There seems to be a lot of attention on the e-book industry and the recent attention is one without borders.  In a topical article we came across today, we found out that one of the founders of Pirate Bay, a Swedish torrent site, has alluded to his interest in making published books available in an electronic state.  How does this differ from what Amazon is doing with the kindle you ask?  Well, the very nature of Pirate Bay is that users upload movies (including new releases), music, television shows, previously aired events to a central site and others can download them free of charge.  Nonetheless, this article on Pirate Bay owners e-book interest, leads us to think that if the owners of a site such as this have expressed an interest in electronically publishing books, traditional publishers should take notice and beware. 

As a publisher, if you haven’t engaged a team of new media analysts to execute your electronic publishing branch of your business, you need to do so now.  As a writer, if you have been fighting the  rise of e-readership you need to consider how this movement will affect your ability to stay current.  Consider widening your publisher relationships and employing another if your current publisher does not have a strong e-publishing brand.

Whether you choose to take action now or later the market continues to evolve around us.  I encourage you to read this blog post written by Martin J. Thörnkvist for another perspective on your industry.