Name: Publishing Hackathon
Start: 2013-05-18T09:00:00.000-04:00
End: 2013-05-19T11:00:00.000-04:00
Location: Publishing Hackathon

This first-ever Publishing Hackathon invites developers, designers, and entrepreneurs will come together for 36 hours to experiment in an untapped discovery vertical. The hackathon takes place Saturday, 5/18 - Sunday, 5/19 at The Alley NYC.

Discovery Challenge:

How do we help people find the right book at the right time?

Book discovery needs innovation. It’s never been easier to get a book into a reader’s hands—just one click. But, with over 200,000 books published each year on every topic imaginable, how do people find out about them? There are fewer bookstores to help readers discover exciting authors and ideas. There’s currently no digital experience that replicates the serendipity of browsing bookshelves. Recommendation engines are fairly primitive – they know what you bought, but they don’t know why. In book discovery, there is an opportunity for disruption waiting to be explored.

The teams with the most interesting and exciting projects that help reinvent the way readers discover books will demo to leading VCs, top publishing executives, and tech experts at Book Expo America, the preeminent publishing event of 2013.

The winning team gets $10,000, and a breakfast meeting to pitch an idea to Ari Emanuel, Co-CEO of William Morris Endeavor.

A panel of high-powered experts in publishing, VC and tech will select the winner at Book Expo America.

Eligibility

TBC

Requirements

TBC

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$12,750 in prizes

Discovery Challenge

The winning team gets $10,000, and a breakfast meeting to pitch an idea to Ari Emanuel, Co-CEO of William Morris Endeavor.

Selected finalists for this prize will present their projects to leading VCs, top publishing executives, and tech experts at Book Expo America, the preeminent publishing event of 2013.

Library Integration Challenge

$1,000 will be awarded to the team with the best library discovery project or the best integration of library data. The winning team will demo their project for leading VCs, top publishing executives, and tech experts at Book Expo America, the preeminent publishing event of 2013.

New York Public Library will select the winner.

Children's / Literacy Challenge

$500 will be awarded to the team with the best project for children and adults that either (a) enables book discovery, (b) encourages a love of reading, or (c) facilitates literacy. The winning team will demo their project for leading VCs, top publishing executives, and tech experts at Book Expo America, the preeminent publishing event of 2013.

New York Public Library and potential prize partners will select the winner.

Avalon Travel Discovery Challenge

$500 will be awarded to the team with the project that best promotes the discovery of travel books. The winning team will demo their project for leading VCs, top publishing executives, and tech experts at Book Expo America, the preeminent publishing event of 2013. Avalon Travel will select the winner.

Manuscript to Metadata Challenge

PublicAffairs is awarding $500 to the team that provides a tool for publishers to analyze a manuscript and generate better metadata for the purposes of book discovery. The winning team will demo their project for leading VCs, top publishing executives, and tech experts at Book Expo America, the preeminent publishing event of 2013. PublicAffairs will select the winner.

Pearson API Challenge

$250 will be awarded to the team with the best use of either (or both) of Pearson’s APIs. The winning team will demo their project for leading VCs, top publishing executives, and tech experts at Book Expo America, the preeminent publishing event of 2013.
Pearson will select the winner.

How to enter

Hacks must be entered by 11:00AM, Sunday, May 19 prior to the start of presentations at 1pm! Only teams that attend the Publishing Hackathon can submit.

Every team member:

Click "Accept this Challenge".
Create an account or login using an existing ChallengePost account at This step ensures that all team members are recognized for judging and prizes.
Be sure to read the rules.

Team leader: complete the Enter an Application form on behalf of your team by 12:00 PM Sunday, May 19 Be sure to enter all your team members on the form.

What to include: