As the the Beijing International Book Fair kicks off, U.S. digital publisher Trajectory, Berlin-based academic house De Gruyter and Chinese publisher Commercial Press separately announced new deals.
Trajectory a digital publisher and technology developer, announced plans to release Chinese language e-book editions of two Classics Illustrated graphic novels, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and War of the Worlds plus a Chinese edition of Sally Goes to the Beach, a children’s picture book by the late illustrator Stephen Huneck. The e-books are available for download immediately from e-book retailers Kobo and Amazon.com.
Also at the fair, De Gruyter announced it has reached a “strategic partneship” with Commercial Press, a well-known Chinese publisher focused on the humanities and social sciences. The partnership is effective immediately and will focus on the exchange of academic titles between the two houses. Commerical Press, which publishers more than 1,200 titles each year, will translate works from the De Gruyter list into Chinese and distribute in the Chinese market and De Gruyter will license titles of international interest from Commercial Press to release in English editions in print and digital formats.
Earlier this year Trajectory acquired the digital rights to 123 titles in the Classic Illustrated series, the historic comics adaptations of classic literary works like Jules Vernes’ 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds and many others. The Cambridge, Mass. digital publisher has also reached an agreement with the widow of the late Spehen Huneck to publish digital editions of Huneck’s eight-book Sally series, which follows the adventures of a black Labrador.
The company specializes in digital editions of children’s literature and is focused on opportunities for international distribution.
Trajectory CEO Jim Bryant said, “We are at the dawn of a digital revolution as a new generation of children in China have the opportunity to engage with these popular stories on their mobile devices.”
