Booktype, an open source platform to write and publish print and digital books, was launched last week at the O'Reilly Tools of Change publishing conference. 

Sourcefabric, the makers of the platform, said that with Booktype you can "create books on your own or with others via an easy-to-use web interface. Build a community around your content with social tools and use the reach of mobile, tablet and ebook technology to engage new audiences."

The project was lead by Adam Hyde, the founder of FLOSS Manuals-a community of some 8,000 users and hundreds of books published, according to Hyde. Booktype has evolved from Booki, a popular open source project for writing, editing, and publishing books online and in print.

In an interview with goodereader.com, Hyde said that "Booktype opens up publishing to allow people to sell books on whichever platform they feel suits them best. In the instance of iBooks, as with most ebook stores, they would need an account, an ISBN number and need to push the book through the submission process. Books can be pushed to lulu.com and archive.org from within the Booktype interface. Other services would require you to export the book and then upload - we're working hard to make this process simpler and more direct."

Suw Charman-Anderson, on Forbes.com, praised the new platform and its impact on future publishing:

"Overall, Booktype is a very promising tool. I can already think of a half-dozen applications for it and am eager to get an installation of my own up and running. With ebooks becoming increasingly important to individuals and companies who have little or no previous publishing experience, tools like Booktype are going to be essential. Anything that makes the process of creating and publishing books easier has a bright future ahead of it and I'm excited to see how Booktype develops over coming months."