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
Looking to transform Hollywood’s pile of unproduced scripts into publishable ebooks, James West, a motion-picture industry entrepreneur, has launched Script Lit. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Dotdotdot imagines its users as one big book discussion group, with everyone wielding the same highlighter. Instapaper and Readability have both found success offering a simple, core interaction: save an article online to read somewhere else later. With both you can also follow what friends... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#social activity
#social sharing
The new children's book House of Secrets was written by a first-time novelist but there are already predictions that it will be a runaway bestseller. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2013-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book house
#runaway bestseller
Tom Tivnan reveals the whirlwind fortnight which took Lady Thatcher’s authorised biography... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#authorised biography
Over the course of its 100-year history, Harvard University Press in Cambridge, Mass., has had to navigate difficult times. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#100-year history
How do you live with the knowledge that your baby is dying? A radiant new memoir chronicles the nine months after a mother's worst nightmare came true.Emily Rapp is not one to sugarcoat hard truths, including the brutal diagnosis she and her husband received in January 2011 when they took their... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#memoir chronicles
#worst nightmare
Brenda Peterson is one of the growing number of authors who are working on self-published projects in addition to writing books released by traditional houses. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-03-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#author turns
#growing number
#traditional houses
Possibly the most successful house maid in the world, the children's book character Amelia Bedelia turns 50 on Tuesday. More than 35 million copies of the books have sold. Continue reading at ABC News
[ ABC News | 2013-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
More children are going digital, according to Scholastic's latest study, and the percentage of boys reading passionately and for fun is up, while girls are down. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#latest study
Looking back on this week's Digital Book World conference, we distill the event into three key ideas: price innovation, discoverability and authenticity. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#key ideas
Aptly titled new Tumblr "Lousy Book Covers" collects the delightfully dubious achievements in jacket design. The book Spending Christmas With a Yeti is already at a marketplace disadvantage, what with that title, but then there’s the book cover. Oh boy, where to start. The real-life... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book cover
#book covers
#chip kidd
#covers featured
Newspaper publishing vendors and professionals convene in Frankfurt for education, networking, and business opportunities Publishers, journalists, production vendors, and techies from every corner of the digital market met in Frankfurt, Germany, ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#business opportunities
Spain’s financial crisis and slump in book sales has led Spanish-language publishers to focus on Latin America, with agents bypassing Spain to sell rights directly in the region. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#financial crisis
#book sales
#latin america
A patent, titled “Display screen or portion thereof with animated graphical user interface,” gives Apple the exclusive right to the page turn in an e-reader application. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Apple now holds the patent for the appearance of their animation which makes it look as if the reader of an ebook is turning a physical page. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
As publishing conglomerates and technology firms become the dominant forces in an increasingly digital marketplace for the book and comics industries, opportunities are opening for smaller, more nimble independent media companies like Arch Enemy Entertainment. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Editor's Note: This story originally appears on FOLIO: sister site, minonline.com Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2012-11-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#sister site
Participants at the African Media Leaders Forum in Dakar, Senegal, today heard how twinning partnerships between African newspapers, and newspapers elsewhere, are leading the way to developing successful business strategies and strengthening financia ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
While many predicted Hurricane Sandy could follow in the footsteps of "Geronimo" and the Arab Spring--a shining moment for social media and citizen-journalism--Time turned to Instagram ahead of the storm. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2012-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#shining moment
As the Kindle goes on sale at Waterstones stores, MD James Daunt has been defending the highly criticized decision, insisting it is to his company's advantage. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-10-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#amazon kindle
#waterstones stores
#good idea