Penguin enters partnership with networking site Piczo

Penguin hopes to attract more teenage readers in a partnership with social networking site Piczo, which allows them to design their own book front covers. Readers will be able to personalise the books using digital tools provided by Piczo.

Six books, including Alice and Wonderland and Dracula, have been chosen by bands popular with teens, including Razorlight, who will judge a competition for the best cover designed by a Piczo user.

The competition was launched in an attempt to interest teenagers in literature. Penguin digital marketing director Anna Rafferty says: “We’re confident that this partnership will mean more UK teens will get into reading.”

She says the project could mark the start of a longer-term relationship between the two companies.

Piczo, which already features customisable content, was launched in 2004 and now counts 28 million registered users worldwide.