In case you missed it, Peter Costanzo, Director of Digital Content here at F+W Media, also recently penned a great behind-the-scenes piece on The Everything Learning Language series, just released from Adams Media.

But here are some quick links to some other projects released in the past few weeks that have caught my attention.

General Fiction/Literature

Jack Kerouac’s On the Road (Penguin Books Amplified Edition)
For the iPad
From Penguin Group (USA)

From the Jennifer Schuessler’s review in NYT ArtsBeat:

The “amplified edition” of “On the Road,” released today by Penguin Classics, certainly comes tricked out with more fancy bells and whistles than a BMW M5. It includes the full text of the novel, of course, with expandable marginal notes giving historical and biographical background. An interactive map traces Kerouac’s three real-life cross-country road trips, with links to relevant passages from the novel. There are never-before-seen photos, rare audio clips of Kerouac reading from an early draft, previously unreleased documents from his publisher’s archive, and a slide show of international covers showing how the book has been marketed from Argentina to Ukraine to China.

Pretty much the only thing missing is the chance to hear the novel read aloud by that sexy-voiced woman from your GPS.

Non-Fiction

Derek Sivers’ Anything You Want
For the Kindle, as an Audible audiobook, and in limited-edition hardcover
From Seth Godin’s The Domino Project

From Laura Hazard Owen’s review at PaidContent.org:

Marketing guru Seth Godin created a new imprint, The Domino Project, in partnership with Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) as a vehicle to experiment with pricing, promotion and other aspects of publishing. The Domino Project’s latest title, Anything You Want by CD Baby founder Derek Sivers, aims to hook consumers with 200 free MP3s when they buy the book….

One of the Domino Project’s goals is to experiment with pricing. The hardcover edition of Anything You Want is also available as a five-pack “for sharing” ($39.99) and 52-pack for organizations and events ($349.99). 100 copies of the book were also available as a “very limited edition collectible,” and they’ve all sold out, Seth Godin told me.

Children’s

William Joyce’s The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
For the iPad
From Moonbot Studios

From John Pavlus’ writeup at Fast Company’s Co.Design:

Part of why the book works so well is its top-shelf creative pedigree: author William Joyce is also an accomplished illustrator and animator who’s published New Yorker covers, won a bunch of Emmys, created character designs for some of Pixar’s first animated classics, and worked on many others for Dreamworks and Disney. With his cohorts at Moonbot Studios, he created an interactive book-app around the story and a standalone animated film — so you can experience “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” however you like.

The Jungle Book: The Story of Mowgli & Shere Khan
For the iPad
From Electric Type

From Electric Type’s “making-of”:

With 6100 words spread across 59 pages and a limited budget for illustration, our mission was to create attractive and readable text pages, interspersed with 20 interactive illustrations. Nigel created unique spot illustrations and thematic backgrounds for our text pages….

With The Jungle Book, our mission is to bring to our young readers and their parents an experience that doesn’t replace print books, but rather adds to the conversation, expectations, and definition of what a story can be. We hope it will provide hours of enjoyment as readers of all ages are transported to Mowgli’s world.

La Fontaine’s Frog and Ox
For the iPad
From Poésies Industrielles

From the description:

This version of “The frog who wanted to be as big as the ox” is a truly groundbreaking interactive art book.With a large range of entirely handmade illustrations, this fable from Jean de la Fontaine features elegant animations and stunning interactions that let readers have fun and remember the story without even noticing it.

Word by word, children are eager to play, keen to learn and fascinated by new discoveries. They explore and discover a world bridging classical literature and digital entertainment : read, listen, speak, record and play in two languages : those of Molière and Shakespeare.

Graphic Novel / Comics

Jeff Smith’s Bone #1 and RASL #1 (ON SALE: 7/14 to 7/19)
Dedicated apps for each series for iOS devices
From comiXology

From the press release:

Created by [Jeff] Smith, a multiple award-winning cartoonist, the critically acclaimed BONE series centers around the humor-laced misadventures of the BONE cousins. Booklist writes: “As many comics fans know, the series chronicles the adventures of the Bone cousins – plucky Fone Bone, scheming Phony Bone, and easygoing Smiley Bone – who leave their home of Boneville and are swept up in a Tolkienesque epic of royalty, dragons, and unspeakable evil forces out to conquer humankind.” The series will also soon to be made into a major motion picture.

“BONE is a modern day classic,” said David Steinberger, CEO of comiXology. “We are proud to bring this multiple award-winning comic book into the digital environment for the enjoyment of fans of all ages.”

Published by the #1 children’s book publisher in the world, Scholastic, BONE is one of two books written by Smith that will be released on comiXology. The second, RASL, is a stark, black and white comic book focusing on the hard-boiled adventures of an art thief who hops through dimensional barriers, hiding out on various parallel worlds. In a starred review, Publisher’s Weekly described it as “ a stunning narrative that impresses with its originality, sophistication, and complexity.” RASL will also get its own dedicated app. And to celebrate their release, BONE #1 and RASL #1 will be free with the other books on sale for $.99 from July 14th-19th.

