NYT e-book projects to offer curated and original reporting

The New York Times has announced a move into e-book publishing with partnerships with Byliner and Vook, which will see the production of both original content and "curated selections of articles from The New York Times archives".

In a press release the New York Times said its arrangement with Byliner will see production of "up to a dozen New York Times/Byliner Originals in the next year featuring narratives in areas in which The Times has reporting expertise including culture, sports, business, science and health".

This content - which will be around 10,000 to 20,000 words long and "designed to be read in one sitting", will in some cases follow reports by the Times on similar topics, but in all cases the e-books "will offer new and original content that is not available in the paper or on NYTimes.com".

For example the first release - on Monday - is about skiers who faced "The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek", which builds on an article also due to be published on the same day.

In comparison the link-up with Vook will see the production of TimesFiles, which is about the repurposing of content, featuring "curated selections of articles from The New York Times archives, assembled into compelling narratives about a particular topic or event".

On Monday the TimesFiles will launch with 25 e-books, priced from $1.99, and "many more expected to come in 2013".

"Our access to quality journalism and talented writers who can build on that content lends itself to the e-book platform," Gerald Marzorati, editor for editorial development of The New York Times, added in the release.

"We are excited to deliver the very best long-form journalism to readers, in collaboration with Byliner for our New York Times/Byliner Originals and in utilising the Vook platform for our archival e-books."

A number of news outlets have recently taken steps into the e-book publishing business, whether offering up longer-form features or collections of articles as Kindle singles or as a vehicle to offer original long-form content.

Earlier this year in June, for example, GigaOM launched GigaOM Books to help readers "delve much deeper" into topics relating to those covered by the site, while the Guardian has published a number of ebooks within its Guardian Shorts division.

Journalism.co.uk's recent news:rewired conference looked at the subject of long-form digital journalism and opportunities for news outlets. See the liveblog of the session here.

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