Smashwords Offers eBook Distribution for Apple's iBookstore

(PRESS RELEASE) Los Gatos, Calif., April 5, 2010 -- Smashwords, a leading publisher and distributor of ebooks, now offers independent authors access to the new iBookstore through a distribution agreement with Apple.

"The iPad is a true second generation e-reading device, which I believe will
introduce millions of new readers to the joys of ebooks," said Mark Coker, founder
of Smashwords. "Our agreement makes it fast, free and easy for independent authors and publishers around the world to make their ebooks available on the iPad."

Smashwords currently publishes nearly 10,000 original ebooks from over 4,000
authors and 150 small independent publishers. Smashwords publishes over 1,000
new ebooks each month. Many Smashwords authors are professional authors previously published by large publishers.

The Smashwords service is free to authors and publishers. To publish with Smashwords, authors and publishers simply register for a free account, format their manuscript to the specifications of the Smashwords Style Guide at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/52, and then upload the file as a Microsoft Word .doc document.

Smashwords automatically converts the book into multiple ebook formats - readable
on any e-reading device - and then makes the book available for sale to a worldwide audience. Books that meet certain mechanical requirements, as outlined at http://www.smashwords.com/about/how_to_publish_ipad_ebooks
gain inclusion in the Smashwords Premium Catalog. Smashwords distributes its
Premium Catalog to multiple ebook retailers including the Apple iBookstore.

Ebooks represent the fastest growing segment of the book publishing industry
today. According the International Digital Publishing Forum, wholesale ebook
sales in the United States for the month of January, 2010 grew 261 percent over
the same month a year earlier (http://blog.smashwords.com/2010/03/ebook-market-exploding-says-new-idpf.html).

Thousands of independent authors around the world are contributing to the rise
of ebooks by using ebook publishing platforms such as Smashwords to bypass traditional publishers and instantly publish and sell their works to a global audience.