Papego founder Karl-Ludwig von Wendt at the ContentShift prize ceremony in Frankfurt on Thursday (October 20). Image: Börsenverein des deutschen Buchhandels, Stephan Sasek

By Ingrid Süßmann

A €10,000 Purse

From an initial pool of 45 applicants, six shortlisted startups were chosen to attend Frankfurt Book Fair, where they would pitch their ideas to both national and international audiences.

After a final pitch session in Frankfurt on Thursday (October 20)—attended by Günther Oettinger, the European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society—Karl-Philipp von Wendt’s app Papego was chosen as the winner. Von Wendt received €10,000 (US$10,850) and a one-year paid membership in the Börsenverein’s startup program.

Papego is a mobile reading app designed to bridge the gap between mobile and print books. To start reading your ebook exactly at the page you finished reading your print book, just scan the last page read and continue reading up to 25 percent of the book mobile, starting with the scanned page. To change back to print, just follow the page numbers in the app for easy switching.

Image: ContentShift.de/en

Michael Adams, jury spokesperson, said, “Papego has the potential to become an industry standard—both nationally and internationally. It bridges the gap between analogue and digital products.” In Germany, Papego has already made a name for itself, with Piper and the Berlin Verlag are already publishing “Papego-ready” books. Publishers Aufbau, DuMont and Kiepenheuer & Witsch have recently joined the program as well.

To find out more about Papego and the other five shortlisted startups, visit ContentShift or check out these related articles from Publishing Perspectives:

• Papego: Bridging the Gap between Mobile and Print
• Industry Accelerator: ContentShift’s Shortlisted Startups Are Frankfurt-Bound