iPhone App ?Scarab? Reinvents the Literary Journal

Tech-savvy English scholars and poetry lovers: We know you’re out there. (Heck, I majored in English and I work here.) There’s an iPhone app we think you’d love. It’s called Scarab, and its goal is to reinvent the literary journal.

Scarab is a literary magazine reader that does more than load works of fiction, poetry and non-fiction on your iPhone screen. Each literary piece is accompanied with an audio reading, dictated sometimes by the author (if he or she opted to provide it), whose mugshot appears next to the title. So you get the words, the voice and even the face behind each work.

“The best part about poetry or any literature really is going to a reading and getting to hear the author’s voice,” said Brian Wilkins, editor and co-creator of Scarab, in a phone interview. “It’s almost as much fun when those two come together in one place. The iPhone really made it possible for us.”

We had some hands-on time with the app, and we absolutely love the clean interface and the idea as a whole. Once you tap a literary piece, the app immediately downloads the audio recording, and soon enough you can hit play to hear the author’s reading. Each “issue” contains a collection of literary works submitted by various authors. (The October 2009 issue features 11 pieces, including a poem from the famous Charles Simic.) The app also includes transcripts of author interviews.

Wilkins, who has a master of fine arts in poetry, developed the app with his former college roommate Ian Terrell. They’re inviting creative writers of all calibers to submit their works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry for consideration. Starving artists even have an opportunity to earn a buck, too: Each issue of Scarab costs $3 as an in-app purchase; 20 percent of every issue sale is divided among the authors. Wilkins promises the submission guidelines are open-ended, although he prefers that works stay under 2,500 words.

Here’s what bugged us: You must buy the Scarab app for $1 and then pay $3 for an issue. That means when you first buy the app, you have no content. That doesn’t seem quite right. (Update: Terrell points out in the comments below that Apple requires apps to be paid apps if they incorporate in-app purchasing.) We think it’d be a wiser idea for the creators to include at least one free promotional issue with a purchase of Scarab to entice users to purchase future issues for $3 each. That way, iPhone owners would be able to try the app before committing to spending more on content.

Still, we’re not complaining about paying for additional content. We appreciate these artists, and we know literary journals aren’t exactly moneymaking machines. We’re interested in seeing how in-app purchasing works out for Scarab, because thus far it’s not raking in much dough for some iPhone developers. But with some smart execution, we think Scarab has an opportunity to become tremendously popular among creative writers and literature enthusiasts.

Product Page [Scarab]

Download Link [iTunes]