Kobo bans the Princelings of the East
In an over-reaction to an exposee by the tabloid newspapers, Kobo has banned all indie books from sale in all its outlets including W H Smith in the UK. This means that at the moment, The Princelings of the East, together with Pirates, Lost City and Traveler, can all claim the status of BANNED BOOKS!
The newspapers said that W H Smith was selling erotica in its Kobo-powered bookstore. As Kobo does not have individual vetting for the books it takes from Smashwords, it probably did, as Smashwords does not ban erotica per se, although it does not accept certain types. However Kobo's response was to place a blanket ban on ALL independently published books, including those published via Smashwords.
Smashwords is working with Kobo to sort out the problem, using the metadata (labelling) for books, such as "Young Adult Fantasy & Magic", which is what Traveler includes in its listing, in order to screen out books that may offend WHSmith customers.
It is of course censorship. Princelings Publications does not take a view on censorship, since it is a complex issue which our books should not be involved in. The Princelings books are clean, with mild violence and occasional allusions to sex, of the kind acceptable in Disney films.
Further information, see Smashwords.(log-in may be required)
The newspapers said that W H Smith was selling erotica in its Kobo-powered bookstore. As Kobo does not have individual vetting for the books it takes from Smashwords, it probably did, as Smashwords does not ban erotica per se, although it does not accept certain types. However Kobo's response was to place a blanket ban on ALL independently published books, including those published via Smashwords.
Smashwords is working with Kobo to sort out the problem, using the metadata (labelling) for books, such as "Young Adult Fantasy & Magic", which is what Traveler includes in its listing, in order to screen out books that may offend WHSmith customers.
It is of course censorship. Princelings Publications does not take a view on censorship, since it is a complex issue which our books should not be involved in. The Princelings books are clean, with mild violence and occasional allusions to sex, of the kind acceptable in Disney films.
Further information, see Smashwords.(log-in may be required)
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