New York, NY and San Francisco, CA (ACCESSWIRE) 9/23/2013 5:45:00 AM - The world's first interactive and "living" e-book of haiku has been created and published by a coast-to-coast creative team determined to have readers "tap the poet within each of us" and share their work with each other, worldwide. The e-Book is a joint e-publishing project by NYC-based publishing service provider Vook (http://vook.com/), California-based technology innovator Democrasoft (http://www.democrasoft.com/) and bi-coastal writer Steve Villano (and his production company, Social Vision Productions (http://www.socialvisionproductions.com/).
"We, Haiku" (WeHaiku.net) is a collection of 200 contemporary Haiku by writer Steve Villano with illustrations by artist Alycia Lang. It combines the social connectivity of modern technology with the haiku form making it possible for readers to actively participate in the book itself.
Using a unique interactive e-book device known as the "WeJIT"created by Democrasoftreaders can connect directly to each other via the e-book and upload their own Haiku to the ebook, where the most popular contributions are continually featured. More than a dozen e-books have previously been published with "WeJITS," showcasing a variety of subjects and reader interactions (the first such "WeJIT-enhanced" ebook, 11 Days in May, by J.D. Messinger, won the Publishing Innovation Award for Non-fiction for 2013).
"We, Haiku" is the first poetry book to employ the embedded, interactive WeJIT technology and the first such e-book to allow the readers themselves to upload their own poems within the book" said Richard Lang, creator of the WeJIT and Democrasoft's CEO.
"E-books are rapidly evolving. We are excited to be working with forward-thinking companies like Vook and visionary authors like Steve Villano on such a worthwhile project - to introduce new generations of readersand writersto the historic genre of Haiku poetry. This book is fun as well as a great teaching tool."
Vook's Vice-President of Business Development, Matt Cavnar is equally enthusiastic about the endeavor: "We love it when authors find new ways to bring poetry to readers and explore the e-book medium with interesting design decisions and interactive technology like WeJITs."
"We took a beautiful, centuries-old art form and collaborated to make this elegant, economic example of expression accessible for whole new generations of readers," said Villano, the author of "We, Haiku." "We wanted readers and writers to have a simple and direct way of tapping the poet within themselves; connecting to the thread of art, which has stitched together life through the ages."
"In a world of too much babble, I love the haiku's aesthetic of austerity of expression, as well as the versatility it affords everyoneyoung and oldto share moments of joy," Villano added.
"We, Haiku" is available for $4.99 on Amazon, Apple's iBookstore, Vook's store, and Barnes & Noble (coming soon).
About Vook:
Founded in 2009, Vook has created an innovative technology platform that allows content holders to create great ebooks; add video, audio and images; publish the ebooks to their own Web pages and to the major e-retailers; and track their sales. Vook provides a turnkey solution for content strategy, including editorial, marketing and distribution services and has worked with a range of partners, including The New York Times, NBC, Simon & Schuster, Google, American Express Publishing, and Newsweek Daily Beast. For more information, please visit http://vook.com/ or contact [email protected].
About Democrasoft:
An innovation and licensing company with a history of pioneering technology. Democrasoft is the creator of the Collaborize Platform and Collaborize Classroom (http://www.collaborizeclassroom.com/) the multi-award winning blended learning platform for grades K-20. It is also the creator of the patented and award-winning WeJIT (http://www.mywejit.com/), a new model for self-contained, topic-based online collaboration that stretches across various platforms and communities. For more information, please visit http://www.democrasoft.com/.
About Steve Villano:
Born in Brooklyn, NY, and presently living in San Francisco, CA, Steve Villano is a lifelong educator, labor organizer, political & social activist, public servant, writer, public speaker, and former non-profit CEO, who has worked with the National Education Association, Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, former NYS Governor Mario M. Cuomo, two public health medical centers in New York State, dozens of Television executives, and former Paramount Pictures CEO/President Sherry Lansing. He has run non-profit organization in the fields of education, HIV/AIDS awareness, and science. Villano has authored numerous speeches, articles, screenplays, documentaries, public service campaigns, strategic plans and other works that can be found on his website:http://www.socialvisionproductions.com/.
CONTACT:
For More Information Contact:
Mark Kithcart
(707) 953-2126
Steve Villano
(917) 562-3030
Allison Horton
SOURCE: Democrasoft, Inc.
