This is terribly last minute, but there’s an eBook reading tonight that could be interesting.

Several authors will be reading from works that were produced by digital only publishers. Readers will include Lynne Tillman from Cursor, Jim Hanas from Joyland Press, Ben Greenman from Electric Literature, and others.

The event is sponsored by Kobo is sponsoring, and according to my source a Kobo eReader will be raffled off.

You can find out more on the Facebook page.

Smashwords founder Mark Coker created a multi-platform publishing service that helps independent writers and publishers compete with traditional publishing houses.  But now that the major publishers have fixed their prices, it’s the retailers who need the help. Here, Coker dissects the agency model of bookselling and answers the question, what should readers pay for an eBook?

Which retailers are you currently working with?

We’ve signed distribution agreements with Sony, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple, and we’re working on a deal with Amazon.

What about Google?

Read more

Digital publishing platform Smashwords has partnered with independent retailer Diesel eBook Store.

The agreement includes two components. First, Smashwords will distribute its more than 11,000 Smashwords eBooks through the Diesel eBook Store beginning August 25th.

For the second part of the agreement, Smashwords will power the new Diesel Publishing Portal, where indie authors, and publishers with less than 100 published titles, can self publish their books to Diesel.

Books published through the new Diesel Publishing Platform are sold in Diesel, as well as other Smashwords retailer partners.

Authors and publishers who use Smashwords to publish their eBooks to the Diesel store will earn 60% of the retail price, which they can set themselves.

Tomorrow eBookNewser’s heading to Denver, Colorado for the Association of Writers and Writing Program’s annual conference (AWP). AWP is a yearly gathering of the creative writing business, as it were. In addition to thousands of writers, hundreds of independent literary publishers sell their wares at a massive, multi-floor book fair.

So, in addition to our regular coverage of unfolding eBook news (read: iPad–it’ll end soon, we promise), we’ll be on the floor talking to indie publishers about their eBook plans.

While many small publishers haven’t got their books available in electronic form, many of them are working on it. We hope to let you know firsthand what they’re doing to digitize their lists and what you can expect when.

Before we leave, though, we’d love to know if you have any digital questions for indie publishers that you’d like us to ask on your behalf.