Japanese Author Ryu Murakami Skirts Publishers With iPad Novel

Yoree Koh:

Ever since the arrival of the slim and snazzy electronic book devices, the magnates of the traditional publishing industry have feared the worst: that precious big-name authors might sign directly with e-book retailers, relegating the old-school publishers as the dispensable middleman.

Let the nightmare begin. Novelist Ryu Murakami plans to release his latest novel exclusively for digital bookworms through Apple Inc.’s iPad ahead of the print version.

According to an update at the end of the story, Murakami doesn’t even have a deal for the hardcover rights yet. Pure digital at this point.

The article doesn’t make clear that Murakami’s novel, A Singing Whale, is an iPad app, not an e-book in the iBookstore.

★ Sunday, 25 July 2010