EPUB is a reflowable, XML-based format for eBooks and other digital publications developed by IDPF (www.idpf.org) and adopted by leading publishers and technology firms as the industry standard. OverDrive will release a white paper on preparing and distributing EPUB titles and optimizing files for the Sony Reader Digital Book later this month. Publishers can send requests for the EPUB white paper to EPUB@overdrive.com.

"The launch of Adobe Digital Editions and the Sony Reader Digital Book with EPUB-reading capabilities provide great opportunities for participating in the digital marketplace," said Steve Potash, president and CEO of OverDrive. "OverDrive's global distribution network and expansive catalog of digital audiobooks, eBooks, music, and video is enabling channels for publishers adopting the emerging EPUB format."

OverDrive is distributing eBooks in the EPUB format for some of the largest trade publishers including Simon & Schuster, Hachette Livre, HarperCollins, Harlequin, Penguin Group, Random House, Summersdale Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Taylor & Francis, Faber & Faber and Bloomsbury Publishers.

OverDrive provides digital download distribution for hundreds of publishers and e-retail solutions for Borders.com, eFollett.com, Papyless (Japan), hundreds of college bookstores, and other online retailers. It is the co-developer and operator of ADEPT, the hosted application service designed to protect digital publications, including those in the EPUB format, for use with Adobe Digital Editions. OverDrive is also a strategic partner to Microsoft (including Microsoft Reader eBook distribution), Mobipocket, and other leading technology firms.

OverDrive also powers download media catalogs at thousands of libraries worldwide, including institutions in New York, Singapore, Boston, and Toronto. To see if your public library is a member of the OverDrive network, visit http://search.overdrive.com.

About OverDrive

OverDrive is a leading full-service digital distributor of eBooks, audiobooks, music, and video. We deliver secure management, DRM protection, and download fulfillment services for hundreds of publishers and thousands of libraries, schools, retailers, and aggregators serving millions of end users. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, OH. www.overdrive.com

Contacts:
David Burleigh
OverDrive, Inc.
216-573-6886 x218
Email Contact

SOURCE: OverDrive, Inc.

http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=917921B95FD9F962

Ahmed Faraz was born in Naushehra on January 14, 1931. Faraz was his pen name takhallus, whereas his real name was Syed Ahmed Shah. Coming of a respectable Syed family, descendent of Haji Bahadar a famous saint of Kohat, he moved to Peshawar with entire family. He studied in famous Edwards College Peshawar and did his Masters in Urdu and Persian. In this way, Syed Ahmad Shah Faraz became Ahmed Faraz. He was compared with Faiz Ahmed and held a unique position as one of the best poets of current times, with a fine but simplistic style of writing, that even common people could easily understand and identify with. Ethnically a Pashto-speaking Pashtun, Ahmed Faraz learned and studied Persian and Urdu at the Peshawar University where he later taught these subjects.

In an interview, Faraz recalls how his father once bought clothes for him on Eid. He didnt like the clothes rather preferred the ones bought for his elder brother. This led him to write his first couplet:

Layen hain sab ke liye kapde sale se

Layen hain hamare liye kambal jail se

(Clothes for everybody have been purchased from the sale, but for me

a blanket has been brought from a prison)

Outspoken about politics, he went into self-imposed exile during the Zia-ul-Haq era after he had been arrested for reciting certain poems at a mushaira criticizing the military rule. He stayed for three years in Britain, Canada and Europe before returning to Pakistan, where he was initially appointed Chairman Academy of Letters and later chairman of the Islamabad-based National Book Foundation for several years. He was awarded numerous national and international awards.

He was inspired by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto And Pakistan Peoples Party. He was awarded the Hilal-e-Imtiaz in 2004, in recognition of his literary achievements. He returned the award in Musharraf regime in 2006 after becoming disenchanted with the government and its policies.

My conscious will not forgive me if I remained a silent spectator of the sad happenings around us. The least I can do is to let the dictatorship know where it stands in the eyes of the concerned citizens whose fundamental rights have been usurped. I am doing this by returning the Hilal-e-Imtiaz (civil) forthwith and refuse to associate myself in any way with the regime... he said in a statement issued by him.

One of his great ghazals is the famous Ranjish Hi Sahi. He wrote 13 books and all put together comes as Shehr e Sukhn aarasta hai.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has expressed deep sense of sorrow and grief over the death of prominent poet and intellectual Ahmad Faraz.

In a condolence message, the Chief Minister paid rich tributes to the services of Ahmad Faraz in the field of Urdu literature and said that in his death the country has lost a unique poet and intellectual. He prayed that may Allah Almighty rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant courage and strength to the members of the bereaved family to bear the irreparable loss with fortitude.

The existing Glencairn management team led by Steve Hearn, Chairman and CEO, will be responsible for the day-to-day management and future growth of its wholesale business.

Hearn commented, "In the current market climate, this gives Glencairn's staff and clients a unique opportunity. We will maintain our ability to trade independently but at the same time we gain valuable support and infrastructure to significantly enhance our service, brand and client base."

With the management of Glencairn, Willis have identified the opportunity to become the pre-eminent third-party broker with the creation of a separate business in the name of Faber & Dumas. The Faber & Dumas name has a long and proud history which dates back to 1928 when Willis was the leading London-based third party wholesale broker.

Commenting on the creation of Faber & Dumas, Willis President Grahame Millwater said, "As a company, we are excited and committed to growing all available distribution channels. The Faber & Dumas platform will allow us to include other business from Willis' existing third-party portfolio and other HRH wholesale business."

Outlining the Group's plans for the UK, Willis Limited Chairman and CEO David Margrett, who will be Chairman of Faber & Dumas, said, "The London wholesale broking market is fragmented and we see a huge opportunity for consolidation by creating a financially secure, well-managed business for the benefit of clients, brokers and markets. We believe that we will become the employers of choice for specialty wholesale brokers in London."

Willis Group Holdings Limited is a leading global insurance broker, developing and delivering professional insurance, reinsurance, risk management, financial and human resource consulting and actuarial services to corporations, public entities and institutions around the world. Willis has more than 300 offices in some 100 countries, with a global team of approximately 16,000Associates serving clients in some 190 countries. Additional information on Willis may be found at www.willis.com

SOURCE: Willis Group Holdings

Willis Group Holdings Limited 
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