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Saturday, May 22, 2010

Paul contributes an exclusive essay ‘Meat Free Monday’ to Ether Books

Last updated on October 30, 2020


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From paulmccartney.com, May 22, 2010:

PAUL McCARTNEY, HILARY MANTEL, LOUIS DE BERNIERES AND OTHER LEADING INTERNATIONAL WRITERS LINE UP

As New Mobile Publishing Venture Reinvents Reading for the iPhone Generation

Launching at the London International Bookfair earlier this week, The Ether iPhone app is an exciting new concept in portable publishing offering short stories, essays and poetry by new and established authors. Connecting mobile users to their favourite authors in this ideal quick-to-read format, Ether Books is destined to do for the written word what downloading already does for music.

An exclusive essay by Paul called Meat Free Monday, thrilling new works by our finest short story writers including Hilary Mantel, Alexander McCall-Smith, Lionel Shriver, Louis de Bernières and Matthew Kneale, an essay on censorship by Iranian novelist Arash Hejazi, and 4 unpublished short stories by Hanif Kureishi, are just some of the 200+ entries that will launch this diverse and wide-ranging list. 5 poems by TS Elliott prize winner Philip Gross, crime shorts by Bram Stoker and feel good fiction from new talent Vanessa Lafaye join the ever-expanding Ether catalogue providing great short reads for every discerning reader.

Available initially as an application for iPhones and iPod Touch devices, Ether Books‚ marriage of technical innovation and editorial excellence will connect mobile users to their favourite authors, anywhere, anytime. For authors, it offers a new channel to reach busy professionals, and an up-and-coming generation of younger readers who rely heavily on mobile devices. In the same way that iTunes allows music fans to create a personal song collection, Ether Books enables readers to browse, buy and build a personal library on the move. The Ether Books app lets you search by genre or author, read a story synopsis, scan the first page as well as linking to author websites, twitter and facebook pages.

Bestselling author, Toby Litt says:

”It seems to me that iPhones and short stories were pretty much made for one another, and for busy, fast-moving people. This is a great way of getting short stories direct to readers, wherever those readers might be.

Sophia Bartleet, Editorial Director of Ether Books, is the brainchild of Ether Books:

When I first purchased my iPhone I had an inspirational moment when I realised that short stories would be the perfect reading material for readers on the move. People already read e-mails and text messages on their mobile phones; providing decent reading material from well-known authors to them is an obvious next step.

Maureen Scott, Digital Director of Ether Books, is convinced that the mobile phone has an important role to play in the future of publishing:

The tech press may be slavering over the iPad, Kindle and Sony eReader as traditional publishers leap over themselves to expand their e-book offerings. But at Ether Books we’ve made the decision to go straight to distributing short works via our iPhone app to devices people already own, are familiar with and are happy to use when they have 10-15 minutes to spare.

About Ether Books

The Ether Books mission is to generate revenue for authors by distributing their short stories exclusively in the mobile channel.

The Ether Books strategy is set to become the trusted mobile distribution and technology partner to the publishing industry, whilst retaining full editorial control and ensuring a positive user experience for lovers of literature.

The Ether Books team includes experienced professionals from the Publishing, Mobile and Electronic Commerce Industries with a common desire to create a rounded value proposition for authors, publishers and readers of short stories.

Ether Books launched at London International Bookfair on Monday 19th April.

Paul McCartney writing

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