Archive for July, 2009

DailyLit Scheduled Maintenance

DailyLit and the DailyLit blog will be offline for scheduled maintenance from 3am to 4am EST on the morning of Thursday, July 30. Don’t worry: nothing will be lost, and your installments will still be delivered. If they’re scheduled for delivery between 3am and 4am, you’ll get them after the site goes back online at 4:00. Since this blog will be down during maintenance, check our Twitter account (@DailyLit) for updates.

DPG is Hitting its Stride this Fall

The response to the Digital Publishing Group that we’ve put together has been phenomenal.  It’s been referred to as the “best kept secret in the publishing industry.”

We’re finalizing the schedule of events for this fall, but here’s a taste of what’s coming:

Andrew Savikas, VP of Digital Initiatives at O’Reilly Media, will be speaking to the group on September 8th.  I’ve heard him speak a number of times and have to say he’s one of my favorite speakers.  More information on his talk and RSVPs will be coming shortly on Meetup.

Seth Godin, bestselling author on marketing and a digital media expert, will be speaking on “How to Fix the Publishing Industry.” September 24, 12:30-1:30, Midtown Manhattan. Folks are encouraged to bring their boss/colleague or a key player in the publishing industry (or their office!) who is open to taking traditional publishing and turning it on its head. RSVPs to open on Meetup shortly.

We’re planning a number of other events, including a seminar on SEO (Search Engine Optimization)/SEM (Search Engine Marketing) and a brown-bag with Michael Healy, the CEO-disignee of the Book Rights Registry who will be explaining (in words we can all understand!) the Google Book Settlement. More information to follow on Meetup.

And if you can’t wait until the autumn for your DPG fix, we’re holding a happy hour on Thursday, August 20. Details are available on Meetup.

Question of the Week #35: Literary Friends

This Sunday is Friendship Day. Which literary character do you think would make the best friend? How about the worst? Why? Share your response in our Question of the Week forum.

Question of the Week #34: You: The Book

Imagine You: The Book. Is there a type of literature (or specific book) that you think you’d be? Why? Jump to our Question of the Week forum to share your response.

Founder of Tumblr Speaking to Digital Publishing Group

I’m excited to announce that David Karp, the founder of blogging platform Tumblr, will be the featured speaker at the July 22 meeting of the Digital Publishing Group. Due to the success he’s achieved at a young age, Karp has become known as something of a “boy wonder.” As the New York Observer put it in their 2008 profile:

“Even in a world of Internet business precocity, Mr. Karp’s trajectory stands out. He started interning for the animation producer Fred Seibert when he was 14…soon, an employee of Mr. Seibert’s put him in touch with the owners of UrbanBaby, where he saved enough money to allow him to go to Japan….And when UrbanBaby sold to CNET in July 2006, Mr. Karp was able to cash out the sweat equity he’d built up.

“By the time Mr. Karp was 19, a new word had entered the lexicon: “tumblelog,” which referred to short-form blogging…Mr. Karp says he ‘kept waiting’ for one of the established blog platform players to set up a platform for tumblelogging. When, after a year, that hadn’t happened, Mr. Karp decided to do it himself.”

We can’t wait to hear David’s thoughts on the digital world.

The Digital Publishing Group is an industry group designed to educate, inspire, and empower publishing professionals to take advantage of the digital space. The group holds monthly events featuring talks by leaders in the digital realm. All industry professionals (and aspiring professionals), including publishers, agents, authors, bloggers, service providers, and booksellers are welcome to attend.

The Digital Publishing Group is sponsored by DailyLit (www.dailylit.com). Previous events have featured Debbie Stier, SVP and Associate Publisher of HarperStudio (co-sponsored by the Book Industry Study Group), Gail Glickman Horwood, SVP, Digital Programming & Strategy at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and Neelan Choksi, CEO of Lexcycle/Stanza. For more information, visit the Digital Publishing Group’s site on Meetup.

DailyLit selected #1 on List of Top 10 Book Websites

Thanks to the folks over at the Sunday Times, DailyLit was just selected #1 on their list of the Top 10 Book Websites. We’re doing the DailyLit dance!

Question of the Week #33: Go International

In honor of Bastille Day (July 14), which sparked the French Revolution, and our Big Read author Jhumpa Lahiri’s birthday, this week we’re thinking globally. Who is your favorite international author? Why? Head to our Question of the Week forum to share your response.

