Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Reuters visits the Raspberry Pi factory

This piece of news footage is all about how the Raspberry Pi you own is made in the UK. It gives you another really close look at some of the processes in the factory – as well as some crystal-clear video of pick and place, you’ll see some of the ladies on the line doing hand placement of through-hole parts, and learn a bit more about plans for increasing production (even with a million sold in our first year, sales show no sign of slowing down). The video also discusses our plans to move all of the production (except the red boards for the Chinese market) to the Sony factory in Pencoed, S Wales, where Raspberry Pis are made for us under licence.

And Eben has a new t-shirt.

EL James to Publish Journal for Aspiring Writers

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While critics may rightfully scoff at the writing quality of the 50 Shades of Grey series and jokes have flooded the internet about James’ audacity at helping aspiring writers, no one can argue with the financial and popular success of her three one-time self-published books. Growing out of what she saw as a very real need based on face-to-face interaction with her readers, James’ and her publisher are now releasing a writing journal for would-be authors.

Entitled 50 Shades of Grey: Inner Goddess, the leather-bound book will include a foreword from the author, writing prompts and tips, excerpts from the novels, and more.

A quote in an article for The Bookseller by James’s editor Anne Messitte at Vintage/Anchor explained the journal’s creation and purpose: “As E L James travelled and met with her readers, there was a great curiosity about how she got started writing. Her personal story as a writer is inspirational to many women, and journaling has been an important part of her creative process from the start.”

Viking writes, “Developed as a creative collaboration between EL James and her US publisher, the bonded-leather soft cover journal will offer readers and aspiring writers a place where they can record their innermost thoughts.

While the response to the news has been mixed, some outlets are not passing up the opportunity to poke fun at the author of what many have complained is barely-readable and barely-disguised fan fiction. Abbey Stone for Hollywood.com stated in her article, “… leave it to James to release a ‘book’ that consists mostly of empty, lined pages. Who knew that blank journals had authors? She really is revolutionizing the industry.”

James is currently at work on another novel, as well as collaborating on the much-anticipated 50 Shades of Grey screen adaptation. The journal is expected to be released on May 1st.

EL James to Publish Journal for Aspiring Writers is a post from: E-Reader News

ForeWord Reviews Names Its Book of the Year Finalists

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As independently published authors continue to gain new ground with readers and retailers, they are also gaining new respect from the publishing industry as a whole. ForeWord Reviews, one of the premier entities for national reviews of independent works since 1998, has now announced its shortlist of finalists for its Book of the Year awards. Spanning sixty-two categories, the finalists were selected from over 1300 entries from small publishers and academic presses for the 2012 award.

While the award itself is a recognition of both the author and the publisher, it is actually librarians and booksellers who rely on the outcome of the judges’ decisions in order to find new authors whom they may have otherwise not discovered.

According to a press release yesterday from ForeWord Reviews, “Over the next two months, a panel of sixty judges, librarians and booksellers only, will determine the winners. Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards, as well as Editor's Choice Prizes for Fiction and Nonfiction, will be announced at the American Library Association Annual Conference (ALA) in Chicago, Friday, June 28th at 6pm at The Pop Top Stage. Winners will also be announced on the ForeWord Reviews website, on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and our weekly email newsletter, ForeWord This Week. The winners of the two Editor's Choice Prizes will be awarded $1,500 each. ForeWord's Independent Publisher of the Year will also be announced. More than 20,000 librarians and publishers attend ALA annually.”

For a complete list of the finalists for the upcoming award, visit botya.forewordreviews.com/finalists/2012/.

ForeWord Reviews Names Its Book of the Year Finalists is a post from: E-Reader News