World Publishing Houses · Why this exists
Most book catalogs flatten the edition. We track it.
At the edition level, opacity is structural. The translation path is invisible. The translator is credited in body copy — not in a structured metadata field any system can read. Rights status is a year old. The source language is inferred from the translator's nationality, if it appears at all.
WPH tracks the edition as a first-class record: who translated it, from what language, by what path, with what rights status, sourced from where, reviewed when. If a field cannot be verified, it appears empty and labeled — not omitted, not guessed. An empty cell is honest. A fabricated one is not.
Example edition record · static fallback
The Glass Archive
Glerarkivid
AuthorExample Author
TranslatorExample Translator
Source langIcelandic → English
PathDirect
PublisherExample Press
This edition2026
RightsRights status shown as unknown until verified
ISBN978-0-000000-00-0
src · Example fallback record for /why; fictional demo data, not a live catalog claim.
reviewed · Jun 1, 2026
Open full record →The problem, in evidence
What the catalog looks like without this discipline.
Each row below is a measurable claim about the state of public book data. Numbers marked “audit in progress” are preliminary — they will be replaced with sourced figures as each audit is completed and published to /methodology.
of translated editions list a translator only in body copy, not as structured metadata — making the credit invisible to every system that depends on the field.
translations into English from non-major languages are bridged through a third language and never disclose it in any publicly accessible record.
median age of public rights data on the three largest catalog aggregators, measured from the most recent rights event for each title.
major book platforms expose translation path or translator-level provenance on the same page as the edition record, for any language.
Same book, two ways
The same title. A very different record.
Both panels are The Glass Archive. The left panel represents what a typical public catalog scrape would return — not a specific platform, but an archetype of what is publicly visible. The right panel is what WPH holds.
Elsewhere · typical public catalog
TitleThe Glass Archive
AuthorExample Author
LanguageEnglish
Year2026
PublisherExample Press
ISBN978-0-000000-00-0
✕Translator · missing
✕Source language · missing
✕Translation path (direct / bridged) · missing
✕Original publication date · missing
✕Rights status · missing
✕Record provenance · missing
✕Last-reviewed timestamp · missing
WPH · edition-level record
TitleThe Glass Archive
OriginalGlerarkivid
AuthorExample Author
TranslatorExample Translator
Source langIcelandic → English
PathDirect
PublisherExample Press
Year2026
RightsRights status shown as unknown until verified
ISBN978-0-000000-00-0
SourceExample fallback record for /why; fictional demo data, not a live catalog claim.
Translator · verifiedPath · disclosedSource · linkedReviewed
Open full record →What WPH does
Four observable capabilities — not promises.
01
Surfaces the translator
Every edition in the catalog carries a translator field — verified, unverified, or explicitly empty. We model translators as people with careers, not as bylines that may or may not appear.
today · a translator field on every verified edition
02
Discloses the path
Direct translation, bridged translation, unknown — the path is labeled on every edition. If the translation was relayed through an intermediary language, we say so. No hiding.
today · direct, bridged, or unknown labeled on every edition
03
Ages every rights record
Every rights status in the catalog carries a last-reviewed date. If a record hasn't been checked recently, the interface says so. Stale data is labeled, not hidden behind a confident-looking badge.
today · a last-reviewed date on every rights record
04
Documents its own coverage
The catalog doesn't claim completeness. Every country page carries a coverage indicator. Every record carries its source and confidence level. We document the gaps as honestly as the data.
today · a coverage indicator on every country page
Readership
Each audience has one question WPH answers.
WPH is not a general-audience platform. It is a tool for people who work with or around the international book trade. The question each audience asks is different — but the catalog answers all of them from the same underlying data.
Public access is free. Workspace and Pro tiers unlock rights tracking, export, and watchlists.
Readers
“Is this translation any good — and who actually made it?”
Readers who care about the translation they are reading can see the translator's name, verify that it is structured metadata and not just a body-copy mention, and follow the translator's broader body of work. If the translation is indirect, the path is shown — not hidden.
Translators
“Where does my work live?”
Translators can claim their profile, see every edition they are credited on, and flag credits that are missing or wrong. The catalog makes the translator's work visible at the edition level — not buried in an acknowledgements page.
Publishers
“Is our catalog presented well in public?”
Publishers can verify their catalog, add rights contact information, and see exactly how their editions are represented — which fields are complete, which are missing, and how the record compares to what other sources say.
Rights & acquisitions
“What's available, by whom, and how stale is the record?”
Rights professionals can scan what has already been sold into a given language, see what is open, and understand how fresh the data is. Every rights record carries a last-reviewed timestamp, so you know whether to trust it or chase it.
Roadmap
Where we are and where we are going.
Now · 2026 · current
Preview
Iceland in preview
- ·Edition-level records for verified Icelandic-to-English translations
- ·Translator profiles with edition credits
- ·Rights status and provenance footers on every record
Q3 2026
First Live
Iceland live · 1–2 markets in preview
- ·Iceland shelf promoted to full live status
- ·Rights request flow open to publishers
- ·Second preview market with partial coverage
2027
Edition map
5–8 live markets
- ·Bidirectional rights tracking across live markets
- ·Translator career pages with full edition history
- ·Cross-market translation gap map
2028+
Calmer map
Broad coverage · calmer interface
- ·Full translation path disclosure across all catalog records
- ·Agent and sub-agent network modeling
- ·Provenance confidence scores on every field
Dates are editorial intentions, not product commitments. The roadmap reflects where we are aiming and in what order — not a contractual timeline.
A calmer, more trustworthy map of world publishing.
Public access is free. Workspace gives you watchlists, export, and a rights inbox. Pro gives you full access to the editorial layer — coverage scores, acquisition signals, and direct data contribution. Compare tiers →