Amazon Announces e-Book Deal with Wylie Agency (AMZN)

Amazon AMZN announced Thursday that it has reached a deal with Wylie Agency for the exclusive right to publish digital editions of 20 classic books. With works by authors such as Philip Roth, John Updike, and Norman Mailer for its Kindle electronic reader, Amazon is pushing aggressively to maintain e-book market share. Apple's AAPL new iPad and Barnes & Noble's BKS Nook have heavily increased competition for the e-book market. Reuters reports that "The Wylie deal may set off a race among the makers of electronic readers to buy digital rights to classic books that will help them to win more customers." Kindle customers can buy the electronic versions of these works for $9.99. Shares of Amazon are higher by close to 1% in pre-market trade.