Indie bookstore backer Bookshop.org launched an e-book platform on Tuesday, making it simpler for readers to purchase e-books with out padding Jeff Bezos’ pockets. For years, Amazon’s chokehold and sway within the publishing business have been so robust that authors and booksellers have accused the company of working a monopoly.

Amazon is dominant within the sale of e-books due to its Kindle, which is likely one of the main e-readers available on the market. Aware shoppers can flip to corporations like Kobo for his or her {hardware}, besides, there typically aren’t choices to purchase e-books straight from publishers and unbiased booksellers, which implies that readers normally resort to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or different massive field retailers.

Bookshop.org and Libro.fm have emerged as alternate options to Amazon, sharing a minimize of gross sales with unbiased bookstores round America. However for e-book readers, it’s been difficult to purchase new titles with out going via Amazon’s ecosystem. Bookshop.org’s growth into e-books offers shoppers a long-awaited choice to purchase these digital books whereas additionally supporting small companies.

“Once we launched Bookshop.org, the imaginative and prescient was to assist native bookstores of their battle in opposition to Amazon and different on-line retailers,” Andy Hunter, founder and CEO of Bookshop.org, stated in an announcement of the service’s new capabilities. “This launch represents our dedication to conserving bookstores afloat.”

Because it stands, Bookshop.org’s e-books are solely accessible within the net browser, or on the Bookshop.org apps, which can be found for Android and iOS.

To maximise its influence available in the market, nevertheless, Bookshop.org might want to provide methods to obtain its e-books onto e-readers just like the Kindle.

“Bookshop promoting e-books is just not a cure-all. Amazon has monopolized the e-book house for method too lengthy for it to be,” wrote ebook critic Maris Kreizman on Bluesky. “Nevertheless it’s an vital first step and that’s price celebrating.”