Exclusive e-deal with Amazon is called off

[August 25, 2010]  NEW YORK (AP) -- An exclusive e-book deal between Amazon.com and the agent for such classics as "Invisible Man" is no longer exclusive, and no longer a deal.

Random House Inc. and the Wylie Agency announced Tuesday that "Invisible Man," "Rabbit Is Rich" and more than a dozen other works were being "removed" from a program brokered between Wylie and Amazon that offered them as e-books available only through the online retailer.

Instead, Random House, which had claimed electronic rights, will publish the books on a "non-exclusive basis." The original deal had enraged publishers and rival booksellers and led to Random House suspending business with Wylie.

[Associated Press; By HILLEL ITALIE]

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