By Genevieve Shore, Group Digital Director
The theme of this edition provides the perfect opportunity to showcase some of our most exciting digital projects as we endeavour to bring reading and books to a younger generation of digital natives. As we all know, children are spending more and more time on computers at home and at school, using their mobiles to manage their social lives and their entertainment and experimenting with all forms of digital media. It is becoming increasingly vital for publishing companies to understand this use, reach these channels and ensure our great publishing , authors, illustrators and licensors are able to reach a younger audience where, when and how they want us to. I hope you'll agree that the selection below shows that we are really leading the way.
UK
Penwizard & Peppa Pig's Personalized Print-on-Demand Publishing Pact
Ladybird and Penwizard have announced a new agreement which will see Peppa Pig, the hugely popular children's character from E1 Entertainment, embark on a new direction in print on demand publishing. Ladybird has published Peppa Pig in a range of book formats since 2005 and has seen enormous success with over 1.1 million books sold to date*.
The new agreement with Penwizard will allow Ladybird to offer consumers the ultimate in personalised gifting. Visitors to www.peppapigandme.com will be able to place their own child into Peppa's world by creating and naming an avatar based on the child's appearance. The end result is a completely unique book starring the child for whom the book is intended. A couple of clicks later and the book is printed and mailed to the recipient.
Key Words Project Helps Nigerian Children Learn English
Ladybird is the only Penguin business to have been selected to work with Pearson Education's New and Emerging Technologies team. We are taking part in a brand new mobile phone initiative. Paired with Mobile Xcetera, Ladybird explores how to digitally deliver Key Words homework material, via mobile devices, to schoolchildren and their parents in Nigeria learning English.
BBC Children's Books Go Online
In the Night Garden Widget Connects Routines to Readers
BBC Children's Books has recently been given approval from BBC Worldwide to create an In the Night Garden story — time widget, directly linking the storybooks with bedtime. The widget can be personalised to suit the child's routine, offering a selection of items to choose from, including 'Have a bath,' 'Put on pyjamas,' pleeeease go to sleep! Initially the widget will be hosted from on www.inthenightgarden.co.uk and is due to launch before Christmas.
The Darksmith Legacy: Doctor Who Interactive!
This year saw the launch of The Darksmith Legacy, the first — ever Doctor Who cross-platform publishing series. A series of 10 books are being released over the course of 2009, each offering access to www.thedarksmithlegacy.com, where readers use the knowledge gained from the Doctor's adventure to battle the monsters for themselves. By completing the games, players work collectively to earn Eternity Points which add up to release exclusive content such as alternative endings, tips from the authors and illustrators, and free downloads. To date we have had 25,000 vistors to the site and have sold 70,000 books in the series.
Following the success of The Darksmith Legacy, we are working with the BBC on ideas for a central online destination for Doctor Who books which would provide us with a platform to communicate directly with fans and host interactive content planned for 2010.
Puffin Books launches pioneering digital story-telling kit for children
We Make Stories, Puffin UK's new site where children can create, share and print a variety of innovative stories using a unique set of digital tools, has launched. The site, funded by the Pearson innovation fund, consists of six tools designed to inspire and encourage literacy, creativity and storytelling skills in 6-12 year olds. Available online at www.wemakestories.com members are able to create pop — up books, customize audiobooks, design their own comics, produce exciting treasure maps and learn how to create a variety of entertaining adventures.
Spinebreakers Join Up with High-Profile Partners
Spinebreakers.co.uk was the first teen book community run by teens for teens giving them a space online where they can discover new books, chat to other readers and ultimately have their needs as a social networking generation satisfied. Our sole aim was to put books on teenagersŐ cultural landscape alongside listening to music, gaming, watching TV, going out with friends and interacting on the internet. Its fair to say we have done this and more.
One of the best things Spinebreakers has taught us is that the next generation of readers are very effectively marketing to each other through written reviews, video trailers, (http://www.spinebreakers.co.uk/books/Pages/AllBookRelatedVideo.aspx) features and in conversations. Spinebreakers lets them write alternative endings, create new covers, make movie trailers, write short stories, interview favourite authors, give book recommendations...the list is endless.
Spinebreakers has also been involved in a number of high profile partnerships to offer young readers incentives and rewards for their creativity and involvement on the site, including projects with MTV, Divine Chocolate, Channel 4, the BBC and Island Records. A particularly successful partnership and a great opportunity for the teenagers was with Orange and the Orange Prize for Fiction 2009 where members of the Spinebreakers editorial 'crew' were invited to form the first ever Youth Judging Panel to engage younger readers with the literary prize. The teenagers read, judged short listed and blogged alongside the official judges to provide an alternative 'teen choice' winning title.
