USA TODAY Booklist, curated discovery for 150 must-read books.

USA TODAY needed a fast-to-launch book discovery experience to support editorial coverage and drive affiliate revenue, with no existing dynamic booklist infrastructure and a hard editorial deadline. The ask was to build a curated ranking of 150 books that could dynamically render from live data sources, integrate affiliate commerce links across multiple providers, and hold up under the traffic of a national media push.

RTW built an API-driven booklist platform in Next.js and React, wired to real-time book data sources. A custom aggregation layer pulls book metadata, pricing, and availability from multiple providers and feeds a curated ranking engine, rendering the Top 150 list dynamically with no manual maintenance burden. The affiliate commerce integration maps purchase links for Amazon and Barnes & Noble per book entry, with tracking built in from day one.

This is a portfolio entry. The platform launched in 2023 at usatoday.com/booklist and remains active. It was delivered under strict editorial timeline constraints: a deadline-driven build where RTW API-first approach and lightweight Next.js architecture made the difference between shipping on time and missing the media window.