Tag Archives: ebooks

Open eBooks Initiative Makes Thousands of Books Available to Low-Income Students

At Lee & Low Books, we’ve always known that making diverse books is only half the battle. The other half is getting those books into schools, libraries, bookstores, homes, and ultimately into kids’ hands. For low-income families, purchasing just one book can seem like a luxury, and giving kids access to a full library can seem like a distant dream. Yet we know that lack of access to books contributes significantly to lower reading levels and a widening achievement gap, leaving many kids in this country behind.

Our motto is “About everyone, for everyone,” and we take that motto seriously, not just in terms of the books we publish but also in terms of access to those books. That’s why we are proud to announce that our books will be part of Open eBooks, a new initiative and e-reader app that will make thousands of popular, top-selling eBooks available free to children in need. Launched this week, the Open eBooks initiative will make it easier than ever for low-income students to get access to great books that build literacy, nourish the soul, and ignite the imagination. Continue reading

How We Feel About Amazon

Jason LowIn this post, Publisher Jason Low shares his feelings on the Amazon vs. Hachette battle, the future of publishing, and the view from here as a small publisher.

Since the great Amazon-Hachette feud of 2014 started this summer, many people have asked where we stand. It is no secret that we do business with Amazon—almost every publisher does. At the same time, what I see from Amazon, and where I see the book industry heading as a result, worries me.

To me, Amazon is a different animal. It is unlike any other corporation out there because of the way it treats the bottom line. The problem is, Amazon’s bottom line is growth, not profits. In sacrificing profits they have made a conscious decision to sell books at unsustainable prices, undercutting any and all competitors who are still operating under the profit model, which is everyone.

The consequences of this are twofold. First, it puts other companies out of business, straight and simple. We have seen the continual decrease in the number of independent and even chain bookstores over the last several years as Amazon increases its market share.

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