Maureen McMahon

Not too long ago, just making an app made news—especially in the book world, where the utility (and desirability) of book apps was a subject of some debate. As publishers have come to see books as multimedia brands, however, the terms of the debate have shifted, from whether book apps have a place to when. Apps can accomplish many things when executed right—from content enhancement to marketing to fun and games, helping publishers meet audiences where they are and build loyalty to books, brands and authors. Realizing this, a few companies have gotten pretty sophisticated in their, ahem, app-roach, as the following examples show.

Thousands of publishing executives from the book and magazine publishing industries will convene at the New York Marriott Marquis, Times Square, March 19-21, for the Publishing Business Conference & Expo—North America’s largest conference and expo of its kind.

The conference—produced by Publishing Executive and Book Business (industry-leading business)—features more than 40 sessions and nearly 100 speakers, including: David Carey, President, Hearst Magazines; Josh Tyrangiel, Editor, Bloomberg Businessweek; Josh Quittner, Editorial Director, Flipboard; David Carr, Columnist and Reporter, The New York Times; Deborah Forte, President, Scholastic Media; Marcus Leaver, President, Sterling Publishing Co. Inc. (owned by Barnes & Noble); Michela O’Connor Abrams, President, Dwell Media (who is also the conference chair); Maureen McMahon, President/Publisher, Kaplan Publishing; Peter Meirs, VP, Production Technologies, Time Inc.; Matt Bean, AVP, Mobile, Social and Emerging Media, Rodale Inc.; and Christopher McKenzie, VP & Director, Institutional Sales, Americas & EMEA, Wiley InterScience Sales, Wiley.

The year 2011 may well go down as the annum of the e-reader. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Sony and Kobo went all-in for holidays to get their e-readers, tablets and apps into as many hands, purses and briefcases as possible. In 2012, we'll see the results of that push, as publishers anticipate the next step in the digital evolution. Book Business interviewed executives across a wide swath of the industry, from giant trade publishers to university presses, educational outfits and upstart indies. We found that while digital is on the march, print is far from dead, and the next bold move in the industry may be maximizing the synergies between the two.

In a time of significant flux in the industry, publishing executives are faced with more pressure than ever to examine their businesses and make decisions that will lead them to a profitable future. Book Business checked in with the leaders of publishing companies of various sizes and scopes—from Scholastic to Springer to Merriam-Webster to Triple Crown—to find out what their best business decisions of the year have been.

With so many book apps on the market tailored for kids, Book Business wanted to get to the heart of some more adult apps.

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