Matt Cavnar

Amazon has quietly developed an ambitious new section on its books website called Short Reads that could spark a surge in consumer consumption of e-book singles. Short Reads appears dedicated to short pieces of fiction and nonfiction.   The stories are about 20-100 pages and in length, with most priced between 99 cents and $1.99.

Right now, Short Reads appears to be a stealth project with no apparent promotion or links from any part of the vast Amazon website.  But its presence suggests another aggressive push by Amazon

If you want to understand the burgeoning world of e-book singles, it helps to know who the players are. With that in mind, Thin Reads has created the first list of the most influential executives in the e-book single industry. These are people who decide or influence what we read when it comes to this exciting new form of digital content. And more importantly, they are starting to put their stamp on popular culture and mainstream journalism.

Experts in book app development and marketing gathered today at the Media App Summit in New York to talk tools for discoverability and profitability.

Panelists stressed that discoverability begins with a quality product and understanding your target market.

"I know first-hand how painful discovery can be in the app marketplace," Matt Cavnar, VP of business development at Vook, told the audience. Publishers, he pointed out, often still have trouble getting traction for a good product in an environment where app creation has gotten easier and cheaper.