Bookish gets support from publishers and AOL

The readers' hub launches this summer with the help of AOL, Hachette, Penguin, and Simon & Schuster

Bookish, a new digital platform that aims to connect readers with their favorite authors and books, is getting some big support from major publishers, as well as none other than AOL. The site, which launches this summer, aims to provide users with a personalized reading experience through editorial features and specific site tools. Backed by Hachette, Penguin, and Simon & Schuster (three of the major publishers who have been fighting with Amazon over its e-book pricing structure), the project is also getting support from AOL’s Huffington Post Media Group, which will provide advertising sales support.

Bookish, which is editorially independent, will feature books and authors from a wide range of different publishers (and presumably that range of publishers won’t just be limited to Hachette, Penguin, and Simon & Schuster either), and it will be a hub for both avid and casual readers to find information on books and genres they may be interested in reading in the future. Additionally, users will be able to get exclusive content on books they’re reading now, receive and send book recommendations, and purchase print or digital books directly through the site or via retailers.

Could this provide a new way for publishers to take back control of their book prices from Amazon? That would be a pretty challenging feat, given the fact that Amazon is a pretty deeply entrenched brand in consumer minds, but it does seem highly coincidental that the three publishers backing the effort were also the original publishers who pulled their books from Amazon when it refused to raise its $9.99 flat rate e-book price. It could very well be that publishers are simply looking to create more competition for Amazon, but until Bookish launches this summer, it remains unclear how much of a role retail will play in the site.

“Bookish enjoys the support of significant, established players in the publishing and online space. Nobody is more intimately familiar with the multitude of elements that make a book appealing than its publisher," said CEO Paulo Lembruger in a statement. "In addition to working with Hachette Book Group, Penguin Group (USA) and Simon & Schuster, we look forward to working with the entire publishing and book-selling community to make Bookish an exciting destination that will delight readers. We are also thrilled to work closely with AOL Huffington Post Media Group to tap into its groundbreaking ability to start real-time conversations around content and partnering with AOL on our advertising sales effort."

Prior to taking the pilot’s seat at Bookish, Lemgruber developed and ran digital businesses for Comcast and Reed Elsevier.