Scribd Signs Global Deal With Smashwords To Offer Readers 225,000 Books By Independent Authors

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Scribd, an e-book subscription service featuring 100,000+ titles including thousands of bestsellers and new releases, today announced it has signed a deal with Smashwords, the world's largest distributor of independent e-books, to make available Smashwords titles on Scribd. Smashwords brings Scribd a catalog of over 225,000 e-books from 70,000 authors and publishers.

There are two components to the agreement with Smashwords.  Smashwords will supply books to Scribd's new e-book subscription service, where for $8.99 per month subscribers can enjoy unlimited reading.  Additionally, Smashwords e-books will also be available for individual sale to Scribd customers.

The partnership offers Smashwords authors the ability to distribute their books across Scribd's services on the iPhone, iPad, Android mobile devices, and web browsers. As part of the deal, Scribd will help Smashwords authors by providing e-book marketing tools such as proprietary author data and merchandising to Scribd's audience of 80+ million users from around the world.

"Since we started the company, Scribd's mission has always been about creating an ecosystem to democratize content, and bring together a community of writers and readers," said Trip Adler, CEO and co-founder of Scribd.  "Smashwords authors include everything from New York Times bestsellers to up-and-coming writers across a diverse range of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. I know our readers will be excited to have access to these works as part of our subscription service."  

As part of its commitment to Smashwords, Scribd is offering the following special marketing initiatives and tools to help Smashwords authors that will drive significant value to indie authors:

• Smashwords'and other indie books will be featured throughout Scribd's curated book merchandising, including on its homepage in its new ScribdSelects merchandising feature
• Smashwords authors will each have a profile page, which authors can use to promote their own books and the books they like reading
• Scribd will help Smashwords authors get to know their readership with a custom data dashboard 
• Each Smashwords author will receive a one-year subscription to Scribd's new subscription service so they can engage with Scribd as a reader in addition to as an author
• Scribd will feature Smashwords authors on its blog and social media channels

"I'm thrilled to learn about the partnership between Smashwords and Scribd," said Quinn Loftis, a USA Today-bestselling Smashwords author of nine young adult paranormal romance titles, including the seven-book Grey Wolves series. "I look forward to distributing all my titles to Scribd via Smashwords because I appreciate the opportunity to reach more readers.  My fans will appreciate the incredible value represented by Scribd's subscription service."

"Ever since Scribd launched in 2007, I've admired their publishing platform, their commitment to content creators and their social reading technology," said Mark Coker, CEO and founder of Smashwords.  "Scribd has built a massive audience of millions of readers, and these readers are now accessible to the 70,000+ authors and small independent presses that publish and distribute with Smashwords.  I'm looking forward to working in partnership to introduce Scribd's customers to the amazing talent within the Smashwords catalog."

ABOUT SCRIBD:
Scribd offers a subscription service with premier books including New York Times bestsellers, classics, and reader favorites in every genre. Scribd also features millions of written works contributed by users around the world. Launched in 2007 by Trip Adler and Jared Friedman and backed by Y Combinator, Charles River Ventures, and Redpoint Ventures, Scribd is one of the most influential websites in the world with more than 80 million active readers coming to the site every month.

ABOUT SMASHWORDS:
Founded in 2008, Smashwords is the leading distributor of indie (self-published) e-books. More than 70,000 authors, small presses, and literary agents around the world publish over 270,000 e-books through Smashwords.  Smashwords distributes over 225,000 of these titles to major online retailers such as Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo, Flipkart, Scribd, Baker & Taylor Blio, Page Foundry, the Diesel eBook Store and public libraries. Smashwords is based in Los Gatos, California, and can be reached on the web at http://www.smashwords.com. Visit the official Smashwords blog at http://blog.smashwords.com/.

Contacts:

Scribd.com
Leslie Van Every
[email protected]

SOURCE Scribd