This autumn, Spinebreakers will be collaborating with the National Theatre Discover Programme to launch The Big Break young scriptwriting competition where five winners will be invited to spend a day at the National Theatre Studio working with professional writers, National Theatre directors and actors to workshop and develop their scripts.
US
New Technology Drives the Success of New Penguin Young Readers Titles
Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
Sarah Dessen's Along for the Ride debuted at #1 on the New York Times children's chapter books bestseller list and sold more in its first day on sale than Dessen's last novel sold in its first week, with an initial print run of 250,000. Penguin Young Readers has now launched Sarah-Land, a social networking community that has attracted thousands of members since March 2009.
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Originally published in hardcover by Razorbill in October 2007, with an initial printing of fewer than 20,000 copies, Thirteen Reasons Why debuted on the New York Times children's chapter book bestseller list in Spring 2008 and stayed on the list for five weeks, more than six months after initial publication. This prompted the decision to repackage and republish the title in hardcover in Fall 2008. The enhanced hardcover edition of Thirteen Reasons Why went on sale in October 2008, published in conjunction with a special video promotion viewed by more than 100,000 readers, and an official website. More copies of Thirteen Reasons Why were shipped in the first half of 2009 (150,575) than all of 2008 (more than 136,600). There are now over 400,000 copies of the book in print. The book has been the New York Times bestseller list for more than 40 weeks overall. Thirteen Reasons Why has been translated into 19 languages and counting.
New Penguin Group (USA) Online Network Gives Readers Exclusive Access to Their Favourite Books and Authors
Penguin Group (USA) has launched From the Publisher's Office, a new area within the penguin.com site that houses exclusive video and audio content created and produced primarily by Penguin staff members. Readers are granted intimate access to the authors and experts involved in creating the titles and stories that they know and love. There are two sections of the site that are aimed directly at children and young adults: YA Central and Penguin Storytime.
YA Central is an area where teens can sit down with today's best Young Adult writers — accessing exclusive author/ reader interviews and book trailers.
Penguin Storytime is an area where picture books are brought to life with videos of live readings as well as interviews with well — known children's authors and illustrators and other key figures in young people's literature.
Content from the site has been added to YouTube and will also be added to iTunes.
Australia
Online Marketing Campaigns Boost Specky Magee and Vampire Academy Series
www.speckymagee.com.au, the site for the Penguin Australia children's series Specky Magee, was re — launched to great effect at the beginning of the 2009 Australian Rules Football season in March. The books have a strong AFL theme and are written by former AFL great Garry Lyon and bestselling children's writer Felice Arena. The core attraction of the new site, an AFL tipping competition, now has 700 registered tippers.
Penguin Australia launched a standalone site, www.penguin.com.au/vampireacademy, for the Vampire Academy series, by Richelle Mead. With the author so active online, and a huge groundswell of online fans in Australia, we felt the series needed a dedicated space for the Aussie fans. To keep the site fresh and interesting, each week we've posted updates from the Australian VA Headquarters, with information about the series, the upcoming tour, competitions, polls and book club information. One of the most popular competitions to date has been the VA roving reporter competition, for which we partnered with leading teen magazine Dolly. Jessie Woods from Queensland was the first winner — you can see her entry here.
Penguin Australia Reaches New Heights Online
Penguin Australia's marketing team are having another record year online. penguin.com.au has again been awarded the Hitwise Award for best website in the Arts and Entertainment category. This is the third year in a row the team has taken out this industry accolade. Friends and followers to Penguin's Facebook (2,200), Twitter (3,370) and YouTube accounts are growing at a rapid rate, with a recent competition on Facebook resulting in a 60% jump in the number of friends on Penguin's Facebook page.
Penguin Australia launches Graeme Base iPhone app
Penguin Australia has signed a licensing deal for an Apple iPhone application for Jungle Drums, one of Graeme Base's bestselling picture books. Click here for a sample. This is the first time an Australian picture book has been made available in this format. The app launched in July.
Starting with the next edition of the Bird, this will become a guest column where we'll invite digital experts from around the Group to give their insights into our digital world. As of this month I take on a new role as Director of Digital Strategy at Pearson plc. It was always going to be a wrench to leave Penguin but I am consoled by knowing that we have a hugely talented group of people here who are more than ready to tackle the challenges ahead. And I plan to stay very close to Penguin's digital activities — you can't get rid of me that easily! hahahahahahah