Feature BookTech


then keep young people and adults reading as much and as widely as possible, then deepen their passion by connecting them to the authors who write them. And each company uses a different platform and choice of technology to engage, stimulate and share a passion for storytelling at various points in the reader’s lifetime. Find out more about the six companies below. All eyes will be on this year’s finalists when they pitch


their vision for their business live at FutureBook 2017 to an audience of future-thinking publishing professionals and a panel of top judges. Last year’s winner, Chris Sim of Kadaxis, said pitch- ing was an amazing experience as he received impartial critique from industry experts and insightful feedback from judges. Though the companies go head to head in a competitive pitch-off, Sim talked about the sense of camaraderie among the finalists, and described the experience as an “excellent opportunit to network and


Introducing: the BookTech finalists 2017


Six reading-related start-ups will participate in a live pitch-off at FutureBook 2017: ahead of the event, Bec Evans meets them


O


Watch the six finalists pitch, put forward your


own questions, and join the judges and audience of publishing profession- als at #FutureBook17.


Authorfy


Authorfy is on a mission to create a literacy revo- lution that changes the way children’s authors connect to readers. Its online platform is designed to appeal to the YouTube generation by providing author-gen- erated online and video content, supported by traditional book extracts and worksheets. It hopes to make reading and writing cool and, in turn, improve literacy rates, boost book sales and help to form a genera- tion of avid readers and writers.


www.thebookseller.com


NE WORD LINKS all the BookTech Company of the Year 2017 finalists, and it’s not technology. It’s reading.


Each of the six companies engages with the writ-


ten word—grabbing the atention of children through immersive storytelling, connecting authors with read- ers, delivering books to your door, or sharing reading and writing with friends—to promote reading for life. Tech is a big part of their delivery, but it’s definitely put in service to a strongly conceived vision, rather than being the star.


Looking at them together, a pleasing journey unfolds. These early-stage start-ups engage children with stories,


Time Traveler Tours


Imagine a mash-up of Horrible Histories and Pokémon Go and you have Time Traveler Tours. Brought to you by Griffin- docs Media, the com- pany designs and builds interactive, story-driven experiences for young people. Its #TurnHisto- ryOn campaign bring his- tory alive using the latest digital tools, like gamifi- cation and AR, delivered via native apps or con- versational interfaces (chatbots).


Sweek


Netherlands-based Sweek wants to stimulate reading and writing on a global scale. It offers a social reading and writing app that helps readers like, share, com- ment and follow stories, as well as helping writ- ers to reach fans. Add in self-publishing and direct selling and it’s got all aspects of publishing covered—on mobile.


compete with other publishing start-ups from around the world. It’s not oſten you get to share your company’s story on a platform like the FutureBook Awards.” Judging the pitches will be seasoned investor and


start-up adviser Paul Field, c.e.o., EMEA, of TouchCast, a New York-based company whose video technologies are transforming communication for clients such as Accenture, WPP and the BBC. He will be joined by Rebecca Smart, m.d. of Ebury.


Formerly c.e.o. of the Osprey Group, Smart has been hailed as “one of the publishing industry’s leading thinkers”; she won FutureBook’s Most Inspiring Digital Publishing Person award in 2011.


Completing the panel is Asi Sharabi, co-founder and c.e.o. of Wonderbly. He started Lost My Name as a DIY project with some friends and created a funded tech and storytelling start-up, and now it’s now a worldwide publishing success. The company won the FutureBook Start-Up Award in 2014.


Reading in Heels


Founded by editors Alice Revel and Caroline Finn, Reading in Heels is a monthly book box subscription that pro- motes female writers and female-founded brands. It marries books with a “me-time” experience and beauty/lifestyle products, with the aim of encouraging people to switch their phones off and pick up a book more often.


Bookship


American company The Hawaii Project has cre- ated social reading app Bookship, which lets users share reading experiences with family, friends and co-workers. Aimed squarely at the Snapchat and Instagram generation, it offers a mobile-first, camera- ready sharing experience within a chat interface.


unrd


Unrd is all about immer- sive fiction. Its first app, Last Seen Online, used multiple media to deliver content in real time. Taking place over seven days, this fictional chat story centres on a miss- ing girl, and her family and friends’ attempts to discover what happened to her. With plans for a second tale, unrd aims to scale its unique storytell- ing experience.


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