This is just a taste of some of the great things being created out there in the digital book world, but we’re sure there’s more. What new releases did we miss? What are your must-see ebooks, enhanced ebooks, and apps? Tell us in the comments below.

By J.C. Hutchins, Novelist and Transmedia Storyteller

Over the course of my two previous pieces on storytelling upgrades (start here), I showed how tactile and kinetic features native to the iPad can be linked to traditional narrative devices, such as foreshadowing. However, where it gets really exciting is how the device can unlock a deeply interactive and immersive environment in which the “reader” is an integral part of a nonlinear story—all narrative features that cannot be rendered in print.

Up to now, I had been focusing on the tactile and kinetic, but there are dozens of ways exist to leverage the iPad’s other built-in features, including:

By J.C. Hutchins, Novelist and Transmedia Storyteller

In my previous post, I described how, using a combination of user-fueled curiosity, tactile interaction, and brilliant visual animations, authors can deliver narrative revelations that simply cannot be experienced using traditional storytelling techniques.

Today, we take the narrative to the next level, adding even more rich interaction to our story.

Recall that this narrative is mostly text-based and presented as a well-crafted traditional novel or novella. (There’s no substitute for great writing.) However, the story’s “touchable moments” are designed to put the reader in the driver’s seat in equally emotionally resonant ways. The goal is to capture the same sense of discovery the story’s hero experiences – that thrilling “I just learned a secret” vibe.

Let’s pick up our near-futuristic detective thriller from where we left off: In the image above, the story’s “scanner” has correctly identified the mysterious villain, and the reader is rewarded with on-screen biographical information about the character. There’s no need to articulate this moment of discovery using novel-style text later in the tale; the reader himself experienced it. Perhaps this information could be added to an interactive “dossier,” so the reader can review it whenever he wishes in later chapters.

As seen in traditional narratives, creators can up the narrative ante to frighten the audience. For example: Our story’s private detective has traveled far north in pursuit of a clue. He discovers an abandoned warehouse filled with empty, deactivated cryogenic chambers… save for one.

A fine sheen of frost covers the glass coffin. What’s inside?

Using the narrative’s “scanner” device, the reader can successfully identify the woman in the cryochamber. Perhaps it’s a character our detective-hero met earlier in the story, or an ex-lover — these “touchable moments” can deliver the same narrative beats and revelations as traditional media… and then greatly build upon them in new ways.

For instance: By tapping on the character’s ID, passport, or credit card (seen above), the reader can obtain biographical information, and perhaps links to the character’s Facebook or Twitter pages — or the character’s personal blog. Since the iPad features internet connectivity, readers can immediately visit those real websites and glean more information about this character or clues leading up to her disappearance. The reader truly embodies the role of investigator!

Even the traditional text-based reading experience can be upended using touch-based narratives. Immersive opportunities can hide in plain sight. For instance: Our private detective is hurt and furious; he knew the missing woman in the cryochamber and is more determined than ever to track down the story’s ruthless villain. In the text of our story, he searches the woman’s body and discovers a cryptic address and what appears to be the combination to a safe.

But where’s the safe?

As the reader dives deeper into the text narrative, he encounters a strange graphical element hidden behind a page of the novel-style text. Is that a safe combination knob? By “shaking” the iPad, the words literally tumble off the screen, to reveal…

… the very safe that’s mentioned in the text-based narrative.

Using the iPad’s built-in gesture-based technology — and the safe combination mentioned in the story — the reader can physically interact with the safe’s knob, twist through the appropriate combination, and unlock the safe.

Is this mountain of money inside real or counterfeit? Perhaps a quick “scan” of one of those $100 bills could answer the question — and lead to more clues and narrative.

So far, we’ve looked at ways for audiences to interact with static images. Let’s quickly explore the undeniable power of video in another example.

Let’s say our detective hero has determined the villain’s endgame move: a terrorist assault on an office building. With the help of his police contacts, he’s able to tap into the building’s surveillance camera system.

This “touchable moment” empowers the reader to explore the numerous live camera feeds throughout the building, and even to correctly identify a security breach. Using the pinch gesture, the reader can easily scale up the appropriate live video feed and be rewarded with plot-centric information.

As the reader zooms and taps the iPad’s screen for more information, he is actively becoming more immersed in the story. Here, the reader witnesses — in a facsimile of real- time video footage — the assault about to unfold. In addition to upping the narrative stakes, this moment requires fleet-footed action from the reader: Should he learn more about the weapons the thugs are carrying? Should he contact the cops?

This kind of storytelling delivers a heightened narrative experience in which the reader — and physical interaction with the device — plays a critical role.

From my vantage point, the provided examples merely scratch the surface of what’s possible. I haven’t bothered to showcase other gestures and technologies of the iPad, all of which can be easily used in these narratives, but in our next and final post on storytelling upgrades, I’ll provide an overview of other technologies available on the iPad that could be leveraged for interactive and immersive narratives.

J.C. Hutchins is an award-winning freelance writer best known for using multimedia narratives, emerging fiction trends, and participatory storytelling techniques to entertain online audiences. He is a published novelist, represented screenwriter, and experienced transmedia storyteller. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR’s Weekend Edition, and by the BBC. Learn more about his work at JCHutchins.net.

