Wattpad Books' Winter 2020 List Showcases Diverse YA that Builds Worlds and Tackles Important Social Issues

TORONTO - June 27, 2019 - Earlier this year, Wattpad, the global multi-platform entertainment company for original stories, announced the launch of Wattpad Books, the company’s first publishing division. Combining human editorial expertise and Wattpad’s Story DNA Machine Learning technology, Wattpad Books is revolutionizing publishing with a data-driven approach to finding new voices and stories for bookshelves everywhere.  

Wattpad Books’ debut Fall 2019 catalog featured some of the most important themes and issues in YA lit—#ownvoices, mental health, and LGBTQ+ representation. Wattpad Books’ forthcoming Winter 2020 catalog continues to present original, trailblazing books that readers will flock to: 

• She’s With Me by Jessica Cunsolo (January, 7, 2020) - Standing out as the new girl is hard enough, but add in Amelia Collins’s  dangerous past, and her life depends on sneaking through senior year unnoticed. When she crashes into the school’s most infamous heartthrob, Aiden Parker, she’s suddenly on everyone’s radar. As Amelia becomes immersed in a new group of friends, keeping a low profile won’t be an option—even if it’s a necessity. She’s With Me has more than 127 million reads on Wattpad and is one of the platform’s most popular stories of all time. 

• Given by Nandi Taylor (January, 21, 2020) - Unable to watch her father waste away from a mysterious illness, fierce warrior Yenni, of the Yirba tribe, sets off for a distant empire. Determined to find a cure for her father, Yenni travels to Cresh, where she comes face to face with culture shock, prejudice, and a brazen shape-shifting dragon, Weysh. As her gods, the Sha, watch and judge, Yenni only has two options: succeed and save her father, or fail and face exile. To complicate her journey, Weysh believes that Yenni is his Given, his destiny—if only he knew that falling in love isn’t part of her plan. Given has more than 1.1 million reads on Wattpad and is also an #OwnVoices story.  

• The Opposite of Falling Apart by Micah Good (February 25, 2020) - After losing his leg in a terrible car accident, Jonas Avery can’t wait to start over and go to college. Brennan Davis would like nothing more than to stay home and go to school, so she can keep her anxiety in check. When the two accidentally meet the summer before they move away, they’ll push each other to come to terms with what’s holding them back, even as they’re pulled closer to taking the biggest leap of all—falling in love. The Opposite of Falling Apart has more than 2.1 million reads on Wattpad.  

• Confessions About Colton by Olivia Harvard (March 3, 2020) - When smart and charismatic teen Colton Crest disappears, his small town jumps to obsessive conclusions about his whereabouts. When he returns unharmed two months later, everyone breathes a sigh of relief—until days later his best friend, Elliot Parker, discovers Colton’s body, drowned, in the local lake. As Elliot stands in front of the town prepared to give his best friend’s eulogy, he is pulled into a psychological manhunt to track down a killer who’s determined to toy with him at every step. Confessions About Colton has more than 6.5 million reads on Wattpad.

• Lab Partners by Mora Montgomery  (March 10, 2020) - Unassuming Elliot Goldman is just trying to get through his final year of high school—until he meets his new lab partner, Jordan Hughes. Sweet, charming, and charismatic, Jordan opens Elliot’s eyes to the possibilities around him, and gives him butterflies like nobody’s business. Together they fight high school scrutiny, repel bullies with punk rock, and celebrate who they are in this heartwarming exploration of what it means to fall in love for the very first time. Lab Partners explores aspects of the gay and A (asexual) communities, and the difficult moment of coming out before you’re quite ready to. The story has more than 5.1 million reads on Wattpad. 

• Entwined by A.J. Rosen  (March 31, 2020) -  For greek god descendant, Avery Montgomery, turning eighteen is a big deal. Not only is it her ticket to the Court, the world’s most lavish party for descendants, it also unlocks the ability to “click” with her one true soul mate. As her birthday looms, Avery finds herself drawn to two royal descendants who couldn’t be more different, as she stumbles upon a dark side of The Court, which pushes her towards a revelation that will forever alter her past, and her future. Entwined boasts more than 6.5 million reads on Wattpad.

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About Wattpad Books 

Wattpad Books, a division of Wattpad, is the leader in data-backed publishing. Leveraging billions of daily insights from Wattpad’s global community of 70 million book lovers, Wattpad Books combines the best of art and science, using human expertise and Story DNA Machine Learning technology to identify the trends, voices, and stories that are the future of publishing. By elevating the stories of diverse communities around the world, Wattpad Books is creating new space for writers and fans of every genre.

Visit books.wattpad.com for more information. 

About Wattpad 

Wattpad’s vision is to entertain and connect the world through stories. Using the power of community and technology, the global multiplatform entertainment company is unleashing the full potential of stories to the world—in any format. Wattpad’s flagship app is the world’s leading social storytelling platform, home to a community of more than 70 million people who spend over 22 billion minutes a month engaged in original stories. Wattpad’s Story DNA Machine Learning technology allows the company to understand and discover stories among the more than 565 million uploads that have been shared on the platform. Wattpad Studios and Wattpad Books are transforming entertainment and publishing, using data-backed insights to turn Wattpad stories into books, films, TV shows, and digital projects. Wattpad Brand Partnerships offers a full suite of advertising products to help brands build deep engagement with Millennial and Gen Z consumers. Tap by Wattpad, the company’s second storytelling product, offers immersive interactive entertainment experiences in over a dozen languages. The company is based in Toronto, Canada. Learn more at: company.wattpad.com