HarperCollins is selling off teen writing website Inkpop, which it created in 2009, to Figment for an undisclosed sum. The move, the WSJ reports, reflects HarperCollins’ conclusion that “the benefits of marketing its titles to a significantly larger combined audience outweigh the advantages of controlling its own teen writing website.” In three years of operation Inkpop built up a base of approximately 95,000 users, while Figment has more than 115,000 teens using its site, with “non-existent overlap” between the two groups, according to Figment co-founder Jacob Lewis. Figment will assume control of inkpop’s operations, activity, and website as of March […]
Children's
eBook Sales Rise 350% at Disney
President of Disney Publishing Worldwide Russell Hampton opened the afternoon sessions at the Publishers Launch Conference Children’s Publishing Goes Digital on Monday, saying “The digital revolution is about giving readers choice and growing our collective business.” He added, “It is our challenge as publishers to make our offerings accessible to children so that they may read what what they want, when they want, how they want.” Citing a variety of signs of digital growth in Disney’s business lines, Hampton noted that 30 percent of the first week sales and 20 percent of all sales of Rick Riordan’s latest hardcover bestseller […]
Nook Kids Asks for More Audio and “Boy Content”
Nook Kids director of business development/content acquisition Kevin O’Connor shared a variety of observations on what’s working well in the Nook Kids store at Monday’s Publishers Launch Conference Children’s Publishing Goes Digital event. “I beg you, beg you, beg you beg you to create audio for your ebooks. It’s so essential for it to sell. The vast majority of what we sell is either interactive or has audio in it. It’s naturally going to sell better.” O’Connor, who was previously in the music business, cited singer/performer Laurie Berkner’s PARTY DAY as among their stronger ebook sellers. “Boy content [is] overperforming” […]
PLC: Understanding the Children’s Digital Book Market
As part of our Children’s Publishing Goes Digital Conference, Bowker vp publishing services Kelly Gallagher presented new data on the state of the children’s digital book market and signs of increasing digital adoption.The survey of 2,000 parents & guardians of children ages 0-12 and 1,000 teens aged 13-17 was largely conducted in between October 7 and November 2, 2011, before the release of the Kindle Fire, the Nook Tablet, and the Kobo Vox, but additional data was fielded “as recently as last week,” taking into account the likely significant impact those devices have had on the children’s digital market. While […]
eNews: Open Road Launches YA Original Title; Lerner Develops iPad App
Open Road is launching their first YA original for publication next February and it’s a work conceived and created especially for the digital medium, Andrea Buchanan’s paranormal ghost story GIFT. The full version–the full feature-set of which will work only on Apple’s platform, though more limited versions will work on other major platforms–includes such features as: audio tracks and music videos written and performed by one of the novel’s main characters (so the Booktrack-soundtrack idea, expanded); sound and visuals that “triggered” at key points in the story; a graphic novel created by one of the characters that is revealed throughout […]
Ruckus Forms Imprint with Scholastic
Children’s app and interactive storybook developer Ruckus Media Group is creating a transmedia imprint in collaboration with children’s giant Scholastic, called Scholastic Ruckus. From a service standpoint it looks a bit like a distribution agreement–Ruckus remains fully independent, and Scholastic will handle print, ebook and enhnanced ebook publishing and distribution for intellectual property controlled by Ruckus (and Ruckus will continue to produce and sell children’s apps). But the relationship also allows for more comprehensive joint development and exploitation across all of Scholastic’s sales and marketing channels, with input from Scholastic’s creative and executive teams. Part of “what makes it an […]