Penguin’s genre community Book Country, which focused on romance, mystery/thriller and science fiction & fantasy upon arrival in April 2011, will formally relaunch on Wednesday with a broader array of categories and services. Book Country’s genre map has expanded to include literary fiction, memoir, narrative nonfiction, New Adult, and several sub-categories within Young Adult. In addition, Book Country, which now has 8300 members as well as eight authors who landed publishing deals, will launch a bookstore that allows community members to sell titles, both through Book Country as well as through all major outlets that Penguin distributes to. Book Country […]
Publisher services
Corporate: Penguin Tries Book Discovery With “First to Read”; Quercus Moves Sales In-House; And More
Penguin is launching a new book discovery tool, First To Read, that will offer “widely anticipated” excerpts of forthcoming Penguin titles as Hotshot by Julie Garwood, The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert, (also available on our own Fall/Winter Buzz Books 2013 sampler), The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead, Sister Mother Husband Dog by Delia Ephron, The Childhod of Jesus by J. M. Coetzee, Dark Lycan by Christine Feehan, and many more. Those who sign up for First To Read through their Facebook accounts will be able to request digital galleys of available titles, and can also take part […]
People, Etc.
Editor-in-chief at School Library Journal Rebecca Miller has been promoted to editorial director of Library Journals, with added responsibility of LJ as well. Current editor-in-chief of LJ Michael Kelley is leaving the company. At Morrow/Avon, Emily Krump has been promoted to editor. At the Gernert Company, Anna Worrall has been promoted to the newly created position of Marketing & Social Media Manager. Israeli author Yoram Kaniuk, 83, died Saturday in Tel Aviv. Kaniuk wrote more than 30 books, including THE ACROPHILE (1960), ADAM RESURRECTED (1968), adapted into the 2008 movie of the same name, and 1948 (2010), published in the […]
eNews: Harper’s Hackathon Twist With BookSmash Challenge
A week after the Perseus-produced Hackathon that concluded at BEA, HarperCollins is launching its own version with BookSmash Challenge, a contest running from today through September 5 that asks developers developers “to create new digital products that ‘break the binding’ and re-imagine the book.” Developers will have access to works by more than a dozen authors, including Eloisa James, Julia Quinn, and C.S. Lewis, from which they can build new products and software from access to the full API for those titles. HarperCollins is working with software competition platform ChallengePost on the contest, and a total of $25,000 in cash […]
Tech: Ingram’s New Tool for Independent Publishers; Libre Rolls Out Digital Distribution; BookScout Adds Mobile; 3M Provides Daily Data;
Ingram will launch a new self-service “publish-on-demand” platform for independent publishers, IngramSpark, this summer. It combines their Lighting Source (print-in-demand) and Core Source (digital asset distribution) services in a single toolset, to manage print and ebook distribution under one umbrella. General Manager of Ingram Publisher Services Mark Ouimet says “independent publishers will now have access to Ingram’s reach, enabling them to affordably print copies, distribute books to global retailers, make titles available to all major e-readers and connect with more customers worldwide.” After the initial launch, Ingram plans to add versions of some of their other services to the platform, including MyiLibrary […]
eNews: Winning Hacks, New Launches, and More
At least 30 projects were submitted as part of the Publishing Hackathon over the weekend, viewable here. Contestant Eric Hellman reports that the six finalists are: BookCity (suggests books to match places you visit) Captiv (turns your Tweets into book recommendations) Coverlist (shows 100 curated jackets; hover over an image to see a related recommendation) Evoke (connects books for teens based on the emotional connection to characters — classifying reading experiences as “inspired, challenged, amused, or informed”) KooBrowser (browser plugin that matches book recommendations to web pages you visit) Library Atlas (app that sends you book quotes based on your […]