Scholastic Inc. Named Publishing Innovator of the Year
Approximately 70 VIP guests— including executives from Esquire, The Onion, U.S. News & World Report, Merriam-Webster, Wolters Kluwer and Fierce Markets—gathered at a special invite-only reception at the Marriott Marquis, Times Square, New York, to honor Scholastic Inc., named by Book Business magazine as the Publishing Innovator of the Year in book publishing. The event, which was sponsored by Mirsasol display technology by Qualcomm, was held in conjunction with the 2011 Publishing Business Conference & Expo.
Bonnier Inc. also was recognized as Publishing Executive magazine's Publishing Innovator of the Year in magazine publishing.
The awards were presented by Book Business Editorial Director Noelle Skodzinski, who said Scholastic has been a leader and example for the industry.
"Scholastic is a company that has long been admired by many, and for reasons that are too many to cite," she explained in the awards presentation. "This past year, however, Scholastic seemed to go above and beyond its usual standards of leadership and forward-thinking business strategy. It also has reached beyond the borders of business, and launched impressive and noble efforts to improve literacy worldwide."
Scholastic Inc. was selected for its leadership in multimedia publishing, such as the best-selling series "The 39 Clues," which incorporates collectible cards, an online game, webcasts and more. It also has been a pioneer in developing educational technology with its READ 180, the technology-based reading intervention program that is used by more than 1 million students in U.S. schools every day and helps struggling readers in grades 4 through 12 "do a 180" turnaround from failure to success. Scholastic also has been leading in the mobile space with its highly rated "Touch & Tilt" apps for young children: "Clifford the Big Red Dog," "I Love You Through and Through," and "The Magic School Bus."
The company also is making significant digital investments this year that will lead to its launch of its kid-friendly e-reader software and an e-bookstore for kids timed to launch this fall for back-to-school.
