Book publisher Penguin has many reasons to feel good right now: Its preliminary earnings report for 2010 is positive, and its book deals with Apple and others are working well. But Penguin still hasn't sorted out its issues with Amazon, and the online retail giant is making it pay.
That battle may be over, but more is on the way. Publishers Hachette and HarperCollins are now also on board with the pricing model championed by rival Macmillan, which sets e-book prices higher. Amazon has restored Macmillan's titles to its site after a one-week protest -- but a much bigger, costlier fight looms.
With no end in sight to the war between Amazon and Macmillan, the publisher fighting the retailer's pricing on digital books, rival publisher Hachette is taking Macmillan's side, adopting the agency model and releasing e-books simultaneously with the first print edition.