Photo Credits: Tablet images courtesy of J.C. Hutchins. Portrait by J.R. Blackwell.

Interested in finding out more about innovations in digital storytelling or about using transmedia storytelling strategies to extend your brand and intellectual property? Then, join us at StoryWorld, the only major gathering of industry leaders, decision makers, and transmedia specialists, to explore new business models, innovative partnerships, and fresh revenue streams.

By J.C. Hutchins, Novelist and Transmedia Storyteller

Last April, Apple Inc. released a product that jaded technogeeks derided as “a big iPod Touch,” but consumers saw as a brilliant new way to experience the web and multimedia.

Fourteen months and 25 million units sold later (nearly 5 million sold in the last quarter alone), the iPad has single-handedly defined a new consumer electronics product category. More than 90,000 applications designed for the iPad are now available from Apple’s iTunes App Store. Dozens of competing tablet products will soon emerge on the market, presumably with their own app stores.

Productivity apps, games, social network tools… these tablet apps are as diverse as the people who download them. But when Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the iPad last January, I saw the potential for storytelling crack wide open into a frontier filled with innovation, promise, and profit.

I’m a writer of “transmedia” novels, screenplays, educational experiences, and online marketing campaigns — which is a fancy way of saying I design cohesive narratives that unfold across multiple media using many distribution platforms. An example of my work: Personal Effects: Dark Art, a novel I co-wrote with game designer and transmedia storytelling pioneer Jordan Weisman, featured mysterious items (such as photos, IDs, and business cards) that accompanied the book. These items, and the narrative itself, directed readers to online-exclusive plot twists. The novel is presently in development as a Starz TV series, with Gore Verbinski executive producing.

The creative potential I envisioned for tablet-based storytelling last April is now coming to pass. We’ve already seen incredible applications of the iPad for nonfiction — the inspired and innovative $5 app Our Choice by Al Gore (based on his 2009 book of the same name) is one example that showcases the possibilities for documentary-style narrative. In case you missed it, here’s a video of the product in action:

I’m convinced the “text meets multimedia” techniques seen in that video, and more, can also be used to tell resonant, memorable fiction stories. Using the technologies and creative philosophies I’ll soon present in this series of posts, I believe progressive creators and publishers can explore entirely new ways to tell and sell stories of any genre – including original and licensed intellectual properties — by making the reader an active participant in the unfolding narrative.

Understand that what I propose is wildly different from the ebooks you’ll presently find in the Kindle marketplace, or “enhanced ebooks” that integrate multimedia such as video clips into the reading experience (such as Alan Dean Foster’s excellent Predators I Have Known and others). Also understand that I enjoy those electronically-delivered stories. Like the print novel, these formats will be consumed by many people for many decades to come.

This simple and largely predictable A-to-B “porting” of content from print novels to ebooks provides a present-day gold rush for publishers. However, it largely ignores the arsenal of built-in technologies of the iPad and other tablets — the very features that differentiate them from other media consumption devices. By ignoring these features, publishers are missing the most disruptive and innovative storytelling opportunity since the debut of the motion picture.

By using the proven technologies integrated in the iPad and other tablets — features such as intuitive touch-based gestures, a motion-sensitive accelerometer, robust graphics and audio, and internet connectivity — folks like me can do far more than merely enhance a text-based narrative. We can create a new breed of narrative. Not a novel, not a movie, not a game — what I propose is all of these things and more: a presentation designed to immerse readers by using physical interaction as a meaningful part of the narrative.

Here are a few examples of how the iPad’s built-in features can be elegantly wedded with a story.

In the example images above, a sci-fi thriller could begin by requiring the reader to place his palm upon the device. This would activate a spiffy animation that thematically introduces the reader to the fictional world and launches the narrative. The act of touching the screen is psychologically important; it builds the first of many physical “connections” between reader and content.

Say you’re reading a near-future thriller in which a private detective receives a mysterious envelope. You flip the virtual page on your iPad, and behold the detective’s actual desk… and the actual envelope described in the story. What happens next? Your participation and investigation moves things forward.

Using the iPad’s built-in motion sensor accelerometer, readers could “shake” the device at specific prompts during the narrative to engage with, and further, the story. In the multi-image example below, the reader uses the device’s built-in “shake” feature to coax out a series of photos from the envelope, as he would do in real life… and as in real life, those photos fluidly scatter onto the detective’s desk in real time.

Based on the text-based story the reader has read so far, he knows one of these photos is of the tale’s mysterious villain. But the story’s hero doesn’t know who it could be. It’s the reader’s job to find out.

“Shaking” out a set of photos is one thing. But examining them requires physical interaction with the screen and story. Using the intuitive built-in touchscreen gestures of the iPad, a reader can simply touch an on-screen element (such as the photos seen here) and easily move it from one location of the screen to another.

