Electric Book Works

Ever wondered what goes into a successful crowdfunding campaign? In our latest episode, @arthurattwell speaks with @aaronareed, who’s crowdfunded several books and games, including *50 Years of Text Games* and *Downcrawl 2E*. howbooksaremade.com/episodes/what-…

New episode! Children’s publisher @bookdash makes beautiful books in a single day, then gives them away. And their method is catching on around the world. howbooksaremade.com/episodes/how-b…

New episode! Arthur speaks with Graham Moss, master printer, history teacher, and founder of Incline Press, which works with poets and artists to make limited-edition books with hand-set, metal type on vintage machines. howbooksaremade.com/episodes/the-f…

New episode! Today we’re talking fonts with type designer @ThomasJockin. We find out how typefaces can make it easier for people to understand what they read, and what variable fonts mean for type design, for reading, and for society. howbooksaremade.com/episodes/fine-…

New episode, with Griffin Shea, about running one of Joburg’s most beloved bookshops, Bridge Books. We cover sourcing books, setting prices, connecting booksellers, the highs and lows of the inner city, and judging SA’s most prestigious non-fiction award. howbooksaremade.com/episodes/risk-…

New episode! Behind every great author is a host of unsung editors – often ghostwriters, too. By convention, they don’t get their names on books. What are they doing behind the scenes? howbooksaremade.com/episodes/how-e…

New episode! ‘Building tools for creative communities’—Librivox and Pressbooks are book-making platforms with vibrant communities, created by @hughmcguire. What does it take to build a tool that creative people gather round? howbooksaremade.com/episodes/build…

In today’s new episode, Arthur speaks to Emma Barnes about managing metadata and technical literacy, and we catch up about Snow Books and children’s publishing service Make Our Book. howbooksaremade.com/episodes/manag…

New episode! We talk to book-tech leader Dave Cramer about creating standards, making ebooks, using CSS for print layout, and the dilemmas of digital-first vs InDesign-based publishing. howbooksaremade.com/episodes/how-d…

New episode! Why are book clubs so transformative? My guest @BleedingInkAndy works with book clubs and writers who are in or have been in prison, and has seen the positive effect of reading circles on people who are rebuilding their lives. howbooksaremade.com/episodes/books…

In today's new episode, Arthur talks to literary agent Aoife Lennon-Ritchie about what agents do; do's and don'ts for getting an agent; evaluating contracts; and crossovers between writing for page and screen. howbooksaremade.com/episodes/what-…

"Commercial publishing is funded by customers who have money and believe what you believe, so effecting change is a happy side-effect. Strategic publishing is very different." I honestly can't tell: is this blindingly obvious or a provocative opinion? electricbookworks.com/thinking/publi…

Accessible publishing is hard, important, tricky, rewarding work. Despite years working on accessibility, we're still learning so much. Here are some key takeaways from the journey so far. electricbookworks.com/thinking/acces…

When helping people publish on tight budgets, the question we grapple with is, 'What's truly indispensable?' What are your must-have publishing fundamentals? Here's my list. Have I missed something, or over-emphasised something you think is not crucial? electricbookworks.com/thinking/publi…

We LOVED producing the epub edition of Aaron's Reed's fabulous book *50 Years of Text Games*. The most complex print-to-ebook conversion we've done, with a big focus on accessibility. Here's Aaron writing about it on Kickstarter. kickstarter.com/projects/aaron…

Our interns help us do great work, and we teach them everything we can about modern book production. If you know a book-maker in the making, we'd love to hear from them. (EBW internships are paid, full- or half-time, and based in Cape Town, South Africa.) electricbookworks.com/opportunities/…

Coko asked us to create bold, beautiful design templates for their textbook-writing platform, so that authors can see their book laid out in its final form, while they are writing. Here's what we created, and links to our open-source code library. electricbookworks.com/work/instant-t…

An eye-opening project for us! We worked with the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime to turn their Risk Bulletins into searchable, shareable web pages. electricbookworks.com/work/global-in…

We managed the design and production of this free online textbook, and it's been one of our favourite projects. If you teach life sciences, check it out. ithinkbiology.in

"a small step on the long path to transforming educational resources in India to make them relevant, accessible, and encouraging of a learner’s curiosities and capabilities." Great overview of *iThink Biology* by one of its authors. indiabioscience.org/columns/educat…