第1回eBook AwardsのAlberto Vitale会長寸評

A Message from Alberto Vitale Chairman of the International eBook Award Foundation

It is my great pleasure to congratulate all the finalists whose eBooks were selected as candidates for the inaugural Frankfurt eBook Awards. These authors, and their publishers, are among the pioneers in this powerful and exciting new form of publishing. They have proven the format to be dynamic, engrossing, and capable of delivering all the power, insight, and satisfaction readers associate with paper book formats.

We also celebrate the many publishers who submitted eBooks for consideration, and the authors who embarked on this new course in publishing. We were gratified to note the tremendous volume and engaging diversity of eBook entries received. The response far exceeded IeBAF expectations, overwhelming our initial projections, with submissions arriving from countries as far and wide as Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, South Korea, the UK and the US. It is clear that eBook publishing is a vibrant medium of information, communication and education worldwide.

From our conversations with publishers around the world, and noting the strength and vision of the entries received, we believe it is true that the Frankfurt eBook Awards have indeed been a catalyst in the development of the next era of publishing. The Frankfurt eBook Awards will continue to promote an increasing awareness of the vast potential and opportunity represented by eBooks and will take their place among the most prestigious of literary awards which recognizesignificant contributions to the world of letters and the richnessof our international culture and heritage.

Alberto Vitale