By encouraging the young to publish fan fiction, story-sharing startup Movellas is tackling English children's low literacy levelsLiteracy levels among English young adults compare poorly with those in other industrialised countries, according to an OECD survey last autumn which ranked England a "must try harder" 22nd out of 24 in tests for literacy.Turning this around is a challenge that appeals to Movellas, an online story-sharing startup. Taking to heart the maxim that "reading for pleasure" is vital to a child's educational attainment, the company's founders believe that encouraging young people to write about their passions and share those stories with others can have a positive effect on literacy.In other words, if your daughter's writing One Direction fan fiction on her phone, she could be on her way to an A* at English GCSE. Or, at the very least, a book deal. "Movellian" Emily Baker's 1D-inspired Loving the Band was snapped up by Penguin. Helen Hiorns's The Name on Your Wrist was published by Random House after she won the inaugural young movellist of the year, sponsored by Sony and judged by children's laureate Malorie Blackman.High-profile success stories can help build its user base (200,000 and growing), but Movellas does more than sell the dream of literary fame.When surveyed, 50% of respondents said Movellas had made them enjoy reading more; 70% enjoyed writing more. Importantly, 20% of its users get free school meals (about the national average). Only 25%... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with:
#national average
#team working
#fan fiction
Ewan Morrison explains how the 'seven big ideas in the world' dominate culture and can help you prepare for the next book publishing trends. The post 7 Ideas to Help You Anticipate the Future of Publishing appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#big ideas
#publishing appeared
Harlequin, the world's most famous English-language romance fiction publisher, is joining the "Netflixication" of ebooks. For the next year, Scribd will be the exclusive subscription partner for Harlequin and its various imprints. The deal will bring 15,000 titles from the Harlequin backlist to... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2014-10-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#offering books
#mira books
#subscription service
#kindle devices
Dianne Kangisser opened the New York City chapter of Literacy Volunteers of America (LVA), a nonprofit that provides free literacy services to adults, in 1973, using $500 in federal grant money. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Scottish book production company Palimpsest is to become a publisher in its own right, with new... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#scottish writing
A coterie of aggressive, creative publishing houses are fighting to expand the literary horizons of Kenyans and bring their books to the world. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-09-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
We don’t deal directly with publishers at all,” says Jarad Millet, who works in collection management at Birmingham Public Library in Alabama. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#deal directly
When Maria Mutch needed advice on how to handle PR of her debut memoir, she found guidance and solace through Grub Street Writer's Launch Lab in Boston. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#debut memoir
Celebrating its fifth birthday this month, Harlequin TEEN—Harlequin’s dedicated imprint for young adult books—has quite a few things to be excited about. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Many publications claim to be popular with millennials, but not all publications that do so actually garner a significant Millennial audience. The post Turns out traditional publishers do just fine with millennials appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2014-08-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#traditional publishers
Now that eBooks have enabled anyone to be a published author, more would-be scribes are submitting their work directly through digital storefronts like Kindle Direct Publishing. Yet even with this radical change in the book industry, the e-publishing process is hardly simple. In fact the... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2014-08-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#google docs
#published author
#work directly
#radical change
#book industry
Major book publishers such as Penguin Random House and HarperCollins are once again investing heavily in promotional materials for the five days of Comic-Con International: San Diego, held at the San Diego Convention Center. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#comic-con international
#investing heavily
#promotional materials
#san diego
Distinguished children’s author Allan Ahlberg [pictured] has declined the inaugural... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Lynn Brunelle remembers that her “inner geek” first began to show itself in the middle of her fifth and sixth grade “horse phase.” She didn’t just like horses; she wanted to know every single scientific and beautiful thing about them. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#beautiful thing
While the bookseller and publisher are battling over mundane business specifics, the state of publishing hangs in the balance. Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2014-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Jeff Hobbs went to Yale. So did Robert Peace. Jeff Hobbs went on to write a novel, The Tourists, that became a national bestseller. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
You couldn’t find a more optimistic person than David Caron, owner and co-publisher of ECW Press, when it comes to the future of the publishing industry, and he is very proud of the company he’s been with for 10 years. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#publishing industry
To mark the June 6 release of the new sci-fi blockbuster film, "Edge of Tomorrow," starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, Viz Media has released a new paperback edition of the book the film is based on, in addition to a new graphic novel adaptation of the book. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#paperback edition
March marked the one-year anniversary of the formation of the Readium Foundation (Readium.org), an independent nonprofit started with the objective of developing commercial-grade open source publishing technology software. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#org turns
#open source
#one-year anniversary
Author and comedian David Baddiel has written his first children’s novel. The Parent... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
As soon as Arthur Frommer bought back his namesake brand from Google a year ago, he and his daughter Pauline, who is now copublisher and a 50% partner in Frommer Media, quickly got to work on the first new line of guide books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#guide books