The Frankfurt Book Fair’s Internet Rights Auction, a world first, has set a framework for writers and publishers to benefit from the publication of their works on the Web, publishers said. They said best-selling Irish novelist Maeve Binchy was close to a final deal to sell Internet publishing rights of one of her titles as a result of the auction. The auction, a test case for the industry, offered Internet rights to her novel Circle of Friends, and to US Internet expert Gregory Rawlins’ Moths to the Flame, Seductions of Computer Technology. Ms Binchy said she was confident that releasing her work on the Internet would not hurt her book sales, as is often warned. Bids for the rights were registered anonymously at a special Internet site a nd broadcast during the Book Fair. Details were sketchy on the sums involved in the winning bids. Organizers referred to a four figure US dollar sum, but said final details needed to be worked out.
