"Twitter Wit": HarperCollins' It Books Imprint To Publish Book Of Funny Tweets

The New York Times' Motoko Rich writes Thursday about a new imprint from HarperCollins called "It Books," to focus on pop culture, sports, style, and internet content:

Just a month after announcing a restructuring that led to layoffs and the shuttering of an entire division, HarperCollins Publishers hopes to jazz up its book lists by opening a new imprint.

This fall the company will publish 21 new hardcover and paperback original titles under the It Books imprint, focusing on pop culture, sports, style and content derived from the Internet, like a planned collection of Twitter posts called "Twitter Wit."

The imprint will be led by Carrie Kania, who is currently publisher of HarperCollins's paperback unit, Harper Perennial.

That book, "Twitter Wit," will be written by prolific blogger Nick Douglas, who told the Chicago Tribune that he received a five-figure contract for the book. Douglas also told the Trib that he is aiming to include 1,000 of the wittiest Tweets in his book. Three of his favorites below:

"Why should I be the one to take the kids to see their psychologist? I don't even love them!" - Fireland (Joshua Green Allen)

"Way to go, hiccups. Thanks for ruining my street cred."--sween (Jason Sweeney)

"I'm sure the gin we drank last night was off. Feeling a bit ill this morning. The tequila might have been off too. And the cocktails."--kerry_anne (Kerry-Anne Gilowey)

Comments

[kellyt25]

Twitter is a social networking site that lets users know what their friends are up to at all times. Making a book out of random twitters defeats the purpose of the twitters. It takes the original meaning of the twitters out of context. Also the article fails to mention whether or not the "owners" of the tweets would be compensated for the use of their twitters for the book. If not there could be a controversy similar to the recent Facebook drama over their terms of service.

[jeniferdaniels]

so true...

[Larkinvos]

Twitter is the pet rock of this age.

[Plus15]

The better publish quick before we move on to the next internet craze

[jennbeez]

Am I the only one whose eyes glaze over at the mention of Blackberry, Twitter, Facebook, Kindle? I feel I may be missing out on something, but don't care enough to investigate them.

[S1m0n]

Those aren't funny.

[avicenna]

Wait till you hear the audiobook version - so you won't be LOL-ing

[LemonFreshScent]

cool i never really did it. yay

[stanjz]

Twitter is lame.

[jerzyjc16]

It's been apparent for years that the consumer has migrated to the web, e-books, Iphones and now, the Kindle. All the book publshing industry has done is curl up in a ball and suck their thumbs under a DRM blanky, wishing it would all go away. You'd think they'd have learned from the music business's death-bed conversion to MP3 downloads!

The goal of book publishers should be to have 10 million Kindles and 40 million Iphone e-book software downloads out there--this year. With Kindle alone having a capacity of 1000 books stored on each device, they've done nothing to partner with Amazon to make the $359 price pay for itself through discounts offered on e-books. How about 35 e-books FREE with each Kindle sold? How about a Kindle credit on any cloth and paper book sold through Amazon? Or on any cloth and paper book sold anywhere? How about converting your extensive backlists of titles--many of them public domain-- into E books, then offering them at .25cents per book in exchange for a $25 up front one-time fee? Modern Library, Penguin Classics, are you listening? Why not offer e-books at a lower price if the consumer accepts advertising? The ads could last 30 days at a time and be replaced with other ads. NONE OF THIS IS HAPPENING!

Instead we have Harper Collins in a major "Missing the Point" moment planning to publish books from Tweets????

[sweetbiscuit]

I agree -- the whole fun of Twitter is that it's an "in the moment" thing. Publishing a book of tweets is like framing a used tissue. "Missing the Point" indeed.

[dthom403]

twitter is the stupidest thing since pet rocks

[cpbarnum]

sorry, Twitter is so yesterday ... 2 is the new 140 -- http://www.twittwo.com

[Token12ga]

ROFLMAO

[MarionKIN]

EZ

IC

LO

L!

[proggirl]

Well, I'm always behind the curve on this stuff. I'm starting to get interested in it, so it must be almost over.

[kshawNCvoter]

Twitter fails now that all the news people are jizzing over it ,old people, and freaking Barbara Walters of all people is in on it.

Even our President doesn't have his people update his anymore. Its corny as hell now.

[susou]

LOL-- I love Twitter, and I'd buy this book!

[Nick Douglas]

Thanks! Actually, if you have witty Twitter messages of your own, you can submit them at http://twitterwit.net -- if one of them gets accepted, you get a free contributor's copy.

[sweetbiscuit]

Oh great, so you can write their book for them! Awesome! //sarcasm

[bulrog]

bash.org provides a similar service already! Check it out.
http://bash.org/?23396

[publanski]

I'm sure they could get a ten volume edition if they did a book called "Twitter Twits."

[proggirl]

I don't even want to think about the p0rn version of that book.