This interactive technique could be used in numerous ways, including:

• Arranging /assembling jigsaw puzzle pieces
• Assembling “shredded” secret documents
• Sifting through a pile of keys to locate the appropriate key for a “locked” story section
• And more

Like the iPhone and the iPod Touch, the iPad also supports a touch-based gesture called “pinching,” which permits users to increase or decrease the magnification of on-screen elements. In our example here, the reader believes he’s successfully identified the photo of the villain; this is based on in-text clues he’s read and a quick examination of the other photos.

To confirm this, and to further the investigation in our futuristic detective story, the reader zooms in on the photo using the intuitive tactile “pinch” gesture. Perhaps a computerized “scan” of the photo (presented at particular moments in the narrative) will yield the confirmation our story’s detective’s hunch needs and unlock more information necessary to move the story along…

Unlike traditional novel or film experiences — in which all narration, foreshadowing, and plot payoffs are plainly visible and delivered linearly — this breed of story uses immersive, physical techniques to resonantly deliver plot twists in nonlinear ways. Readers discover plot information just as a story’s hero would and are rewarded for their curiosity.

This is just the beginning of our story: in my next post, we’ll take the next step and bring in even more innovative technology-enabled narrative techniques.

So, until next time!

J.C. Hutchins is an award-winning freelance writer best known for using multimedia narratives, emerging fiction trends, and participatory storytelling techniques to entertain online audiences. He is a published novelist, represented screenwriter, and experienced transmedia storyteller. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR’s Weekend Edition and by the BBC. Learn more about his work at JCHutchins.net.

Photo Credits: Tablet images courtesy of J.C. Hutchins. Portrait by J.R. Blackwell.

Interested in finding out more about innovations in digital storytelling or about using transmedia storytelling strategies to extend your brand and intellectual property? Then, join us at StoryWorld, the only major gathering of industry leaders, decision makers, and transmedia specialists, to explore new business models, innovative partnerships, and fresh revenue streams.

The DBW Roundtable

In this bi-weekly 1-hour WEBcast, the Roundtable offers insight into the greater book publishing ecosystem with actionable case studies from practitioners in publishing.

For this special solo edition of the Roundtable Peter Meyers, author of Enhanced Ebooks Today and Tomorrow and the upcoming Breaking the Page: Transforming Books and the Reading Experience, will lead attendees through a fast-paced tour through a dozen or so books in the iPad section of the App Store.

Peter’s goal is to spark a discussion on “the Reader’s Experience”—that elusive, almost trance-like state we all enter when devouring a (typically) print book. Do these app books deliver the same kind of immersive feeling among readers as print books? If not, why not?

Peter will break the tour down into three big categories:

• Navigating the Book: page browsing methods, search, and discovery
• New Kinds of Content: gamefication, interactive graphics, and transformative multimedia
• Extras for and From Readers: typography, comments and commentary, and servicing reader queries

In each category, he will shine a spotlight on noteworthy apps: either they succeeded in pleasing the reader in an innovative way or they failed in a manner that felt instructive — doing something wrong that we could all learn from.

This special Roundtable episode will appeal to anyone involved in digital publishing interested in understanding the current landscape of enhanced ebooks and apps. This will not be a technical how-to WEBcast, but rather a survey of creative choices that amplify (or detract) a reader’s engagement with digital books.

The Roundtable was broadcast on June 2nd at 1 PM EST / 10 AM PST. The next Roundtable will be held on June 30th at 1 PM EST / 10 AM PST.

Register For the Roundtable!

THE ROUNDTABLE

• Peter Meyers, Author and Digital Book Producer

THE MODERATOR

• Matt Mullin, Community Relations Manager, Digital Book World

Join the Roundtable for provocative discussions every two weeks that set the tone for another exciting year in the publishing industry!

• Register to participate in the next Roundtable
• Subscribe to the audio podcast
• DBW Members can access the on-demand video archive of The Roundtable

ABOUT PETER MEYERS

Peter Meyers is an author and digital book producer. He writes about and helps companies create reader-friendly digital books. Author of Best iPad Apps (O’Reilly, 2010), Peter’s next book is Breaking the Page: Transforming Books and the Reading Experience (O’Reilly, 2011). Peter blogs at www.newkindofbook.com and can be found on Twitter @petermeyers.

AUDIO

So here are some quick links to projects released in the past few weeks that have caught my attention.

General Nonfiction

Gems and Jewels
For the iPad
From The University of Chicago Press, Touch Press, & The Field Museum

From the press release:

“The Gems and Jewels app is a dazzling adaptation of the printed book Gems and Gemstones: Timeless Natural Beauty of the Mineral World (The University of Chicago Press) written by Lance Grande, Senior Vice President of The Field Museum and curator of the Grainger Hall of Gems where the gemstones and jeweled pieces in the app physically reside. Gems and Jewels was developed by Touch Press, creators of The Elements and Solar System for iPad.

Gems and Jewels allows you to hold in your hands hundreds of priceless objects, including: an Etruscan Gold necklace from Italy, a 20-carat natural diamond crystal, and the Aztec “Sun-god Opal” carved in the sixteenth century. Zoom in to see details on these multifaceted objects from a perspective that, before the iPad, could only be experienced by handling the actual objects.”

