original novel sees America's immigrants bring ancient deities and mythological beings with them, who find themselves challenged by the a range of newer gods based on modern cultural and technological values. Gaiman judged Freemantle to have a trickier assignment, "as they are going to have to open up 'American Gods' into something bigger than the book", while "Anansi Boys" appears to be destined for a more literal interpretation – "an absolutely brilliant faithful version," he said. – AFP/Relaxnews, February 8, 2014. |
| Canada, publishers reach ebooks competition settlement Posted: 07 Feb 2014 04:44 PM PST The Bureau of Competition said in a statement that the publishers "have agreed to remove or amend clauses in their distribution agreements with individual ebook retailers that the Bureau believes have the effect of restricting retail price competition, which will allow retailers to offer discounts on ebooks." As a result, the deal "is expected to lower the price of ebooks in Canada," the statement said. The settlement follows an 18-month investigation into the ebook industry in Canada and was signed by Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan and Simon & Schuster. The consent agreement was registered with Canada's Competition Tribunal. "This agreement should benefit Canadian consumers by lowering the price of ebooks in Canada," said Competition Commissioner John Pecman. "Businesses operating in the digital economy must realize that anti-competitive activity will not be tolerated, whether it occurs in the physical world or the digital one." Officials said similar settlements reached in the United States in 2012 and 2013 resulted in lower prices for ebooks in the US market, including discounts of 20% or more on top-selling titles. In the United States, major publishers reached an agreement to settle a probe into illegal collusion with Apple, but the maker of iPads went to trial and lost. Apple is facing court supervision in the case. – AFP, February 8, 2014. |
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