App Development

Gale Provides Greater Access to Research with New Google Partnership
June 30, 2015

When Book Business interviewed Paul Gazzolo, the newly-appointed SVP and global general manager of Gale, in February, he stated that it was time for Gale's reference information to enter the digital mainstream and meet students where they are. "Gale has tremendous opportunity to distinguish itself from others in the space by making sure that reference information isn't just locked in a vault or buried inside of a catalog," he said, "but rather is really pushed out to the user leveraging technology to enrich the whole learning experience." Gale's latest announcement, a partnership with Google and integration with its Apps for Education, is a significant step toward achieving this vision.

What the Hell Happens at a Publishing Hackathon?
June 29, 2015

Last week I described a "hackathon" as the book world's equivalent of a sporting event...well, having attended the CODEX Hackathon organized by Plympton to coincide with the American Library Association annual conference in San Francisco this past weekend - I can tell you that was far from the truth. For starters, it is very quiet. If I were to try and belabor the analogy, I would say that is is probably like the LeMans 24-hour road race, albeit without the roar of engines

Harlequin Launches BookClubbish, a New Site to Discuss And Share Books
June 8, 2015

Harlequin imprint MIRA Books has announced the launch of BookClubbish, a new site designed to share book and pop-culture related content with readers, booksellers, librarians, book bloggers and book clubs. Erika Imranyi, Executive Editor at MIRA Books said of the launch: "Everybody on the MIRA team loves books and chatting about their current reads. That passion spurred us to create a site that brings the same conversation to others who feel similarly. And it's why BookClubbish embraces books by other publishers, not just our own titles

BEA’s Startup Challenge Brings Publishers and Technologists Together
May 29, 2015

Although it is only in its second year, BookExpo's Startup Challenge has become one of my favorite parts of BEA. For those unfamiliar with the Challenge, it pits tech startups that serve the publishing industry against one another over the course of two days. Each startup is required to pitch their service to a panel of judges and four finalists will pitch live on-stage to the BEA audience. The winner takes home $10,000 and an elevated status in the industry.

CEO Allen Lau Explains How Wattpad Will Monetize Its ‘Hockey Stick Growth’
May 20, 2015

Whenever I speak with VCs about the next Canadian company they think will blow up on the global stage, the first word out of their mouth is usually "Wattpad." With over 40 million users and 125 million stories uploaded to the storytelling social platform, Wattpad might already be there.

On the most recent episode of BNN's The Disruptors, Wattpad CEO Allen Lau spoke with Amber Kanwar about how the company can monetize its hockey stick growth. While Lau claimed that getting Wattpad profitable "doesn't make sense right now,"

Converting From InDesign to Kindle
May 12, 2015

The basic InDesign to Kindle workflow is to export the INDD file to EPUB (Reflowable), edit the contents of the EPUB file to optimize the markup for KF8, then convert the modified EPUB to KF8 format with Kindle Previewer. Following are some of the edits that Callahan suggests you might want to make to the EPUB file before converting it to Kindle.

The 2015 Book Business Buyer’s Guide
April 1, 2015

The Book Business Buyer's Guide is a technology primer for book publishers: It's not meant to be comprehensive but rather offer a reference on the significant and emerging technology that is paving the way for the future of the book industry. Now in its second year, the Buyer's Guide is broken into four major categories that require publishers' attention: Ebook & App Solutions, Digital Conversion & Workflow Services, Marketing Automation & Email Marketing, and Ecommerce. The buyer's guide will continue to live online and evolve as new publishing and marketing technologies emerge.

Pearson’s Bethlam Forsa Shares Her Vision for Education’s Tech-Powered Future
April 1, 2015

Bethlam Forsa was born and raised in Addis, Ethiopia, where she says education can make a life-altering difference. Based on her upbringing, Forsa was determined to devote her life and expertise to a mission that shapes people's everyday lives. As president of Pearson's learning services, she's answering that call. Through the development of innovative learning technologies, Forsa aims to further the capacity she fervently believes education has to cause positive change in the world.