U.K. startup Libraro, which launched in January, is the latest startup aiming to transform the traditional slush pile by connecting unpublished authors directly with publishing professionals and readers while securing the work through blockchain technology. The platform allows authors to upload three chapters of their work for a £9.90 annual fee.

Readers can read the content for free and are asked to rate it in return, providing engagement data that Libraro will share with agents and publishers. Authors retain all rights to their work on the platform, though authors of successful titles will be promoted to agents and publishers for representation and publication.

"We want to help bring more life," said Libraro CEO Arsim Shillova. "We're not disrupting the industry, as much as supporting it."

Libraro emerged from Shillova's personal experience with publishing. He self-published a book on Amazon that sold only two copies. He then attempted the traditional publishing route, preparing a manuscript and submitting it to a local literary agent, but received no response. This led him to investigate the publishing process firsthand, and Shillova discovered what he called "a real problem" in publishing.

"We discovered that just 400 agents in the U.K. receive 2.4 million submissions a year," Shillova said. "What we're really doing is bringing those submissions online."

Libraro is in advanced discussions with several major publishers, Shillova said, and has already secured a partnership agreement with one major house, though the details remain under legal review. "We're seeing different requests from different parties," he said, describing publisher interest in using the platform for pre-sales and market testing.

Shillova added that the company is working with national writing agencies and the Society of Authors to ensure author protections. "We want to encourage engagement," he said, "because ultimately, the more engagement points that we have between an author and the general public, the more valuable the data becomes."

The platform also plans to use blockchain technology to ensure secure and transparent content rights management, which Shillova said is "patent-granted, ensuring that creators retain control over their intellectual property and revenue share." He added that the company would also use blockchain technology to create unique, limited-edition NFTs for successful manuscripts.

"Should an author achieve success through our platform, we will issue a maximum of six NFTs tied to their work," Shillova said: two for the author, one retained by Libraro, one to the publisher, another to a "key partner," and a final distributed to a reader by lottery. "These NFTs represent unique digital assets that grant ownership or recognition in the creative process."

While initially launching in English, Shillova indicated plans for expansion into other languages through upcoming partnerships. Looking ahead, he also envisions the platform changing how authors get paid. "We have patent technology which actually allows us to send payments as they happen," he said, describing a system that could enable fractional payments through blockchain technology, potentially turning the website into a marketplace as well.

Libraro raised an initial pre-seed investment of £2 million from nChain in 2023. The company then secured an additional £500,000 in funding from Ayre Ventures and is working to raise an additional £600,000 through crowdfunding platform Crowdcube as part of a larger £2 million funding round.

Before founding Libraro, Shillova ran a technology consultancy, where he worked with such organizations as Airbus and the U.K. Space Agency. He recruited U.K. publishing industry veteran David Roche, the former Borders CEO, to serve as chairman. Other executive team members include Paul Manning, former creative director at Brown Brothers Harriman and Imagination Capital, as chief marketing officer, and Sead Haxhijaha as CFO.

"I've seen countless start-ups promising the holy grail of discoverability for authors and readers, but none have come close—until now," Roche said. "Readers play an active role in deciding what gets published, expanding the gatekeeping process based on real demand."