Tim Flannery’s Here on Earth
For the iPad
From Arcade Sunshine

From the product description:

The multimedia version of bestselling author Tim Flannery’s newest work – a magnum opus that traces the history of the planet, the history of humanity, and the impact that we have had on our planet.

Over 60 minutes of multimedia content that both support and compliment the themes raised in the book.

This is the full text of Flannery’s book, along with videos, animations, custom-made infographics, and hundreds of stunning visuals that highlight the key themes raised by the book, and also extend the discussions raised within.

Gareth Malone’s Music for the People
For the iBook (full media), Kindle, Audible
From HarperCollins UK

From the product description:

Have you ever been carried away by a piece of classical music? The sad song of a single violin might make us cry, but the idea of finding out more about classical music can often be intimidating. In this funny, evocative, personal book, Gareth takes us on a journey of musical discovery that explains and entertains in equal measure.

Over the course of three series of the Bafta award-winning The Choir, Gareth has unearthed a passion for classical music in schoolchildren, reluctant teenage boys, and even a whole town. With his infectious enthusiasm and gift for explanation, Gareth’s very personal narrative takes you by the hand and leads you through a world of eccentric composers, flamboyant conductors, troubled geniuses and all the colourful personalities that make up the story of Classical Music. It will also provide a foundation of classical music understanding and give the reader the tools to appreciate a whole new world of music. So whether you want to expand your horizons, spend time with the great composers, introduce an almost infinite variety into your iPod playlist, or are just curious about what you might be missing out on, Music for The People will leave you entertained, informed and completely inspired.

Mystery / Thriller / Adventure

Six Works by Thriller Legend Ira Levin
Through Amazon, iBookstore, B&N, Kobo, Overdrive, & Sony Reader Store
From Pegasus Books and Open Road Media

From the description:

Six timeless titles from the legendary Ira Levin are now available in digital format from Pegasus Books and Open Road Media. Levin is an award-winning author and dramatist whose work has spawned myriad famous Hollywood movies and a worldwide cult following. His most famous novel is Rosemary’s Baby, a horror story of modern day Satanism and eerie occultism set in Manhattan’s Upper West Side. “Rosemary’s Baby was a publishing phenomenon rising to the top of the bestseller lists,” said internationally bestselling author and fan Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club). Like many of Levin’s novels, the visual, visceral story also became an award-winning major motion picture.

In addition to Rosemary’s Baby, digital readers can download five more Levin titles: A Kiss Before Dying, a modern novel that set a new standard in the art of mystery and suspense; Sliver, a chilling psychological thriller that explores the menacing evil behind glittering facades of Manhattan’s skyscrapers; The Boys from Brazil, an “irresistible novel, with a science fiction twist” (Newsweek); This Perfect Day, a prescient work about a dystopian future on par with Brave New World; and The Son of Rosemary, the controversial sequel to Rosemary’s Baby.

Children’s

Monster for President
For iOS devices and in print
From Esquire Publishing, Inc., and RipplFX

From the press release:

‘Monster for President’ is a story that reveals the ups and downs of a political race between rivals for control of Monster Nation. All ages will enjoy this comical political parody following the Prez and the Challenger along the campaign trail. Watch and read their great debate. An ace reporter presents some interesting information that might change voter’s opinions. Will the election end in a surprise? Who will become the next President of Monster Nation? Find out by downloading the app or purchasing the hardcover storybook. The app contains many interactive elements. Guaranteed to entertain and delight children and adults from ages 12 & up.

RipplFX adapted ‘Monster for President’ from the original storybook written by Hal Pollock and illustrated by Anthony Parisi. Enhanced features include animation, individual words that highlight when read aloud, professional narration, background audio effects, and special, interactive pages.

This is just a taste of some of the great things being created out there in the digital book world, but we’re sure there’s more. What new releases did we miss? What are your must-see ebooks, enhanced ebooks, and apps? Tell us in the comments below.

Impelsys’ flagship offering is iPublishCentral, which provides online content delivery services for publishers. iPublishCentral recently expanded its product management, ecommerce, and infrastructure solutions in a way that encompasses both print and digital books as well as new frameworks to support the creation of enhanced ebooks for the iPad, such as the recently launched Sesame Street e-bookstore iPad app.

I caught up with Impelsys Founder and CEO Sameer Shariff to get his insights about the publishing ecosystem from the point of view of an infrastructure and delivery solutions provider:

In the short time since iPublishCentral’s launch in 2008, what do you think are the most significant changes in the publishing landscape?

The digital revolution has engulfed the publishing industry across the globe. While we observe that publishers are now more aware of the trends in digital publishing and have gained a lot more clarity on the kind of digital strategies they want to adopt, I would like to highlight two significant changes in the publishing landscape.

For me, the most significant change has been the device innovation. A few years ago, the Kindle—the pioneer portable eBook reader, triggered the revolution in how people read. The innovation bred many more eReaders coming into the market and the availability of more devices spurred the demand for further innovation. Then in 2010, Apple swung its magical wand and introduced the iconic iPad. The launch and cult of iPad really enabled books to be consumed in eFormat. All of this is just the first stage of this revolution. As we go further, more innovation will take place as the weight of these devices comes down. That will really be the tipping point where content consumption on devices will compete head-on with print.

