At the end of September Kbuuk attended the Austin Teen Book Festival. We had a fantastic time meeting the young, enthusiastic readers and writers of Austin. Our message for the event was “You are the future of literature, and the future of literature is now,” a statement we truly believe. You can see photos from the event on our Facebook page.

Interacting with the young readers and writers immediately brought to mind the story of young Mozart. Mozart began composing by the age of 5; therefore, when he reached his late teens and early adulthood, he had already been practicing his craft for over 10 years, and he was a master even at a young age. Not that these young literati were toddlers, but if they started writing and publishing now, one can only imagine the refined writing skills and business acumen they could accrue in 10 years (mid-twenties) with diligent practice. They could all be Mozarts of literature. The beauty of the publishing industry today is that if an individual, regardless of age or experience, wants to become widely distributed and have their work available to the masses, there are very few limitations. No gatekeepers telling you you’re too young. No gatekeepers saying your work didn’t make the cut because they don’t see how your work will contribute to their bottom line. We at Kbuuk believe in you, and with Kbuuk you can publish. We would like to invite all young readers and writers to join Kbuuk and to begin your literary exploration and publishing journey with us.

Although we will be the first to attest to the fact that writing certainly isn’t easy, in its purest form it’s still just putting words together in a cohesive fashion to tell a story. So as a young individual if you have the motivation to keep trying and even failing sometimes, and the gumption to learn about not only refining your craft, but also getting into the business aspect of sales and promotion, we feel Kbuuk may be the perfect platform to begin your writing career, and we can’t wait to see your work.

Another reason Kbuuk makes sense for the young readers and writers is the use of technology. Because they have grown up with it, learning new technology is second nature to the new literati. They are comfortable and familiar with using technology to put content out to the world. One parent at the festival even commented that we were like “the YouTube for books,” well yes and no. There are some fundamental differences in the creation of a well-developed narrative vs. a 3 minute YouTube video that makes it big because it has a kitten in it or one sibling biting another; however, in the sense that both of our platforms use technology to open up new and fresh ways of making content available to a wide audience leveraging the power of technology, then yes, we may be something like a YouTube for books.

We truly hope that opening the doors of publishing will instill a renewed excitement and appreciation for literature among all of the youth. We’d like to think we’re taking part in a literary Renaissance that is just beginning. Happy reading and writing and we hope to see your work on our platform soon!