AWS Announces $230 Million Commitment for Generative AI Startups

Everything is relative. Unit sales of print books fell 5.6% last week compared to the week ended August 8, 2020, when sales rose 10.2% over the prior week driven by several new blockbuster titles. Compared to August 17, 2019, however, sales were up 14.3% at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. The biggest factor in last week’s sales decline was the trailing off of sales of Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer, which sold more than 524,000 print copies following its release on August 4. Last week it sold a very respectable 139,000 copies, making it once again the top-selling title for the week, but the sales drop from its debut led to a 38% sales decline in the young adult segment in the week.

The Atlantic has reached a paid circulation of 833,410 for the first half of 2021, the largest in its 164-year history, Editor In Chief Jeffrey Goldberg and CEO Nicholas Thompson announced in a message to the staff. The number, which had been filed with the Alliance for Audited Media (AAM), includes both print and digital subscribers, including those on the iOS app and Apple News+. Growth has gone from 474,274 two years ago to 252,242 in the first half of 2020.

Pearson announced the latest in series of partnerships to expand its textbook rental program. Today’s announcement brings Pearson’s textbook rental program to Barnes & Noble Education’s (NYSE:BNED) 1,490 physical and virtual bookstores, serving more than 6 million students. Beginning this fall, the program will be piloted at Barnes & Noble College stores, enhancing their current industry leading rental program with these 49 popular Pearson titles. The titles will be available in print and digital versions via a “rental-only” model, which will provide students with affordable access to the selected titles. All titles under this program can be rented for under $100, with electronic versions of these titles being the lowest cost option. Pearson anticipates expanding the titles included in this program over time. In January, Pearson announced a two-step plan to take on the issue of college affordability. The plan immediately reduced the prices of 2000 e-book titles by up to 50 percent when it was announced earlier this year. The second phase of the effort ensures that students can rent popular print titles online and in-store through trusted retailers. This rental-only model allows Pearson to reduce prices by up to 60 percent and ensure that all students have access to affordable textbooks. The Barnes & Noble College agreement represents the third-and largest-partnership in that program. Click Read More below for additional detail.