Who can forget the hot war that broke out last January between Macmillan and Amazon, ending with Amazon capitulating?  (See Publishing’s Weekend War: 48 Hours that Changed an Industry)

But if you thought that Amazon had made peace with the publishing industry you obviously missed a posting we ran a few weeks ago reporting that Amazon Launches Spring Offensive.

You’ll remember that the original clash with Macmillan was over the introduction by Apple of a new business model for retailing books on the iPad. When Macmillan defied Amazon’s threats by signing with Apple, Amazon dimmed the Buy Buttons on Macmillan titles.

The quarrel with Penguin is over the same issue, but this time Amazon’s tactic is to sell Penguin’s books far below the prices offered by Apple. It may not be as high-profile as pulling the plug on Macmillan, but it sends an iron-fisted message to publishers who have committed to Apple or are thinking about it.  Gizmodo covered the confrontation with this bald headline: Amazon Stabs Penguin in the Throat With Ebook Pricing for Real Books.

The  skirmish was disclosed by Wall Street Journal‘s Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg. “In the latest round of the book pricing wars,” writes Trachtenberg, “Amazon.com Inc. has begun selling a number of new hardcover books published this month by Pearson PLC’s Penguin Group (USA) for only $9.99 amid a dispute between the two companies over electronic books. Penguin stopped providing digital editions of new titles to Amazon as of April 1 because Penguin and Amazon haven’t yet struck an agreement on a new ‘agency’ pricing model, in which publishers set the retail prices of their e-books.”

Does Amazon have the right to cut Penguin prices so radically? That’s for Amazon to know and Penguin to find out.

The unfolding drama will make for some prime spectating over the next few months. Meanwhile, check out Trachtenberg’s Amazon Cuts Prices in Tiff With Penguin.

Richard Curtis

Every Blogger owes a debt of gratitude to newspapers and magazines. This posting relies on original research and reporting performed by The Wall Street Journal.