The other substantial change I have seen over these years is the proliferation of availability of content in eFormats. Google set the trend with Google books which was then caught on by the industry and that the trend got keenly noticed and embraced by the publishing sector. Now, every publisher is creating e-formats. Availability of content is top on the must-have list for them. With various devices crawling into the market and a range of formats that accompany them, publishers are constantly adopting measures to ensure that their content is widely accessible. This has opened streams of innovation in the publishing ecosystem. Not only is content availability critical, offering rich content is soon becoming a game changer.

Enhanced eBooks are gaining popularity as they are adding valuable richness to content. If enhanced eBooks offer content plus more, readers wouldn’t mind paying extra, would they? Another aspect is that not only content availability has evolved over the years, content availability through retailers has also changed over the times. There are eBookstores across the world and with retail eFormats like the iStore, the Kindle Store, NOOK store, Kindle store, etc. that have transformed the way content is made available to as many readers across the world as possible.

iPublishCentral has integrated support for both print and digital sales. Where do you see print books going?

The answer to this question depends on which segment of the publishing market and what kind of content we are referring to.

The transition from print to digital formats of books is an accelerating growth. It is gradually being accepted by various segments of the publishing industry. Certain segments of the publishing ecosystem will respond nimbly whereas some sections will slowly wake up to this change.

However in my opinion, print books will succumb to the digital revolution and will confine itself to a very small section of the industry over the years. Though one will not preclude the other, the balance may shift over the years as print books will gradually lose its foothold to eBooks. The ultimate consumption of books that consumers will demand is to have their content in all digital devices. Books on the cloud will become a norm in the industry. Publishers will need the infrastructure to enable and support this opportunity.

We envisioned the inevitable blending of the strategies for both print and digital sales for publishers and that’s why for their convenience, iPublishCentral does have a built-in feature in the system that supports the print book trade.

In what sectors of the publishing industry do you see the largest growth potential for digital publishing?

While all segments of the publishing industry are waking up to digital exploration, some industry segments have responded early and fast.

As of today, the biggest growth potential for digital publishing lies in the STM sector. It is a very stable industry and mostly remains unaffected by economic fluctuations. Not only were the end-users of this industry the early adopters of ePublishing, they are also the ones who recognized the fact that offering valuable information through technology is a sure-shot remedy to reach out to a wider audience and increase sales. I would say this is reflective of the heavy involvement of ancillary content and the use of technology to deliver the content to enhance the teaching experience significantly.

Another segment of the market is enhanced eBooks in the Children’s publishing sector. Enhanced eBooks is a more interactive and appealing art which is making learning an enjoyable experience for children throughout the world. The children’s publishing market is expected to grow up to around US$9.66 billion in the next four years. In fact, if you look at the sheer facts, majority of the top ten book apps on the iStore are children’s books!

There is so much that you can do with the versatility of multimedia. Publishers are constantly thinking of ways to offer quality content with design investments that can be consumed by children in any form, on any devices! The growth horizon is massive, especially with the emergence (and dominance) of devices such as the iPad make this sector the most exciting and growing sector for digital publishing.

Sameer Shariff is the founder and CEO of Impelsys Inc., which provides online content delivery for the global publishing market. The flagship product of Impelsys, iPublishCentral™, helps publishers deliver content online quickly and cost effectively.

So here are some quick links to projects released in the past few weeks that have caught our attention. The first three are donating proceeds from sales to some great causes – please check them out!

Children’s

Momotaro
For the iPhone and iPad
By Touchy Books
Proceeds going to UNICEF for disaster relief in Japan

From the press release:

Popular kids’ bookstore app TouchyBooks has combined its efforts with the UNICEF office in Spain to create “Momotaro,” the first UNICEF interactive children’s book app for the iPhone and iPad in order to teach kids about the importance of helping those in need and of being resolute in the face of challenges – all while raising money and awareness for UNICEF’s work in Japan. All of TouchyBook’s profits from the sale of the eBook will be donated to fund UNICEF’s disaster relief efforts for children in Japan.

As a child-focused book publisher, when the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan on March 11, the TouchyBooks team knew that younger children often feel helpless and cannot understand the situation as it evolves around them. “Stories have been used since the beginning of time to help children understand the world around them. ‘Momotaro’ is a great story for parents whose child has seen or heard information about the tragedy in Japan, but might be too small to comprehend the enormity of disasters or their role,” said Raul Soriano, author of Momotaro.

The Three Pandas Animated Storybook App
For the iPad
By See Here Studios
Proceeds going to Pandas International

From the press release:

“The Three Pandas” is viewable in both English and Chinese, reflecting the company’s commitment to multilingual presentation and international audiences. Most significantly, See Here Studios has formed an association with the nonprofit organization Pandas International to donate a portion of app proceeds to panda conservation efforts. Pandas International is a U.S.-based nonprofit that works directly with the China Conservation & Research Centers for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) in southwestern China.

Based on the “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” fable, the book transports readers to the bamboo forest and the home of three adorable panda bears. “The Three Pandas” is a gorgeously animated storybook that features cinematic film intros for key story moments and touchable characters on every page. An original orchestral score, narration and musical sound effects further enrich the reading experience.

