Technology • Innovation • Publishing — Issue #104
By: Kathy Sandler
Tags: Innovation, Book Marketing, Technology, Publishing, Resources

Innovation

Guggenheim Museum bilbao installs outdoor banners that help purify the city’s air — www.designboom.com Seems like a great idea that we should do everywhere! The current impact of these outdoor advertising campaigns could be equivalent to the air purifying effect of over 700 trees.

Google is quietly experimenting with holographic glasses and smart tattoos — www.cnet.com The search giant has been working on or funding a new generation of wearable technology. #innovation

Patents point to iPhone replacing physical driver’s license and passport — www.imore.com

New patents filed by Apple point to a system that could theoretically store a digital copy of government identification on an iPhone or Apple Watch.

Technology

Hackers Convinced Twitter Employee to Help Them Hijack Accounts — www.vice.com After a wave of account takeovers, screenshots of an internal Twitter user administration tool are being shared in the hacking underground. #twitterhacked #twitter

Facebook readies global launch of its TikTok competitor — www.nbcnews.com

Facebook will launch Instagram Reels, its answer to TikTok, in the United States and more than 50 other countries in a matter of weeks.

Amazon.com says it sent the TikTok ban email to employees in error — www.reuters.com

Amazon.com Inc said it sent an email earlier on Friday that requested employees remove the TikTok app from mobile devices that also had access to company emails in error.

Apple News launches new audio features, expands local news offerings for readers — www.apple.com

Apple is introducing audio stories on Apple News+, a daily audio news briefing, and curated local news collections.

Publishing & Media

www.theguardian.com ICYMI ‘More African’ covers. Adding racist characters. As authors and industry insiders share their experiences, readers can see how the books they read are changed by white publishers.

I Am a Book Critic. Here’s What Is Wrong With “Black Lists” — and What Is Good. — theintercept.com ICYMI We are in the era of Black Lives Matter, but anti-racism books should not hold value only in relation to troubled times.

Hear Our Voices Book Tour — twitter.com RT @HearOurVoicesBT You’ve been asking for me & I’ve arrived! Hear Our Voices is a book tour company dedicated to getting OwnVoices ARCs to OV reviewers. Diverse representation is important, especially for OV reviewers, so we want to ensure you get the chance to connect with stories meant for you!

Black Agents & Editors’ Group (BAE) — A community for agents and editors of African descent working in UK book publishing — blackagentsandeditors.com

RT @bronzebygold Very excited to be introducing BAE — a community for Black agents and editors. We will be providing advice and mentoring to aspiring editors/agents, and fostering a sense of belonging in the publishing industry. Meet some of our members her

www.reuters.com

CBS Television Studios has signed a multi-year agreement with civil rights group National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to create content for broadcast, cable and streaming platforms, the first such production deal for the NAACP.

Keanu Reeves is now a comic book writer — www.usatoday.com Here’s a first look at his action-packed ‘BRZRKR’ series.

goodereader.com For over a decade, Amazon had subsidized the cost of a Kindle with a program called Special Offers, which put ads on the home screen. Via @goodereader.

SiriusXM buys Stitcher for $325 million, steps up its march into podcasts — techcrunch.com Less than a month after picking up Simplecast for its podcast distribution and analytics tools, SiriusXM said it has reached a deal to acquire Stitcher from E.W. Scripps for $325 million. #podcasting

UK’s National Literary Trust Research Finds Benefits of Audiobooks for Kids — publishingperspectives.com A survey of 60K kids by UK’s National Literary Trust Research said that 70% reported that listening to audiobooks made it easier to understand the content, especially boys and children who receive free meals at school. Via @pubperspectives.

KidLit TV Launches At Home Edition — www.publishersweekly.com

KidLit TV has created KidLit At Home, a free online destination that curates video content from children’s book creators across the web in one central location.

Book Launches Get More Creative — www.publishersweekly.com Authors, shut out of holding in-person events at bookstores, have adapted to the digital book event, and book launches are getting more creative and collaborative as a result. #BookMarketing

Books impresario Lisa Lucas named publisher of Pantheon and Schocken Books — www.latimes.com The head of the National Book Awards will lead the prestigious imprints in 2021, reporting to Knopf’s Reagan Arthur, who succeeded Sonny Mehta this year. #TeamPRH

Klarna, Cosmopolitan Magazine Stage Summer Sale for Millennials, Gen Z — sourcingjournal.com The 48-hour “Hauliday” event will invite Cosmopolitan’s readers to shop incentives from Klarna’s 4,200 U.S. retail partners. #magazines

The N.Y. Times doubles down on TV and film ambitions — www.axios.com HT @BoSacks With 10 scripted TV projects in development and 3 feature documentaries coming this year.

Friends, Collaborators Remember Magic School Bus Author Joanna Cole — www.slj.com The author of the beloved science series died at age 75.

Resources & Opportunities

www.nationalbook.org The Literary Arts Emergency Fund: @nationalbook, @POETSorg and @CLMPorg, funded by @MellonFdn, will be distributing $3.5M will give one-time grants to literary arts organizations, publishers, and nonprofits in need of relief. Apply through August 7!

jobs.jobvite.com RT @alecchamilton Want to come work with me? We are looking for a new permanent host for WNYC’s Morning Edition. Is it you? Do you have thoughts on who it should be? Let me know. BIPOC especially encouraged to apply.

www.prnewswire.com

www.mediapost.com

Michelle Obama’s podcast will debut on Spotify on July 29 — www.axios.com Its first season will focus on the relationships that shape people.