Bite Size Books

Penguin Tasters

The first chapters of all Penguin's latest novels are now available to download for free.

For six months Penguin has been trialling downloads of the first chapters of some of their new novels at penguin.co.uk. These Tasters allow readers to browse the opening pages of each book as a sample.

As of March 17th 2008 over fifty titles are available online, and the publisher will continue to upload the first chapters of each and every new fiction title every month.

These aren't just the first few pages of the books or extracts arbitrarily chosen from the 'best bits'. They include full prologues, the entire opening chapter, and in many cases several chapters. The idea is that readers decide for themselves whether this is the book they want to read.

These straightforward and carefully designed PDF downloads work on iPhones, Palms or Blackberrys, or can be read on your computer screen, emailed to a friend or simply printed off.

"The idea of a reader picking up a book in a bookshop and reading a paragraph or two before making the commitment to the whole text it is really nothing new, except in an online context," explains Anna Rafferty, Digital Marketing Director.

The publisher sees this new initiative as a natural evolution, that will allow readers to get a preview of the books they've been waiting for as well as encouraging them to try something new. It's the chance to discover new authors quickly, easily, and best of all, for free.

"I am honoured to be part of such an exciting project, and so pleased that people will have the chance to have a taster of so many good books," says Marina Lewycka, whose debut novel A Short History Of Tractors In Ukrainian was published in 2005 when she was 58.

For the publisher that began with sixpence paperbacks, this could prove to be a 21st century version of what Allen Lane set out to do when he started Penguin; making good quality contemporary fiction available to everyone.

Web Links

You can start reading at: www.penguin.co.uk/tasters

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