Accessible Books Consortium Calls for Nominations for the 2020 ABC International Excellence Award for Accessible Publishing

October 29, 2019

Nominations for the 2020 ABC International Excellence Award for Accessible Publishing are now open and should be submitted by Monday, December 16, 2019, through the London Book Fair site. This award recognizes outstanding leadership and achievements in advancing the accessibility of commercial e-books or other digital publications for persons who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print-disabled.  The Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) encourages nominations of companies, organizations or individuals based in developing or least-developed countries.

Every year, the ABC International Excellence Award recognizes both a publisher, and a project initiative, and the two awardees will be presented with trophies at the annual awards event to be held at the London Book Fair on March 10, 2020.

The final decision of the selection panel, composed of experts working in the field of accessibility, will be based on the following criteria:

  • an organization-wide commitment to making content available in accessible formats;
  • accessibility standards built into production systems to make books accessible on, or close to, publication date;
  • collaboration with partners in the supply chain to ensure that accessibility is maintained in delivering the product to the print disabled end-user;
  • innovative practices established to advance the accessibility of e-books and digital publications for persons who are print disabled.

EDITORIAL 5 (ED5) of Brazil and the eKitabu of Kenya were the ABC award winners in 2019.

Photo of Monica Halil (WIPO), Pedro Milliet, Roberto Maluhy Jr., and Mauricio Barreto of (ED5)
Left: Monica Halil (WIPO), Pedro Milliet, Roberto Maluhy Jr., and Mauricio Barreto of (ED5)
Photo of Monica Halil, Matt Utterback (eKitabu) and Lawrence Njagi (Kenya Publishers Association) (Photos: London Book Fair)
Right: Monica Halil, Matt Utterback (eKitabu) and Lawrence Njagi (Kenya Publishers Association) (Photos: London Book Fair)

About the Accessible Books Consortium

ABC is a public–private partnership led by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a U.N. specialized agency that brings together all of the key players – organizations representing people who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print-disabled, authors, publishers, collective management organizations, libraries and other authorized entities, as well as standards bodies.

The Consortium was launched five years ago to implement the goals of the WIPO administered Marrakesh Treaty. Through an effective international alliance of relevant state and non-state actors, ABC seeks to increase, and distribute, the number of books worldwide in accessible formats - such as Braille, audio, e-text and large print.

For further information, please see the 2019 Report on the Accessible Books Consortium or visit www.AccessibleBooksConsortium.org