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At a Penguin media event hosted by Penguin Group Chairman and CEO John Makinson, Penguin Group made three major announcements today at the London Book Fair. Reuters, CNN Money, The Guardian (UK) and Publishers Lunch have already published stories on these announcements. Links to this immediate and very positive press coverage are further below.
Penguin Group Is First International Publisher to Sign eBooks Distribution Agreement to make eBook Titles in English Available in China
Penguin Group is the first international publishing company to sign a distribution agreement to make its front and backlist English titles available in e-Book form to readers in China. This agreement is with Beijing-based Founder Apabi Group. Penguin e-Book titles from the UK and Dorling Kindersley will be made available in Apabi's Chinese e-Book (CEB) format. Starting in May 2009, titles will be available in English for download to Chinese readers, including a wide range of fiction, nonfiction, classics, children's, lifestyle, and travel books.
John Makinson commented: "We are excited to be signing this landmark agreement with Founder Apabi. For Penguin, both the Chinese market and the digital arena represent areas of great opportunity and future growth, and in Apabi we believe we have found the right partner to develop our e-Book offering. We look forward to using our relationship with Apabi as a springboard for a range of digital projects over the coming years."
Penguin Books South Africa Launches Penguin African Writers Series
Penguin Books South Africa is launching the Penguin African Writers Series - a list that will include, among others, some of the very best books from the iconic Heinemann African Writers Series as well as new books from fresh African voices.
Chinua Achebe, the prize-winning Nigerian writer and author of the classics Things Fall Apart and The Anthills of Savannah, was the original series editor of the Heinemann list, guiding and developing it for its first ten years. Achebe has agreed to take up the position of Editorial Adviser for the Penguin African Writers Series and his own collection Girls at War and Other Stories will be one of the six inaugural books to be published in August 2009.
Penguin Books South Africa Announces a New Literary Award: The Penguin Prize for African Writing
Penguin Books South Africa announced the Penguin Prize for African Writing, a new literary award for writers from the African continent. The award will be given to a previously unpublished full-length work of adult fiction and one of nonfiction. The prize in each category will be R50 000 and a publishing contract with Penguin Books South Africa, with worldwide distribution via Penguin Group companies.
Books to be considered for the nonfiction award will be serious narratives that examine and explore African issues and experiences for both local and international audiences in an engaging, thought provoking and enlightening way. For the fiction prize the judges will be looking for novels of freshness and originality that represent the finest examples of contemporary fiction out of Africa. Submissions for both categories are now open, and close on January 30, 2010. The shortlist will be announced in April 2010 and the final prizes will be awarded in September 2010.
Please read the attached press releases for further details on these announcements.
Below are links to today's media coverage:
Reuters: Penguin signs China e-book deal as sales rise in US
CNNMoney.com: Pearson's Penguin Signs E-book Deal In China
Publishers Lunch: Penguin International Deals Include Chinese eBook Partner
Guardian (UK): Achebe champions Penguin's new African writing drive
