BEIJING (Jan. 11, 2013)—National Geographic has partnered with Qingdao Publishing Group to distribute National Geographic Kids magazine in China. The magazine will be available on newsstands and by subscription and will be published 10 times a year. The first issue debuts this month in Chinese Simplified. The announcement was made today at the Beijing International Book Fair.
National Geographic Kids magazine will be available for 10 yuan/single issue and 120 yuan/annual subscription. Circulation at launch is expected to be 50,000.
Aimed at children ages 6-12, National Geographic Kids magazine is a photo-driven publication that inspires young adventurers to explore the world. The Chinese edition will include facts, jokes, trivia and reader-submitted photographs, highlighted by engaging stories about animals, science, nature and human achievement, and content specifically geared to local readers.
“We are pleased to add National Geographic Kids magazine alongside National Geographic magazine in China,” said Terry Adamson, executive vice president of the National Geographic Society. “National Geographic Kids is an excellent way to introduce young readers to the world around them through fun, colorful stories, graphics, photographs and activities that speak to them on their level and pique their curiosity.”
National Geographic Kids launched in the United States in 1975 as National Geographic World magazine. The Chinese edition of National Geographic is the 16th local-language edition of the magazine, preceded by the Mongolian edition in October 2012. Other local-language editions are available in Bulgaria, Egypt, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Slovenia, South Africa (Afrikaans and English), Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom. National Geographic Kids has a worldwide circulation of approximately 1.7 million, including the U.S. edition.
National Geographic Kids inspires young adventurers to explore the world through award-winning magazines, books, apps, games, toys, videos, events and a website, and is the only kids brand with a world-class scientific organization at its core. National Geographic Kids magazine (10 issues per year) and Little Kids magazine (six issues per year) are photo-driven publications available on newsstands or by subscription in print and on tablets.
The award-winning website kids.nationalgeographic.com excites kids about the planet through games, videos, contests, photos, quizzes and blogs about cultures, animals and destinations. National Geographic Kids Books is the leading publisher of kids’ nonfiction books, with 50 titles each year, including the New York Times bestseller “Kids Almanac.” National Geographic Kids Games engages kids to learn through play with games like the online virtual animal world of Animal Jam and the interactive TV experience of Nat Geo Kinect TV. National Geographic Kids Apps brings the best of National Geographic Kids to smartphones and tablets.
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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’s mission is to inspire people to care about the planet. It reaches more than 450 million people worldwide each month through its official journal, National Geographic, and other magazines; National Geographic Channel; television documentaries; music; radio; films; books; DVDs; maps; exhibitions; live events; school publishing programs; interactive media; and merchandise. National Geographic has funded more than 10,000 scientific research, conservation and exploration projects and supports an education program promoting geographic literacy. For more information, visit www.nationalgeographic.com.
About Qingdao Publishing Group
Qingdao Publishing House, predecessor of QPG, was established in January 1987. By the end of last century, its sales income had reached 60 million yuan. Entering the new century, Qingdao Publishing House properly adjusted its development strategy and began its new phase of development. In the past 10 years, it has maintained two-digit growth rates and the sales income has grown six times. Qingdao Publishing House enjoyed its first golden development decade.
Qingdao Publishing House, transforming from institution to enterprise, turned into Qingdao Publishing Group in March 2009. The revenue of QPG is 14 billion yuan with total assets of 20 billion yuan. In terms of its integrated economic scale, Qingdao Publishing House ranks 14th among the publishing houses nationwide and first among vice-provincial publishing houses.
QPG has received numerous prestigious awards such as: “100 Best Book Publishers,” “Government Prize for Publications,” “Excellent Enterprise of News and Publications Systems” and “National Key Enterprise of Culture Export.”
QPG consists of six types of publishing sectors with a complete publishing chain: books, newspapers, magazines, audio-visual publications and online products. The publishing direction of QPG has become clearer in the process of development. The amassing, agglomeration and clustering of books’ subjects have become more and more efficient. QPG has received continuous financial support from national funds and is speeding up the publication of competitive products.
QPG has many international cooperation projects, such as National Geographic Kids magazine, publications of Toy Story, Marvel Heroes and Super Spiderman with Disney Group, and Hello Kitty with Sanrio. The China—New Long March, co-published with Australia Weldon International, is being launched globally. Half a year after its publication, 200,000 copies have been sold in Europe and America. QPG’s “Walking Out” strategy has begun its new march.
QPG values digital publishing and has developed such digital products as cell-phone books and portable readers. Projects like “Publications Digitalization,” “Digital Publishing Base of QPG,” “‘Bridge+Cloud’ Digital Publishing System” and “International Digital Platform for Publications” are listed in National Projects Library for News and Publishing Industry. QPG is also working on the cooperation with the appliance industry and building a digital city community with digital libraries, fridges equipped with Internet of Things, digital interactive classroom system, TV reading platform, etc.
Through 10 years’ development in this new century, QPG has successfully finished the leap from a traditional publishing house to a modern cross-media group.