New York City at BookExpo America (Jacob Javits Center) — May 27, 2015 — At the largest publishing event in North America, BookExpo America (BEA), OverDrive will host a reception and present the Blue Sky Awards to publishers with top selling Chinese language adult and children’s eBooks.  Hundreds of US, Canadian and international public libraries and schools now offer their Chinese readers instant access to thousands of new Chinese language eBook titles in every category (for example, see San Francisco Public Library eBook collection at http://sfpl.lib.overdrive.com/Chinese.htm).

OverDrive, the leading eBook distribution platform to libraries and schools, created the Blue Sky Awards to honor international publishers who have achieved excellence in 5 categories.  During BEA 2015 at a special Recognition Reception in OverDrive’s booth #1720, the 2015 awards will be presented to:

  • Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press: Achievement in Children’s Publishing
  • Zhejiang Publishing United Group Digital Media Co.: Achievement in Fiction Publishing
  • Posts & Telecommunications Press: Achievement in Education Publishing
  • China Intercontinental Press: Achievement in Multi-lingual Publishing
  • Chinese National Publications Import & Export Corp. (CNPIEC): The OverDrive Innovation Award

“We congratulate and commend this group of leading eBook publishers for promoting Chinese culture and literature to communities throughout the US and worldwide,” said Erica Lazzaro, Director of Publisher Relations at OverDrive. “Readers and learners around the world are eagerly discovering and borrowing from their local library popular fiction, children’s and educational Chinese eBooks in every genre.”

Chinese publishers are enjoying rapid sales growth in the US and international markets as part of the Chinese government’s “Going Abroad” strategy.  OverDrive’s Chinese collection has become one of the fastest-growing categories within its public library catalog, which now includes more than 20,000 recently published Chinese language titles in EPUB and other digital formats.

Notable achievements from the 2015 Blue Sky Award winners:

Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press – Children’s Publishing

Since its partnership with OverDrive began in 2014, FLTRP has provided a number of classic bilingual children’s titles, offering global libraries with excellent language-learning materials. FLTRP is well-positioned to tell China stories to the world.

Zhejiang Publishing United Group Digital Media Co. – Fiction

Favored by readers and patrons worldwide, Zhejiang Publishing United Group Digital Media Co. supplies a wide range of the most popular Chinese fiction and has experienced rapid growth in the library market. Content supplied includes titles from bestselling authors such as Cai Jun, Li Ximin, Shen shixi and Zhou Haohui.

Posts & Telecommunications Press – Education

With its strong background in technology and computer science, Posts & Telecommunications Press has become a pioneer in educational digital publishing, supplying China’s best nonfiction titles in a variety of subjects including business, computer technology, travel, photography, art, management and more.

China Intercontinental Press – Multi-lingual

Specializing in multi-lingual publishing, CIP is now one of China’s leading publishing companies with multi-lingual publications, most of which are in Chinese, English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Italian and Arabic. With a focus on Chinese culture, traditional arts, religion, cooking & food, popular social topics, CIP’s titles have become a main source for readers who are interested in learning about China.

China National Publications Import & Export Corporation – Innovation

The CNPIEC collection is one of OverDrive’s fastest-growing Chinese partner catalogs. They offer content from the most prestigious literature publishers including People’s Literature Publishing House, Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House, Central Compilation and Translation Press, New World Press. As the first aggregator providing professionally translated bilingual metadata, CNPIEC is enabling over 30,000 English-speaking librarians to select quality Chinese titles.

 

About OverDrive
OverDrive is the leading global digital distribution platform, supplying the industry’s largest catalog of eBooks, audiobooks, music and streaming video to 33,000 libraries, schools and retailers in 52 countries. We support all major computers and devices, including iPhone®, iPad®, Nook®, Android™ phones and tablets, Chromebook™, and Kindle® (U.S. only). OverDrive offers all digital media on a single platform, and offers APIs to streamline a seamless user experience. OverDrive Read, the breakthrough EPUB and HTML5 browser-based reading experience, now supports fixed layout and narrated eBooks. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, Ohio USA and owned by Tokyo-based Rakuten. www.overdrive.com

Contact:
David Burleigh
Director of Marketing & Communications
dburleigh@overdrive.com
216-573-6886 ext. 218

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