It’s been 8 months since we launched the app, and we thought a year-end review would be the perfect way to tell our readers what we’ve been up to in 2016:

The launch

When the app launched on 22 April, ‘Juggernaut’ began to trend on Twitter, and the launch was reported across all media:

How we did on the app?

Eight months, 560k+ users, 180,000 book downloads, 6 bestsellers, a higher-than-industry average sales, and nearly a tonne of Devan’s coffee later — here we are:

30 books were downloaded more than 1000 times on the app:

Of these, the top 5 books crossed 3k downloads, while 2 crossed 5k downloads — an unheard-of figure for digital books in India. Our average downloads per book were higher than the average ebook downloads in India.

How did we do with our books?

We published 30 physical books this year — 23 in English, and 5 in Hindi. Our average sales were 10,000 copies per book, higher than the industry average.

Creating a buzz…

Could Twinkle Khanna, India’s highest-selling woman writer of 2015, repeat her magic with her follow-on book? Launched with a star-studded event that set Twitter on fire, and an electrifying appearance on Koffee with Karan (making it the show’s all-time most popular episode), Twinkle’s book shot up the charts and found new fans and readers. With over 80k copies printed, we are predicting she will break her previous record of 100k sales!

The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad by @mrsfunnybones is now at number 1 on Amazon’s bestseller list! pic.twitter.com/FsMSQw3tHH

— Juggernaut Books (@juggernautbooks) November 16, 2016

Yasser Usman’s biography of Rekha brought the spotlight on existing sexism within Bollywood, and began a larger conversation around it:  

Before the year was over, Swati Chaturvedi’s explosive investigation into the world of BJP’s digital army made headlines across the country:

For the first time in India, we tied up with prominent media houses to bring you exclusive digital books that looked at big picture issues, such as demonetisation and the Tata vs Mistry battle. We also commissioned to occasion, publishing books on larger events — such as the biography of Mamata Banerjee as soon as the state elections results were announced. On the app, the blockbuster stories — short stories by celebrated writers such as Benyamin and Perumal Murugan — were a clear success.        

By the end of the year, several of our books featured in year-end lists.  

‘Shines with a rare humanity and psychological depth.’ Amma by Vaasanthi in @HuffPostIndia‘s top ten books of 2016. https://t.co/u4fEOrIFJz — Juggernaut Books (@juggernautbooks) December 26, 2016

The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad, A Meeting on the Andheri Overbridge and The Burning Forest in @TheLadiesFinger list. https://t.co/HnfWtPA7dw

— Juggernaut Books (@juggernautbooks) December 29, 2016

Indian Superfoods, Rekha and Zindagi Live featured in the top ten Hindi books of 2016 by @NavbharatTimes https://t.co/SrfhaOi6nk — Juggernaut Books (@juggernautbooks) December 26, 2016

Choked by @pallaviaiyar is No. 2 on #TGTop10Books of 2016. @juggernautbooks https://t.co/yjdLb9ERKo

— The Globalist (@theglobalist) December 29, 2016

Amazon featured several of our books on their most notable books of 2016:

Not bad for 8 months!