'The Search' will be available in Kindle edition due to agreement between Penguin and Amazon.com

Due to a recent agreement between online retailer Amazon.com and Penguin Group (USA), Kindle users will be able to download Nora Roberts' 2010 romantic suspense novel, The Search, on its July 6, 2010 release date. Penguin, Roberts' publishers, had halted the delivery of electronic editions of approximately 150 books to Amazon as of April 1, 2010.

Amazon's June 3, 2010 listing for the Kindle edition of this title includes two issues that have been in dispute between Amazon and Penguin – the price of the Kindle edition, $12.99, and the source of the pricing, as seen in the notation, "This price was set by the publisher."

In his May 26, 2010 Wall Street Journal article, "Amazon, Penguin Resolve Book-Pricing Dispute," Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg summarizes both the debate between Amazon and Penguin and the new agreement in place as of May 26. Penguin's April 1st decision to cease providing digital editions of its authors' works to Amazon resulted from what Penguin considered to be excessively low pricing by Amazon for these electronic versions.  Amazon often sold Kindle edition of bestsellers for only $9.99, a price Penguin felt reflected negatively on the quality of these works.

Trachtenberg credits Apple's launch of its iPad reader in April with providing the impetus for Amazon to revise its pricing structure. Amazon has now accepted the "agency model" for pricing. Trachtenberg says that, with the agency model, "the publisher receives 70% of the digital price while e-book sellers act as agents and receive 30%."

Although no specific terms of the deal between Amazon and Penguin have been released, it seems clear that Penguin is satisfied with the outcome. Trachtenberg quotes David Shanks, CEO of Penguin Group (USA), as saying, "Our differences have been resolved, and a full selection of Penguin books will be available on the Kindle."