Cory Doctorow on the E-book Price Wars


I’ve been within Cory Doctorow’s “orbit” for awhile now, mostly as a follower of his personal blog, Craphound, and his collective endeavor, BoingBoing.  Only recently have I begun reading his novels and published non-fiction works.  (Little Brother was my go-to for the first few weeks of my infant son’s life, when I couldn’t fall back to sleep after late-night feedings and diaper changes.)

Well, anyway, this video came to my attention as something that Late Age of Print readers might be interested in.  It’s a recording of a talk Doctorow recently gave at Bloomsbury, the UK publisher of the Harry Potter novels, in which he discusses the vexed matter of e-book pricing.

What I admire about Doctorow is the fact that he’s a successful print author as well as someone who’s unafraid to experiment with publishing’s longstanding economic and technological paradigms. It’s hardly a stretch to say that his success in print owes a great deal to his willingness to push the bounds online.  I should acknowledge, moreover, that the free, Creative Commons-licensed PDF of Late Age wouldn’t have been possible had it not been for him and others who are similarly committed to the belief that book publishing is at its best when it refuses to rest on its laurels.

Anyway, enjoy the video.  I’d be curious to hear how you would weigh in on his proposals.

2 comments ↓

#1 Tweets that mention Cory Doctorow on the E-book Price Wars — The Late Age of Print -- Topsy.com on 03.29.10 at 11:00 am

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Andrew Wetzel, Ted Striphas. Ted Striphas said: Cory Doctorow on the E-book Price Wars (video), via The Late Age of Print | http://bit.ly/b7cIdq [...]

#2 Doctorow at Bloomsbury | The Casual Optimist on 03.29.10 at 3:15 pm

[...] (via Ted Striphas’ The Late Age of Print) [...]

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