New Social eBooks Retailer Zola Books Launches Private Beta, Raises $1M From Prominent Authors

Zola Books, a new social eBooks site to discover, buy and discuss books, just announced that it is launching its private beta today. The company also announced that it has raised $1 million in seed funding from prominent authors, including Audrey Niffenegger (The Time Traveler’s Wife), Josh Bazell, (Beat the Reaper) and Chandler Burr (The Emperor of Scent). Former Time, Inc. executive Bill Shapiro, the former top editor of Life, is cutting back his time at Time to join Zola Books as the company’s head of innovation and strategy.