Design / Art / Photography

The 3/11 Photo Project
For iOS devices
By Kondasha, Ltd.
Proceeds going to the Japanese Red Cross Society

From The Wall Street Journal Scene Asia blog:

The 99 U.S. cent app – called 3/11 Tsunami Photo Project – features images and messages from photographers who were on the ground recording the quake, tsunami and aftermath. All of the proceeds raised by the app, which is iPhone and iPad compatible, will go to the Japan Red Cross Society.

It comes from Kodansha Ltd., the biggest publishing house in the country, and was designed to “deliver the reality [of the tsunami] to the world from Japan, and support the disaster victims,” said Yoshiaki Koga, the project’s editor in chief. Released two weeks ago, the app has already been downloaded by people in 33 countries and regions. It ranks No. 2 among all paid apps on iTunes in Japan.

General Nonfiction

Al Gore’s Our Choice
For iOS devices
By Rodale Inc., Melcher Media, and PushPop Press

From the press release:

The New York Times bestselling Our Choice was first published by Rodale in November 2009. Using PushPop’s revolutionary digital book platform, the Our Choice App features over an hour of documentary film footage, hundreds of stunning photographs, animations, audio narration, and interactive graphics that can be explored by tapping, pinching, and even blowing into the microphone.

“I am so thrilled that Our Choice has come to life on iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch,” said Al Gore. “Readers can now learn about the solutions to the climate crisis using some of the most visually compelling and interactive technology available.”

David Starkey’s Kings and Queens
For iOS devices
By HarperCollins and Trade Mobile

From The Guardian Apps blog:

Swing an iCat this week, and you’ll hit dozens of royal wedding apps on Apple’s App Store. Few have the clout of HarperCollins’ new Kings and Queens app for iPhone and iPad though: it’s fronted by historian (and recent reality TV star) David Starkey.

The app includes abridged text from Starkey’s Crown and Country book, but adds multimedia elements including timelines, family trees and video footage. In a twist, the app will also allow users to watch a live stream of this week’s wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton from Sky News.

This is just a taste what’s being created out there in the digital book world, but we’re sure there’s more. What new releases did we miss? What are your must-see ebooks, enhanced ebooks, and apps? Tell us in the comments below.

General Fiction

The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet
Enhanced ebook for the iPad from Penguin

An adaptation of Reif Larsen’s graphic novel of the same name, which had included graphical marginalia in print, this ebook renders the images from the original novel into a more interactive form and includes video clips and a secret notebook.

From the description:

When twelve-year-old genius cartographer T. S. Spivet receives an unexpected phone call from the Smithsonian announcing he has won the prestigious Baird Award, life as normal-if you consider mapping dinner table conversations normal-is interrupted and a wild cross-country adventure begins, taking T. S. from his family home just north of Divide, Montana, to the museum’s hallowed halls in Washington D.C. The story is accompanied by hundreds of drawings that provide readers with a glimpse of T.S.’s extraordinary mind.

Enter more deeply into the richly imagined world of T. S. Spivet with this amplified edition. T. S.’s personal journals come to life, offering the reader multiple pathways into his story. Readers can unlock a secret journal if they upload their own drawing. A select group of drawings from readers will be posted within the app for other readers to find. With opportunities for interaction on every page, navigating through the text becomes a journey much like T. S.’s own.

The Venetian
Enhanced ebook for the iPad from Sage Tales

The Venetian is a “born-digital” novel from Nick Bantock, bestselling author of the Griffin & Sabine books, which pushed the envelope on innovative print projects. This richly illustrated ebook includes audio and animated enhancements with touch navigation, combining technology with the kind of aesthetic storytelling experience that Bantock is known for.

From the description:

Nick Bantock captivated millions with his New York Times bestseller Griffin & Sabine. The Venetian is his latest magical tale and the first in a series of digital books and Apps re-imagined for the iPad™. Slide you finger across the navigation bar to find a page, and explore over 50 scintillating illustrations, whimsical animations, and special audio moments as you’re immersed in an email correspondence between San Francisco art conservator, Sara Wolfe, and Renaissance merchant, Niccolo Dei Conti. Combining Bantock’s signature blend of art and storytelling, The Venetian is a compelling mix of modern technology and alchemy, culminating in a reunion over 500 years in the making.

General Nonfiction

David Robert’s Egypt
Enhanced ebook for iOS devices from Sideways

Featuring 19th-century painter David Roberts’ journey to Egypt, this enhanced ebook includes 100 digital reproductions of Roberts’ own lithographs, accompanied by narrated audio from his journal.

From the description:

In 1838-39 Scottish painter David Roberts sailed up and down the Nile sketching the sights and recording his travels in a journal. He was one of the earliest modern Europeans to explore the region. In 1850 his paintings were printed as lithographs by Louis Haghe and sold as a three volume set to an enthusiastic audience. They represented the penultimate expression of hand-colored tint stone lithography and became best sellers. 1839 was also the year that daguerreotype photography was invented. Within a decade photography would replace lithography as the primary visual story telling medium.

