Kindle Owners' Lending Library Coming to the UK, Germany and France

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Kindle Owners' Lending Library Coming to the UK, Germany and France

Independent authors enrolled in KDP Select can reach more readers in Europe through the lending libraries, and earn money every time their book is borrowed

KDP Select fund increased to $700,000 in October


SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- (NAS: AMZN) —Amazon.com, Inc. today announced that the Kindle Owners' Lending Library is coming to the UK, Germany and France later this month, bringing Kindle owners with a Prime membership over 200,000 books to borrow for free as frequently as a book a month, with no due dates. Independent authors and publishers using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) who enroll their books in KDP Select can be included in the Kindle Owners' Lending Library in the UK, Germany and France, as well as the US. With the new lending libraries launching this month, the KDP Select fund has been increased by $100,000 to $700,000 in October, with a larger increase anticipated in November. Authors will earn money every time their book is borrowed from any of the lending libraries - in September, authors earned $2.29 per borrow, which is more than many KDP books earn per sale.

"The Kindle Owners' Lending Library was launched less than a year ago in the US and customers are loving it," said Russ Grandinetti, Vice President of Kindle Content. "It's also been great for independent authors, who get to reach a whole new audience and make money in a new way, and now they'll be able to reach even more readers around the world. We're excited to bring the lending library to the UK, Germany and France."

Independent authors are experiencing increased sales by including their books in the US Kindle Owners' Lending Library through KDP Select, an option for authors to make money through the lending library and promote their book for free. In September, KDP Select books that enrolled in August earned 77% more royalties from paid sales than the three months before they were enrolled in the program. This figure is conservative and only includes books that were available via KDP for the entire three months prior to enrolling in KDP Select. To learn more about KDP Select, visit http://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/KDPSelect.

The Kindle Owners' Lending Library was launched in the US in November 2011 and offers access to a wide array of categories and genres in fiction and non-fiction. Soon Kindle owners with a Prime membership in the UK, Germany and France will also be able to choose from over 200,000 books to borrow for free - including thousands of local-language titles and all seven Harry Potter books in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish - as frequently as a book a month, with no due dates. No other e-reader or eBookstore offers such a service. To learn more about the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, visit:

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. (NAS: AMZN) , a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon's developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon's own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Kindle Paperwhite is the most-advanced e-reader ever constructed with 62% more pixels and 25% increased contrast, a patented built-in front light for reading in all lighting conditions, extra-long battery life, and a thin and light design. The new latest generation Kindle, the lightest and smallest Kindle, now features new, improved fonts and faster page turns. Kindle Fire HD features a stunning custom high-definition display, exclusive Dolby audio with dual stereo speakers, high-end, laptop-grade Wi-Fi with dual-band support and dual-antennas/MIMO for 40% faster throughput than other tablets, enough storage for HD content, and the latest generation processor and graphics engine—and it is available in two display sizes—7" and 8.9". The all-new Kindle Fire features a faster processor for 40% faster performance, twice the memory, and longer battery life.

Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, www.amazon.cn, www.amazon.it, and www.amazon.es. As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.



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KEYWORDS: United Kingdom United States Europe North America France Germany Washington

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