TORONTO — Canadian online storytelling platform Wattpad is bringing clickable reads to a bookstore near you.
The Toronto-based company announced in a press release on Thursday that it’s setting its sights on the offline book market with the launch of a new publishing division.
It says Wattpad Books will leverage data-based insights from its audience of more than 70 million to publish proven hits from its diverse online community of writers.
Wattpad Books plans to roll out its first batch of releases across Canada this fall in partnership with Vancouver-based distributer Raincoast Books.
The slate includes six genre-spanning titles for young adults, some of which the company says have been read tens of millions of times online.
Wattpad says hundreds of stories on its platform have already been turned into best-selling books through partners and adapted into TV, film, and digital projects.
Among the company’s biggest success stories is Anna Todd, who transitioned from a Wattpad reader into one of its most popular authors. Todd’s “After” series inspired by superstar boy band One Direction netted millions of reads, transforming the fledgling Los Angeles-based fan-fiction writer into a bestselling publishing powerhouse.
The Canadian Press
