On Monday July 4th, the World Public Library's annual World eBook Fair launches, which will combine works from Project Gutenberg, the Internet Archive, and other public collections to create a massive 6.5 million title catalog. The collection will include not just ebooks but other media like music and movies, as well as sheet music and dance choreography. EBookNewser points out that there don't seem to be any events scheduled during the fair to increase visibility, which seems too bad. At any rate it runs until August 4th....

From the press release: Publishers Weekly has teamed up with social reading community Wattpad to create additional marketing opportunities for self-published authors who participate in the PW Select program. PW Select is a new initiative launched by Publishers Weekly in recognition of the growing self-publishing trade. A supplement listing self-published titles as well as reviews for at least twenty-five titles will be issued four times a year to PW’s audience of booksellers, librarians, publishers, distributors, wholesalers, agents and other media. By highlighting PW Select titles and reviewed works on Wattpad, self-published authors have the opportunity to reach the widest possible audience. The trade...

I've mentioned Wattpad before and said that for the developing world Java ereading on cellphones is the way to go. This has inspired a few skeptical comments by readers over the years. Now, Publishing Perspectives had interviewed Wattpad co-founder, Allen Lau, pictured above. According to Wattpad’s analytics, English-speaking readers accounted for 42% of total e-readers, with the next largest group being Vietnamese readers at 36%. Why Vietnam? “Our strong mobile support is helping us a lot,” says Lau, who originally hails from Hong Kong. “I think in Vietnam, most people don’t have access to computers, and if they do want that, they have...

I always find the quarterly Wattpad metrics report to be fascinating. It is one of the only regular surveys of ereading habits. Here is an excerpt from the latest report. You can find the full report here. Ivan Yuen, CTO and co-founder of Wattpad provides insight into the results: "We are continuously impressed with the variety of devices readers use to consume ebooks. Six to twelve months ago, people only thought about the major ereader offerings and the iPhone. But in the last quarter we've seen incredible growth in the usage of iPads and Android tablets, as well...

From their press release: In the first half of 2010, Wattpad has established cross-promotional partnerships with major self-publishing houses Smashwords, Lulu and Bubok. To assist writers in connecting with readers on the site, Wattpad is launching the Self-Published Writers Program, a new marketing initiative that creates additional value for the time authors spend promoting their work online. Authors who have accounts with one of Wattpad's Self-Publishing partners will be able to gain additional exposure through Wattpad channels based on their level of interaction. Wattpad provides a platform for self-published authors to expand their online presence to a dedicated reading...

According to iTunes: Wattpad: IOS4, enhanced part navigation, add My Profile tab eReader: fixed a book deletion problem for the on-device bookshelf. Changed the background on the iPad for the Find and Color Picker dialogs so that the controls can be seen easeir Kobo: choose from left or fully justified text layout from reading settings. Enjoy an improved animated page turn effect. Performance and stability improvements....

From the Wattpad press release I just received. Bubok is the leading self-publishing service for authors writing in Spanish: Now, Bubok authors may connect their work with Wattpad's readership and increase their audience by using Wattpad’s unique social networking platform. "Bubok aims to fulfill the dream of publishing for many authors, but also help their work reach the widest possible audience. Giving writers the chance to make their literature available on Wattpad allows authors the opportunity to reach thousands of new users that may be interested in reading and buying their books,” explains Ángel María Herrera, CEO of Bubok. 
 Wattpad...

From the press release: Wattpad, the world’s most popular ebook community, and Smashwords, the leading ebook publishing and distribution platform, have announced a partnership that will open up new publishing opportunities for thousands of indie authors. Under the terms of the agreement, Wattpad and Smashwords will cross-promote each other’s services and have added integration so that Wattpad users can sell books via Smashwords and Smashwords authors can promote free works on Wattpad, including, works-in-progress, complete works, or serial ebooks on Wattpad. Wattpad operates a social network for writers to connect with readers and share what they have written. Wattpad receives over 10 million...

Just updated my iPhone and noted that the Kindle and Wattpad apps have updates. Kindle is "optimized for iPhone 4 Retina display". In addition it says the following features will be in the next release: instant word lookup on included dictionary with 25,000 entries and definitions look up words in Google and Wikipedia search inside the book on iPad The Wattpad app update says: improved reading screen, fix start-up when not connected to internet, fix library editing bug....

From the press release: Wattpad has responded to the increase in mobile ereadership by adding several upgrades to its iPhone, iTouch and iPad application. Just in time for the International release of the iPad, readers can now access their favorite ebooks using Wattpad's improved app. As ebooks evolve into multimedia experiences, with embedded imagery, video elements and songs, the new Wattpad app for iPhone/iPad has made it simpler for ereaders to enjoy Wattpad content. ... Writers on Wattpad continue to add to their stories by posting You Tube videos, image slideshows and songs; creating unique, multi-media ebooks. The latest version of the...

Their new report is out and, as always, makes interesting reading. You can find the full report here. One point that the industry really should pay attention to is the importance of Java devices in the developing world. If I were a publisher I would be investigating how to monetize this. An excerpt: Social networking continues to grow in importance as a vehicle for promoting ebooks. Over one third of users have interacted at least once with other readers or authors. This trend is particularly apparent among English speaking users, where 80% have contributed comments or interacted with...

From a press release I received from them: Do you have a poem pacing about in the confines of your computer or your mind? Is it wild? Gentle? Hilarious? Tragic? Insane? Serious? Abstract? Concrete? All of the above? Or is it something completely different? Submit it to Wattpad and you may get published! Be sure to include the tag poetrycontest. The winners will be determined by Frontenac House. Submissions must be original, in English, and may not have been previously published anywhere else. Contest deadline July 31, 2010. Winners will be announced on September 15, 2010. The year 2010 marks the 10th...