The Gossip Girl DVD with audio book goes on sale shortly, with an August 19 release date. The DVD set of the first season of this CW hit will include a CD version of the novel that inspired it by Cecily von Ziegesar, narrated by Christina Ricci. The audio book can be transferred to an iPod, for an ideal marketing fit with the show’s primary audience of females around 26 years of age.

Publishers are getting more savvy to the digital world, and how to capitalize on the successes of other forms of media. The New York Times reported that the 12 books in the series have sold 5.6 million copies; the three audio versions, based on the first three books, have only sold less than 1,000 copies a year. Because audio book sales of Gossip Girl have been dismal, publisher Hachette is hoping that hitching it to the DVD set in a format appropriate for its main audience, could prove just what the doctor ordered to boost sales.

Publishers should watch out for, or create their own opportunities, to creatively piggyback their struggling products to ones whose star are on the rise. The market for audio books has generally been drivers who listen while on the road, but this doesn’t translate well to young adults. Books for the iPod could better serve this audience. The sales and success of the Gossip Girl DVD with audio book will be something to watch in the coming months.

The eBook will be the next One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) design. The OLPC XO 2 is the next generation laptop to be released in 2010 that will hopefully revolutionize child literacy.

Founded by Nicholas Negroponte, the OLPC’s mission is to create educational opportunities for the world’s poorest children by providing them with a rugged, low-cost, low-power laptop. The OLPC XO 2 has dual touchscreens on a single spine that includes a keyboard and ebook functionality. This new design could get more books into to children’s hands around the world.