News

Pottermore and OverDrive link on Potter library e-book distribution

27.02.12 | Charlotte Williams

Pottermore has entered into an exclusive worldwide e-book and digital audiobook distribution agreement with OverDrive for public and school libraries, with the e-book distributor to manage hosting and digital fulfillment for libraries for J K Rowling's Harry Potter series.

OverDrive director of marketing David Burleigh said the e-books and audiobooks are not yet available, though libraries and schools can pre-order them. The “go-live date” is to be announced, he said. Worldwide, the e-books will be available in ePub on PCs, Macs, Android devices, iPhones, iPads and Blackberries, plus reading devices including the Kindle and Nook, with Kindle support in the US only. The audiobooks will be available in MP3 format.

OverDrive will distribute the digital files in English and more than 20 other languages through a network of more than 18,000 public and school libraries globally.

Pottermore c.e.o. Charlie Redmayne said: "We are keen to support public and school libraries, and OverDrive, as one of the leading suppliers in this market, provides us with a global network that helps us achieve this, as well as encouraging the discovery of these amazing books across the world."

OverDrive c.e.o. and president Steve Potash said: “J K Rowling’s Harry Potter is a once-a-lifetime phenomenon and has been an extremely significant catalyst for reading and literacy for current and future generations. We are honoured to bring this beloved storytelling experience digitally to public and school libraries worldwide.”

The Pottermore site, home of the Harry Potter brand on the internet with exclusive content and forums for fans, was launched in beta last year, with plans to start making the e-books and digital audiobooks exclusively available through the site from October stalling.

Trackback URL for this post:

http://www.thebookseller.com/trackback/109171

Comments: Scroll down for the latest comments and to have your say

By posting on this website you agree to the Bookseller comments policy. Comments go direct to live please be relevant, brief and definitely not abusive. Report any "unsuitable comments by clicking the links"

Post new comment

Due to persistent spam problems we are now asking users to register before submitting comments. If you have already registered or are a subscriber then please log in now. Otherwise you can use the simple form below to register when you submit your comment. Your comment will go live once you click the validation link in the email. Comments still go live without moderation.
You should use this name when logging into your account.
This name will be displayed when you comment on the site.
The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <br> <p> <img>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.

More information about formatting options

Type the characters you see in this picture. (verify using audio)
Type the characters you see in the picture above; if you can't read them, submit the form and a new image will be generated. Not case sensitive.

Latest Jobs

Editor
Quid Publishing, part of the Quarto...
Competitive
Assistant Editor
The Royal Academy of Arts is one of...
£23,950 plus attractive benefits
Sales Manager: Healthcare
A prestigious scientific membership...
Available on request
 

TheBookseller