eBook distributor expands international network of publishers, retailers and libraries

 

Frankfurt Book Fair, Frankfurt, Germany – October 6, 2010 – OverDrive (www.overdrive.com), the leading distributor of eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, and other premium digital media to booksellers, schools, and libraries, announced today that Johanna Brinton has joined the company as Director of Business Development for Europe.  Ms. Brinton will manage OverDrive’s expanded EU publisher services, retail, and eCommerce businesses.

“Johanna brings to OverDrive ten years of hands-on experience working with premium, copyrighted digital media and delivering eCommerce solutions for EU retailers, carriers, and OEMs,” said Erica Lazzaro, licensing counsel for OverDrive.  “As OverDrive already enjoys trusted partnerships throughout the EU and with the leading UK booksellers and publishers, it was ideal for Johanna to base our European operations in the Greater London area.”

This week OverDrive will be meeting with dozens of its global publishing partners at the Frankfurt Book Fair to preview enhancements to its distribution services.  OverDrive will demo new eBook and audiobook apps for Windows®, Mac®, iPod®, iPad™, iPhone®, and Android™ devices.  OverDrive distributes one of the world’s largest catalogs of eBooks, audiobooks and multimedia, with more than 500,000 titles.  This includes one of the world’s largest catalogs of EPUB titles, the open standard for eBooks published by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF).  The OverDrive stand at the Frankfurt Book Fair is in Hall 8.0 – Stand O946, on October 6-10, 2010.

OverDrive eBook apps for Android, iPhone, and iPad will display EPUB eBooks in their native format – and include multimedia support – so there’s no conversion or additional formats required for publishers, retailers, libraries, or consumers to manage.

Leading online booksellers who recently went live with popular eBooks supplied by OverDrive include Books-A-Million.com (US), Gato Sabido (Brazil), Xue-Si (Taiwan), Avusa Retail (South Africa), and Papataka (Indonesia). These international booksellers join Borders.com, Barnesandnoble.com, LivrariaCultura.com.br, Waterstones.co.uk, WHSmith.co.uk, and dozens of other online retailers selling download audiobooks and/or eBooks supplied by OverDrive.

International publishers that were recently added to OverDrive’s global catalog include Caracolivres (France), Nicholas Brealey (UK), Macmillan Australia, Random House Australia, New Holland Publishing (South Africa and UK), Museum Ohne Grenzen (Austria), and ebooks + Audiolibros Patagonia (Chile). OverDrive currently distributes hundreds of thousands of digital titles in 50 languages from top publishers supporting several business models including Agency.  Leading suppliers include Hachette Book Group, Harlequin, HarperCollins, John Wiley & Sons, McGraw-Hill, Random House, Simon & Schuster, Brilliance Audio, Blackstone Audio, Penguin, and dozens of others.

OverDrive provides trusted digital distribution and digital media hosting services for more than 11,000 libraries, schools, and colleges worldwide, adding new partners recently in London, Dublin, Ankara, Amsterdam, and more. To see if your school or library is a member of the OverDrive network, visit http://search.overdrive.com.  OverDrive operates the Digital Bookmobile (www.digitalbookmobile.com), a high-tech 18-wheeler traveling North America on behalf of public libraries to raise awareness about free library downloads.

 

About OverDrive
OverDrive is a leading full-service digital distributor of eBooks, audiobooks, music, and video. We deliver secure management, DRM protection, and download fulfillment services for hundreds of publishers and thousands of libraries, schools, and retailers, serving millions of end users. OverDrive has been named to the EContent 100 as a company that matters most in the digital content industry. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, OH. www.overdrive.com

Contact:
David Burleigh
OverDrive, Inc.
216-573-6886 x218
dburleigh@overdrive.com

###