International Adoption of EPUB eBook Standard to be presented
at Frankfurt Book Fair

EPUB digital book catalogs growing to supply new Sony Reader 

Toronto, Canada:  October 6, 2008:  Booksellers and publishers attending the Frankfurt Book Fair are invited to attend an open conference session to hear from representatives from the International Digital Publishing Forum (www.IDPF.org), Random House UK, OverDrive, Inc., and Sony Reader on recent milestones for the eBook market and adoption of the EPUB format standard in US and EU book markets.

The session, presented as part of the Frankfurt Book Fair Digital Lunch program is entitled:  Digital Publishing and the EPUB Standard: Effects on Publishers, Channels and Devices.   The Digital Lunch session will run from 12:00 – 1:00 PM on Thursday, October 16, 2008 in Hall 4C – Alliance Room.  Details about the one-hour program can be found at: https://en.book-fair.com/fbf/programme/calendar_of_events/detail.aspx?a1850834-d682-44a4-9b98-1ff33a3bcb5c=b5977f86-9edf-4a2f-aa32-1a603d0455c2

Presenters include: Michael Smith, Executive Director, International Digital Publishing Forum, Steve Potash, CEO, OverDrive, Inc., Fionnuala Duggan, Director, Random House Digital Group (UK), and Robert Nell, Director Business Development, Digital Reading Business Division, Sony Electronics Inc.

This Digital Lunch, which is open to all Frankfurt attendees, discusses the EPUB format and Effects on Publishers, Channels and Devices including presentations from IDPF representatives, a digital book distributor, a leading publisher using EPUB and Market Experiences with the Sony Reader.

“Publishers, digital distributors, and booksellers are joining technology companies around the world to promote the EPUB eBook format”, stated Michael Smith, IDPF Executive Director.  “Hundreds of meetings at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the world’s largest, will be focused on the emerging digital book industry and how all stakeholders can leverage the experiences that this session will report on”, Smith added.

The IDPF will provide a summary of recent eBook industry activity at the Digital Lunch including:

·        ---Feedbooks.com surpasses 2,000,000 EPUB downloads to reading devices.

·        ----Sony Reader is introduced in the UK with the launch of an EPUB eBookstore  Waterstones.com.

·        ----Year-to-year wholesale eBook sales growing at 71%.

·        ---The Association of American Publishers announces its support for the EPUB Standard.

The International Digital Publishing Forum www.idpf.org is a non-profit trade and standards organization for the digital publishing industry representing over 90 companies and organizations.