“Publishing 3.0 – HK Smart e-Book Hub” Scheme service portal opens for registration today Free A.I. tools for publishers to maximise business opportunities
To read anytime anywhere with just “one device in hand”, the cutting-edge technology can facilitate local publishers and authors to promote their publications to international markets without language and geographical obstacles. With the support of the Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre (LSCM) of Innovation and Technology Commision and sponsored by the Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), the Hong Kong Publishing Federation (HKPF) organises the “Publishing 3.0 – HK Smart e-Book Hub” Scheme (“Pub3.0”), which combines the e-Book Publishing Conversion Platform and the Smart e-Book Hub to assist local publishers speeding up their digital transformation. Starting from today “4.23 World Book & Copyright Day”, the “Pub3.0” one-stop service portal (https://publishing3.hk) opens for publishers and authors to register, they can use the conversion platform and the portal for free. The conversion platform can convert Chinese paper publications into Chinese e-books, translate into English e-books and further convert into audiobooks in Cantonese, Putonghua and English. Furthermore, readers can access some e-books and audiobooks on the portal provided by publishers.
A sharing session under “Pub3.0” for the publishing industry was held on 19 April (last Wednesday). Representatives from more than 40 local publishers attended the event including authors and editors. The participants and the organisers had in-depth discussion about the technological application and operation of the conversion platform. They have positive feedbacks to the Scheme and believe that the using of artificial intelligence systems (A.I.) can lower part of the production and time costs on text translation and conversion while facilitating Hong Kong publishers to explore markets in different regions.
Dr. Elvin LEE Ka-kui, President of HKPF and Chairman of “Pub3.0” Steering Committee, said ‘the launch of the “Pub3.0” is just in a good time to catch on the growing trend in online reading habit. With the advanced technology, a lot of high quality content provided by Hong Kong publishers can be converted to a digital form easily. He encourages local publishers to take this opportunity to fully utilise the cutting-edge technology provided to speed up their digital transformation.
Mrs. Lowell CHO LAI Suk-ha, Assistant Head of CreateHK, thanks for HKPF and LSCM’s efforts in creating the conversion platform which combines technology and art, in response to the publishing industry’s demand. She encourages local authors and publishers to participate in the “Pub3.0 ” by submitting their books.
Dr. Sharon WONG Yin-yue, Executive Chairwoman (Administration) of “Pub3.0” Steering Committee, Chairwoman of Hong Kong Reprographic Rights Licensing Society (HKRRLS), expressed that the conversion platform has been built from the scratch and the system is constantly improving and upgrading to ensure qualities of machine translation and “text to speech” technology. After the official launch of the “Pub3.0” service portal, it will be promoted in different occasions this year including Hong Kong Book Fair in July and Hong Kong Pavilion at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany in October. In the long run, she hopes that the Scheme can facilitate the industry on copyright business so as to increase the sales of local publications which will be beneficial to readers eventually.
A series of local publications were collected by “Pub3.0” at the beginning of the Scheme and some of them are converted to e-books and audiobooks for interested parties to access on the “Pub3.0” one-stop service portal starting from today (23 April). To enrich and enlarge the e-Book Hub, HKPF hopes to recruit more publishers and authors to join the Scheme and to convert their publications through the conversion platform. At the same time, publishers can upload their books’ written information and audio descriptions to the service portal and nominate book categories for the e-Book Hub. The first phase of the recruitment to publishers is starting from today (23 April) till 30 June this year. Selected books in five categories including “Literature & Fiction”, “Living & Social Lives”, “Medical Healthcare”, “Finance & Business” and “History & Biography” to the e-Book Hub will be announced in July’s Hong Kong Book Fair and promoted in local and overseas events in the second half of this year.
Click on https://publishing3.hk for details of joining the “Publishing 3.0 – HK Smart e-Book Hub”
Disclaimer: The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region provides funding support to the project only, and does not otherwise take part in the project. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials/events (or by members of the project team) are those of the project organisers only and do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, Create Hong Kong, the CreateSmart Initiative Secretariat or the CreateSmart Initiative Vetting Committee.