Penguin in "Conversation" with Andrew Wylie Over Odyssey Titles

theBookseller.com: "Penguin has confirmed that it is negotiating with agent Andrew Wylie over books that have been included in the agent's digital offshoot Odyssey Editions over which Penguin has print rights. The news follows the truce declared between Random House and Wylie, with reports suggesting that a deal was struck after the adoption of a new royalty rate based on a sliding scale. ... Penguin refused to elaborate on its discussions with Wylie, but has two books—Saul Bellow's Adventures of Augie March and William Burroughs' Junky—for which it holds global rights in print, and one further title Brideshead Revisited, where it has UK and Commonwealth rights. A statement from the publisher read: 'Penguin Group has had conversations with Andrew Wylie regarding the books in the Odyssey Editions program and those conversations are ongoing.'"

Random House Agonistes

As punishment for abandoning the sinking Random House square-rigger, RH announces that it will not invite Wylie back aboard. Wylie, in turn, speeds away in a new state-of-the-art motor yacht. At least that's what he should do. Stay the course, Andrew.

NYTimes.com: "The literary agent Andrew Wylie announced on Wednesday that he had started his own publishing venture and would produce e-book editions available exclusively on Amazon.com for 20 titles, including those by Philip Roth and Vladimir Nabokov. Now Random House, which had previously staked a claim for the e-book rights to most of those books, has issued a forceful response: it will stop doing business with the Wylie Agency. ...Mr. Wylie said he was taken by surprise by Random House's move and was not sure how he would respond. 'I'm going to think about it a little bit,' he said."

Big Surprise: Random House Disputes the Wylie/Amazon eBook Deal

From eBookNewser: "Random House is not happy about the Wylie Agency's exclusive eBook deal with Amazon that was announced this morning. The publisher released the following statement from spokesman Stuart Applebaum: 'We are disappointed by Mr. Wylie's actions, which we dispute. Last night, we sent a letter to Amazon disputing their rights to legally sell these titles, which are subject to active Random House publishing agreements. Upon assessing our business options, we will be taking appropriate action.'"

RH did not have a leg to stand on when it came to e-rights for the Styron backlist, hence that list's movement to Open Road. Neither will they have a leg to stand on when it comes to these other contracts, all of them negotiated long before e-publishing was ever envisioned, or the term eBook coined.

Amazon Content Coup: Two Year eBook Exclusive on Select Roth, Mailer, Bellow, Ellison, Hunter Thompson, Nabokov, Rushdie and Updike Backlist Titles

From the Los Angeles Times: "Amazon.com now has exclusive rights to sell the e-book versions of some of the best-known titles from top literary authors Philip Roth, Norman Mailer, Vladimir Nabokov, John Updike and more. In an announcement late Wednesday -- shortly after midnight Thursday, East Coast time -- the online retailer revealed that a deal with the powerful Wylie Agency will give Amazon.com the exclusive e-book rights for two years to books such as 'Lolita.' The e-books will only be available through the Kindle store."

How's this for scoring a significant content-advantage over Apple, Google, and all other contenders? Also note the very important element of agent Andrew Wylie bypassing "publishers" per se, creating his own imprint, and cutting a deal directly with the eBook retailer. This is the kind of thing that has many publishers shaking in their boots. According to the New York Times, Wylie's new venture is called Odyssey Editions.

In making the announcement Mr. Wylie opened a new front, and a possible negotiating tool, in a debate over e-book rights for what are called backlist titles. Many traditional publishers have said they own the electronic rights to those books, but some authors and their estates have disagreed, arguing that since the books were published before e-books existed, the digital rights were not explicitly sold to the publishers.

“The fact remains that backlist digital rights were not conveyed to publishers, and so there’s an opportunity to do something with those rights,” Mr. Wylie said in an interview.... Mr. Wylie declined to disclose the financial terms that Odyssey had reached with authors or their estates, but he said they were more favorable than the terms that other publishers were offering.

Apple take note: The Kindle eBooks will be priced at $9.99.

Granted, the exclusive is only for two years. However, the next two years are going to be critical for all players in influencing the longterm retailer and ecosystem choices for hoards of new eBook readers; a monopoly on high-demand backlist items won't hurt at all.

Jeff Bezos: "Kindle Format Has Now Overtaken the Hardcover Format"

According to Amazon, quoted by GalleyCat: "Over the past three months, for every 100 hardcover books Amazon.com has sold, it has sold 143 Kindle books. Over the past month, for every 100 hardcover books Amazon.com has sold, it has sold 180 Kindle books."

The LA Times provides a bit more detail and analysis:

Authors Charlaine Harris, Stephenie Meyer, James Patterson, Nora Roberts and Stieg Larsson have each sold more than 500,000 ebooks for the Kindle, Amazon.com announced today. ...

But what isn't being said is that these aren't necessarily new books; most of these authors have an impressive backlist. James Patterson has published almost 40 novels; Nora Roberts' books have been issued and reissued so frequently that it's almost impossible to tally her published work. Stieg Larsson, who died in 2004, is the underachiever: His popular mystery series consists of only three books.

When CDs began to outpace vinyl, music companies realized that they could sell the same original works to fans a second time, in a new format. How much of Amazon.com's Kindle sales are an echo of this -- readers purchasing much-loved favorites in a new format -- is impossible to say without seeing sales figures based on specific titles. And that's something that no companies, neither publishers nor Amazon.com, seems interested in releasing. ...

Additionally, as noted by Market Watch, Amazon.com says unit sales of its Kindle have tripled since the price cut on the hardware late last month. Amazon posts second quarter results on Thursday. They'll be strong. Count on it.