2021 was truly a milestone year for Wattpad. We celebrated Wattpad’s 15th birthday and joined an incredible new family of brands with Naver and WEBTOON. As such, it’s a good time to reflect on The Master Plan and the progress we’ve made together.

As a reminder, I wrote the Master Plan in 2016 to coincide with Wattpad’s 10th birthday as a way to share my 10-year vision for the company.

I wish I had written something similar when Ivan and I started Wattpad in 2006. At the time, our plan was actually quite simple: We wanted to revolutionize how people discover, share, and connect through stories. Here’s how we initially did it:

Wattpad WEBTOON Studios, the fan-driven global entertainment and publishing arm for WEBTOON and Wattpad, announced today it is adapting Perfectos Mentirosos and Boulevard, two massively popular Spanish-language original stories from Wattpad. Alex Mírez’s 105-million read phenomenon, Perfectos Mentirosos, will be adapted as a series, and Flor M. Salvador’s 75-million read Boulevard will be developed as a feature film. The projects will be the first Spanish-language projects self-financed through Wattpad WEBTOON Studios’ Development Fund - created to strategically underwrite and fast-track development for incredible WEBTOON and Wattpad content with a built-in audience. 

Audible, a leading producer and provider of original spoken-word entertainment and audiobooks, and Wattpad, the global entertainment company and leading webnovel platform, today announced that popular Wattpad stories will be made available as Hindi audiobooks exclusively on Audible for all listeners absolutely free. The Hindi audiobooks will tap into the built-in fandoms on Wattpad and bring incredible stories to audiences on Audible’s India service

By Seema Lakhani, Chief Product Officer at Wattpad & General Manager of Wattpad Labs. In 2021, progressive voices around the world continued to shine a light on issues of injustice and oppression. As marginalized groups everywhere struggle for recognition, respect, and dignity, it’s more important than ever that Wattpad - a storytelling technology platform that represents all voices - is conscious and intentional about our approach to inclusion.

The companies will focus on developing local language IP with built-in fandoms and global potential to fuel the content pipeline for ViacomCBS’ streaming service, Paramount+

The Watty Awards have long been a launching pad for some of the most exciting new voices in fiction, with Mask of Celibacy joining previous winners like V.S. Santoni’s I’m a Gay Wizard, Nandi Taylor’s Given, and Beth Reekles’ The Kissing Booth

WEBTOON hits Tower of God by SIU and True Beauty by Yaongyi will be among the first graphic novels published by WEBTOON Unscrolled.

Wattpad, the global multi-platform entertainment company for original stories and leading social storytelling platform, is pleased to congratulate Seema Lakhani, Chief Product Officer at Wattpad & General Manager of Wattpad Labs, who has been honoured as a recipient of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40® for 2021.

Frayed Pages x Wattpad Books is the first major imprint to launch under the Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group.

WEBTOON and Wattpad have announced a new line-up of original webcomics and web novels in collaboration with HYBE artists including BTS, TXT and ENHYPEN.

Wattpad WEBTOON Studios, the audience-driven IP powerhouse, today announced it is developing three new TV and film projects.

Lionsgate announced today that it is partnering with Collective Pictures, Wattpad WEBTOON Studios, and Brightlight Pictures on Float, based on Kate Marchant’s hit Wattpad romance of the same name. Andrea Bang (Kim’s Convenience, Luce) stars alongside Robbie Amell (The Flash, The Babysitter, The Duff), who is also producing.

Wattpad WEBTOON Studios, the fan-driven global entertainment and publishing arm for WEBTOON and Wattpad, will bring a series of can’t-miss virtual panels of superstar authors and artists to the 15th annual New York Comic Con (NYCC) from October 8-10, 2021.

Screen Queensland together with Wattpad WEBTOON Studios, the fan-driven global entertainment and publishing arm for WEBTOON and Wattpad, today announced the Queensland creative teams selected to adapt two hit Wattpad stories for screens.

As President, Jeanne Lam will lead Wattpad through a period of explosive growth following its acquisition by South Korea’s NAVER earlier this year, strengthening the company’s commitment to helping writers build a global audience and earn a living from their work 

The new “Share on Snapchat” button on Wattpad allows users to easily share what they’re reading with friends on Snapchat

Wattpad is now accepting submissions to the 2021 Watty Awards, open to writers around the world in ten languages. The 2021 Watty Awards mark the 12th anniversary of the annual event, which is one of the world’s largest writing competitions.  

Wattpad and WEBTOON today announced that the companies will merge their studio divisions to create Wattpad WEBTOON Studios. Leveraging the passionate global fandoms from WEBTOON and Wattpad’s combined audience of more than 166 million people, Wattpad WEBTOON Studios will create the world’s most innovative multi-format studio making global fan and data-driven TV shows, films, and books.

After taking the publishing world by storm with some of the most exciting titles in YA, Wattpad Books today announced “W by Wattpad Books,” a new adult imprint to bring more internationally beloved Wattpad stories to bookshelves.