History 3D: Civil War
Enhanced ebook for the iPad from IggyCo, Inc.

Taking prints from the Library of Congress and rendering them into 3D, History 3D: Civil War was launched to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. According to the developers, proceeds from the app will be donated back to the Library.

From the description:

H3D is a time machine, right in your hands. For the first time ever on the iPad, you will see two dozen 3D photos taken during the Civil War, using cameras with two or four lenses, by legends such as Mathew Brady. Most of them are taken from the original negatives, rather than scanned prints.

H3D converts these images into stunning anaglyph (red/cyan) pictures. Even if you’ve seen these iconic images before, stepping virtually into the 3D world of the 19th century is an experience like never before. All you need is a pair of those oh-so-chic 3D glasses.

Children’s

MeeGenius! Children’s Books
Enhanced ebooks for the web, iOS devices, Google TV, and the Google Chrome Web Store from MeeGenius!

Not a single title, but a combination of free and paid children’s stories with enhancements, including a read-aloud function and text highlighting. Compelling for the many platforms the MeeGenius! store supports, especially with its browser-based offerings.

From an article by ReadWriteWeb:

Despite the increasing popularity of e-books, children’s literature – particularly picture books – has been slower to go digital. There are a number of obstacles in the way, most obviously the emphasis on colorful illustrations alongside the words. As many e-readers have black-and-white screens and as many formats focus primarily on digitizing the text, you’re unlikely to find a great selection of children’s e-lit in e-bookstores (although that is changing).

It’s more common, perhaps, to see children’s literature as apps, rather than e-books. Apps are full-color. They offer interactivity, with games and narration.

This is just a taste of some of the great things being created out there in the digital book world, but we’re sure there’s more. What did we miss? What are your must-see ebooks, enhanced ebooks, and apps? Tell us in the comments below.

OverDrive and the Library eBook Convenience Paradox
Eric Hellman

The library ebook distribution channel presents another opportunity for market segmentation. Libraries “buy” the ebooks, resulting in revenue for rights holders. Consumers can read the books without paying for them, but they have to be willing to put up with 21 step configurations and account IDs, and face the possibility that a book might not be available right away and may have a long lending queue. At least with ebooks, there’s not the inconvenience of going to the library again to return the book at the end of the lending period!

But imagine if the Overdrive website made it as easy to find and borrow a book  as Amazon’s makes it to get a Kindle Edition. Imagine that you didn’t need an Adobe ID separate from your library card number. What would happen to the inconvenience barrier that allows publishers to still capture the high end of the price curve at full price? It seems clear to me that without the inconvenience barrier, publishers would quickly remove their desirable content from library lending programs to protect their retail sales.

So here’s the paradox: libraries can only be successful at ebook lending if they do a bad job of it.

The Present and Future of Digital Publishing
Joshua Gans, Harvard Business Review

Thus, just as publishers saw costs being shattered and power moving back their way, a new roadblock complementor stood in their path: the owner and controller of the software powering eReaders and tablets. Of course, here Apple’s iOS is currently the market leader, but Google’s Android and HP’s WebOS are waiting in the wings. As is well known, Apple maintains tight control of its iOS and imposes various rules on content and also how content is paid for. Google takes an opposite approach, seemingly on a strategy not to earn money in that market at all — at least not directly. In either case, publishers will be at the mercy of whoever controls the operating system of tablets users have purchased.

The iPad is a game console
SemiAccurate

Do the comparison: Console vendors are quite willing to take it on the chin in hardware price, because a low hardware price sets up volumes that let them make far more money on the games, by taking a big cut of game revenue. Apple takes it on the chin in hardware, and sucks in 30% on the back end every time an app is sold. It’s just like Nintendo patenting and keeping secret a magic chip they put in their cartridges, without which games can’t run on their systems. Instead of a chip, Apple has the App store. Same principle, just a different implementation.

Facebook Shares Are Worth Almost Three Times More Than Tweets For E-Commerce
Leena Rao, TechCrunch

According to the startup, the value of a Facebook share is $14 and the value of a Tweet is $5. For shares and tweets, ChompOn was able to directly attribute sales to the original action and took the total revenue attributed to each action and divided it by the total number of shares/Tweets. ChompOn is working with 50 partners including Blackbook Magazine, JDeal and the wine vertical of flash sales site Beyondtherack, to power Groupon-like crowdsourced coupons.

The Three Facets of Transmedia
Simon Staffans, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Your audience is your audience, but at the same time they are your co-creators, investing themselves in your story and inevitably bringing change with them. It is then up to you, the creator, to choose just how much change you want. But generally, the more people invest, the closer they will feel to your content. Best case scenario, you not only have an audience and a horde of co-creators, you also have advocates that bring your stories to people in a fashion you yourself never could.

Digital Natives Explore Digital Preservation
Library of Congress

Today’s teenagers are part of the first generation to grow up immersed and fluent in the world of digital technologies. These “digital natives” depend on digital information for communication, education and entertainment. But today’s Digital Natives may not know that digital information can easily be lost.

Tweet of the Week

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