The platform will offer passionate book fans and community influencers the opportunity to become ‘buzzers’ —allowing them to interact with and promote their favorite authors through their own social networks.
“Our aim is to serve authors, readers, agents and publishers by uncovering and showcasing new talent, and ultimately driving book sales through the use of Libboo’s proprietary technology,” said Chris Howard, Founder and CEO of Libboo. "With innovative industry leaders like HMH on board, we’re confident that Libboo is going to make big waves in the publishing world.”
Libboo will match buzzers with books they will love and want to share, and in return, buzzers will be able to earn rewards such as free e-books to distribute within their sphere of influence, access to exclusive content, and the ability to connect with the authors they buzz about.
“Libboo’s unique platform allows our authors to share their work with an even wider audience using the power of social media,” said Gary Gentel, President of HMH’s Trade and Reference Division. “We are pleased to support this pilot initiative, and look forward to working closely with Libboo as they refine their concept to provide maximum benefit for authors and readers.”
The partnership with fellow Boston-based publisher, HMH, will allow Libboo to showcase a number of bestselling and critically acclaimed front-list titles, including Diving Belles by Lucy Wood, The Heart and the Fist by Eric Greitens and How Children Succeed by Paul Tough, as well as a number of previously published titles by HMH authors.
About Libboo
Libboo is a TechStars company dedicated to creating the next digital bestseller by combining the power of authors and their greatest fans. Libboo's mission is to solve the timeless problem of talent getting lost in crowded spaces, and aims to help all talented authors - published or independent - be discovered by the audiences they deserve. It has partners and supporters ranging from the National Literacy Trust to a number of the world's largest publishers.
About Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Trade & Reference Division
With nearly two centuries of award-winning history, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Trade and Reference Division continues to publish some of the most renowned novels, non-fiction, children’s books, and reference works in hardcover, Mariner Books trade paperbacks, and e-books. Its distinguished author list includes eight Nobel Prize winners, 47 Pulitzer Prize winners, 13 National Book Award winners, and more than 100 Caldecott, Newbery, Printz, and Silbert Medal and Honor recipients. HMH publishes such distinguished authors as Philip Roth, Temple Grandin, Tim O'Brien, and Umberto Eco, as well as The Best American series®, The American Heritage® family of dictionaries, the Gourmet cookbook and other culinary classics, the Peterson Field Guides, and books by J.R.R. Tolkien. Along with a celebrated lineup of children’s authors, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group is the publisher of some of the best-loved children's books and book characters including Curious George, The Little Prince, and The Polar Express. For more information, visit www.hmhbooks.com.