LaTeX Nonfiction Book/eBook Template

A template for technical nonfiction books: print PDF (LuaLaTeX), EPUB3 (make4ht), and web (lwarp) from shared LaTeX sources.

For independent self-publishers and small presses — not the big-four trade publishing workflow.

Quick start

# Docker (recommended)
docker compose run --rm book just all

# Native
just doctor
just print    # → build/print/book.pdf
just ebook    # → build/ebook/eBook.epub
just web      # → web/dist/index.html

See INSTALL.md and docs/building.md.

Why this exists

Modern books ship in multiple formats. This template keeps one set of chapter files under tex/ and builds:

Root file	Output	Engine
book.tex	Print / POD PDF	LuaLaTeX + biber
eBook.tex	EPUB3	make4ht / tex4ebook
book_html.tex	Static web	lwarp

Structure

• BookParameters.tex — title, author, ISBN, spine math
• tex/zzInit.tex — shared packages and macros
• tex/bib/book.bib — bibliography (biblatex + biber)
• Justfile — build entry point (replaces legacy bin/makebook)

Book contents

1. Front matter — half title, title page, copyright, TOC, preface
2. Main matter — introduction + body chapters
3. Back matter — endnotes, bibliography, authors cited, index, abbreviations

Many sections are optional via \Boolean{...} toggles in book.tex / eBook.tex.

Documentation

• Configuration — BookParameters.tex and booleans
• Building — just targets, Docker, CI
• Publishing — KDP, EPUB stores, GitHub Pages
• CHANGES_2026.md — 2026 modernization log

Legacy

bin/makebook is deprecated — use just print / just ebook. Cover tooling (bin/makecover, bin/installcover) remains for optional cover projects.

License

MIT — see LICENSE. Original template by John Fogarty.