TALLINN, Estonia (Aug. 25, 2011)—The National Geographic Society, one of the world’s largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations, announces that its official journal, National Geographic magazine, will be launched in the Estonian language in October 2011. The magazine’s first Estonian edition, on newsstands at the end of September, will give readers access to the original content of the publication that has set the standard for excellence in reporting and photography for more than 100 years.
The Estonian edition of the magazine expands the international reach of the National Geographic Society — this new edition will be the 33rd local-language edition of National Geographic magazine. Published under license from the National Geographic Society by AlmaliEst, a subsidiary of major Lithuanian publishing house Alma Littera, the Estonian edition will follow closely the editorial content of the English-language original. It will be produced to the exacting standards of the Society, in the same format and with the familiar yellow-bordered cover.
John Fahey, National Geographic Society chairman and CEO, welcomed Estonia’s entry to the nations that publish National Geographic magazine. “Giving people a window to the world in their own language through National Geographic’s incomparable photographs and storytelling is a compelling way to extend the Society’s mission to inspire and educate,” he said.
Erkki Peetsalu, editor-in-chief of National Geographic Estonia, said that the launch of the Estonian edition is significant on many levels. “National Geographic magazine has become an icon in high-quality nature and science literature. For more than a century National Geographic has been reporting on issues that have shaped history and our understanding of how the whole world functions. The arrival of the magazine in Estonia shows that the local media landscape is reaching new maturity,” he said.
Peetsalu has 20 years of experience in Estonian media and communications. He obtained a degree in journalism from the University of Tartu. In recent years he has been contributing to initiatives to raise public awareness of sustainable development and civic issues.
Publishing house Alma Littera specializes in fiction, nonfiction, reference and textbooks, and, since 2009, has published the Lithuanian edition of National Geographic magazine. Alma Littera launched National Geographic Kids magazine in 2010.
Terry Adamson, executive vice president for National Geographic Society, said, “Alma Littera has been a successful partner of National Geographic magazine and National Geographic Kids magazine in Lithuania since 2009 and 2010, respectively. We’re excited to now extend this relationship to Estonia and continue to build our reach in northern Europe.”
Published in English since 1888, National Geographic magazine provides in-depth editorial coverage of cultures, nature, science and technology. The magazine has 60 million readers worldwide. In addition to its English edition, the magazine currently appears in 32 local-language editions: Japanese, Spanish (separate editions for Spain and Latin America), Italian, Hebrew, Greek, French, German, Polish, Korean, Portuguese (separate editions for Portugal and Brazil), Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Chinese (traditional characters), Chinese (simple characters), Finnish, Turkish, Thai, Czech, Hungarian, Romanian, Russian, Croatian, Bahasa, Bulgarian, Slovenian, Serbian, Lithuanian and Arabic. The Estonian edition will bring the number of local-language editions to 33.
About Alma Littera
Alma Littera was established in 1990 and has developed into the leading publishing house in the Lithuanian market. At present Alma Littera is the leader in publishing fiction for adults and children and is the second-leading educational publisher. Its objective is to introduce the world’s best writers and most popular books both to adults and children, therefore, translations from other languages form a large part of its offerings. Alma Littera has a reputation for providing readers with quality books in terms of content and form. Alma Littera is part of the biggest publishing and book sales group in the Baltic states. Established in 2002, the Alma Littera group also includes Sviesa Publishers, bookshop network Pegasas, and The Book Club.
About National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society is one of the world’s largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations. Founded in 1888 to “increase and diffuse geographic knowledge,” the Society works to inspire people to care about the planet. National Geographic reflects the world through its magazines, television programs, films, music and radio, books, DVDs, maps, exhibitions, live events, school publishing programs, interactive media and merchandise. National Geographic magazine, the Society’s official journal, is read by more than 60 million people each month. The National Geographic Channel reaches 370 million households in 34 languages in 168 countries. National Geographic Digital Media receives more than 15 million visitors a month. National Geographic has funded more than 9,600 scientific research, conservation and exploration projects and supports an education program promoting geography literacy. For more information, visit www.nationalgeographic.com. Facebook: www.facebook.com/natgeo
For additional information, contact:
Erkki Peetsalu, National Geographic Estonia, Editor-in-Chief
Tel. +372 501 8100
E-mail: erkki@maailmad.ee
Beth Foster, National Geographic Magazine, VP of Communications
Tel. +1 (202) 857-7543
E-mail: befoster@ngs.org