Get Short Stories by Best-selling Author Jeffery Deaver for $.99

Exciting news!  Best-selling thriller author Jeffery Deaver is now available on DailyLit. And, the Deaver launch also brings about another DailyLit first: you can subscribe to the full book, Twisted: Collected Short Stories, or just a single story–which, for a limited time only, will cost you just$.99. The stories, like Beautiful and Without Jonathan, are full of the twists and suspense that have made Deaver a prize-winning author. For less than a buck you can sneak a few thrills into your day. Happy reading!

DailyLit News: July 2009

Note from the CEO

We have a real treat for you this month. One of my favorite authors, Pulitzer Prize-winning Jhumpa Lahiri, is making a short story available for FREE to DailyLit readers. We’re also offering a spy thriller by best-selling author Joe Finder for FREE. And, for some short summertime reads, check out stories by best-selling authors Jeffery Deaver and Mary Higgins Clark. Oh, and if you appreciate what we’ve been doing, come become a fan on Facebook.

Susan Danziger
Founder and CEO, DailyLit
susan@dailylit.com

DailyLit’s Big Read: Pulitzer Prize-winning Author Jhumpa Lahiri

Our new July Big Read is (drumroll please…) Jhumpa Lahiri’s short story, “Hell-Heaven,” from Unaccustomed Earth. For those of you not familiar with Jhumpa Lahiri, she’s a best-selling, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and deserves all the glowing praise there is; she’s simply amazing! Here she tells the story of a family forever changed by one woman’s quiet love. READ FOR FREE.

Featured Free Thriller: Paranoia by Best-selling Author Joe Finder

Best-selling author Joe Finder comes to DailyLit with the spy thriller Paranoia, made completely FREE for our readers. Here’s what you have in store: when a slacker employee crosses his boss, to avoid criminal charges he needs to spy on a rival corporation. Soon he’s in way over his head—and then the real nightmare begins. READ FOR FREE.

Reader Challenge: Summer Love in One Sentence

Inspiration for this month’s reader challenge came from Jhumpa Lahiri, who’s known for her turns of phrase that are short yet revealing. You’ll see what I mean when you read “Hell-Heaven”, this month’s Big Read, which tells the story of an unexpected love. In a single sentence—that’s right, a single sentence—tell your own story of summer love. Share your single-sentence love story in our Reader Challenge Forum.

Short Stories from Jeffery Deaver and Mary Higgins Clark

…are now here! Jeffery Deaver, described as the “grand master of the plot twist,” comes to DailyLit with thrilling crime stories. Get single stories for just $.99 (for a limited time only!) or read the whole collection, Twisted. And we’ve got mystery stories from Mary Higgins Clark’s The Lottery Winner, which spent 12 weeks on PW’s bestseller list.

Inspiring Tips for Your Life

- The Life Plan: Many of us would like to make our lives better but don’t know where to start. The Life Plan: 700 Simple Ways to Change Your Life for the Better offers daily tips and inspiration to improve your life throughout the year. Check it out HERE.

- My Start-Up Life: Here’s a book that will either inspire you or thoroughly depress you! At the age of 12 Ben Casnocha founded a company; by 19 he was a CEO. Just think of him as the Doogie Howser of Silicon Valley. Read it HERE.

Classics by Request

Thanks to requests from readers “Cloward” and “dreamdust,” we’ve just launched an early collection of poems by C.S. Lewis. Spirits in Bondage, one of Lewis’s first published works, is now available for FREE on DailyLit. Read C.S. Lewis for FREE.

DailyLit is on Facebook

DailyLit is on Facebook! Become a fan of DailyLit to see who else is reading with us and show your friends what you spend all your time at “work” doing. Plus, you’ll get the latest from DailyLit and find out about new books and features right as they happen. Become a fan and share your thoughts about DailyLit HERE. (Oh, and @DailyLit is on Twitter, too!)

DailyLit’s Big Read: Best-selling Author Jhumpa Lahiri

I’m thrilled to announce that this month’s Big Read is a short story written by Pulitzer-Prize winning author Jhumpa Lahiri. I’ve wanted to feature her stories for a while now since they’re a favorite of mine. And thanks to the folks over at Knopf, we’re able to offer “Hell-Heaven” (from Unaccustomed Earth) FOR FREE to DailyLit readers.  It’s about relationships and family and love (I don’t think I can do it justice but you can check out the amazing reviews on our book page).  I hope you’ll join me (for my second time) in reading this story.  You’re in for a real treat!

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