The Globe and Mail is providing readers with a one-stop book coverage shop through the launch of its interactive “Books” website, launching this Saturday.
GlobeAndMail.com/books will house video interviews, podcasts, a daily book review, author essays, national and Canadian bestseller lists and book and publishing news, as well as blogs by Globe Book’s online editors Peter Scowen and Martin Levin.
The paper will no longer publish the Saturday stand-alone “Book” section, but will fold it into a redesigned Focus section, now entitled Focus & Books.
“Focus is a very literate section,” said Scowen. “It’s a long form journalism section, and we want to combine those readers with book readers in one package.
“We did it 10 or 12 years ago, so we went back to what we did before, but in the process of doing that, we wanted to build a proper ‘Books’ website to go with it.”
“Books” will also feature a weekly online “Ask an Author” series, where writers such as this year’s Giller Prize winner Joseph Boyden respond to reader questions. A selection of comments will be featured in “Focus & Books.”
Books featured in other areas of the paper, such as the “Style” and “Review” sections, will also be included in the online portal to drive people to the site, said Scowen.
“The whole point is to be pro-book, pro-author, and pro-publisher, to give as much exposure as possible,” he said.
The site is set to launch a book club, e-newsletters and more searchable archives some time this spring.
“The Globe’s Books coverage will provide readers insightful, thought-provoking reviews and engaging commentary in the format of their choice,” said the Globe’s editor-in-chief Ed Greenspon in a release. “Whether an avid reader is looking to deepen their reading experience or a casual reader wants to find books suited to their own interests, Books coverage can provide the experience they are looking for.”
