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.

In addition to its business leadership, Scholastic was recognized for its global literacy campaign, "Read Every Day. Lead a Better Life." The campaign's social networking site, "You Are What You Read", celebrates the "great reads of our lives." This worldwide online book community lets readers connect by sharing the five books that most influenced their life, involving publishers the world over in the site, not just Scholastic. Nearly 200 noted celebrities, authors, business leaders and academics, including Bill Gates, Daniel Radcliffe, Oprah Winfrey, and even two former U.S. presidents have contributed their "great reads" to the site.

Scholastic also commissioned a literacy study, "The 2010 Kids & Family Reading Report," examining kids' reading behaviors in the digital world in which they're growing up.

Accepting the award on behalf of Scholastic, among a number of Scholastic executives in attendance at the reception, was Richard Robinson, Chairman, President and CEO of Scholastic Inc.

"Scholastic is honored to be chosen Publishing Innovator of the Year, especially because the staff and the advisory board of Book Business recognized us not only for our business innovations, but also for our global literacy campaign, 'Read Every Day. Lead a Better Life,'" says Robinson. "The message of our campaign is that, in this technology-driven age, the ability to read well, analyze and interpret texts, and draw information and inspiration from books and literature has never been more important not only to succeed, but to survive in the 21st Century. We thank Book Business for this important honor." BB