News

Disney Publishing Worldwide launched Disney Digital Books, a subscription service to offer childer online access to interactive flip books. More than 500 of Disney's collection (it prints 250 million children's books and 450 million magazines each year) will be available at launch.



The online books feature flip technology, similar to that used in digital magazines, to simulate the print reading experience. A story-builder feature allows children to create and share their own stories; sound effects are also built into the interactive platform. The service is $79.95 a year, or monthly for $8.95, for up to three children (or parents). The company will add titles twice a month. Print figures heavily in the Disney promotion: three million printed postcards will be distributed at screenings of Disney films, along with social media and advertising aimed at 14 million parents, reports the New York Times.

Analysts suggest Disney Publishing's choice of an online subscription model could further hasten a direct-to-online publishing model, which has been growing since Amazon launched its Kindle e-book reader.  A joint venture between The Daily Beast, a blog, and publisher Perseus Books Group,  will see titles issued first as e-books, and then as 150-page paperbacks sold through online retail outlets like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The books will cover political and cultural topics first addressed on the Web site, along with personal memoirs

http://www.graphicartsonline.com/article/355944-Disney_Books_Going_Digital.php?nid=3470&source=title&rid=16420411.