Chinese education publishers found UK-based Innova

Three major Chinese education publishers have joined together to co-found a UK-based English Language Teaching publishing house. The new venture was announced to coincide with the Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF), which opened today (Wednesday 23rd August).

Innova Press is the creation of FLTRP, Hujiang Education & Technology Corporation and Elite Concept Holdings. It will have an office in Reading and Richard Peacock, formerly of Garnet Education, will be its president, while Terry Phillips, m.d. of journal EL Gazette, will be the company's business development director.

Innova will publish primarily ELT materials for students all around the world preparing for work or study in English, though it will also produce Chinese language teaching materials, as well as books about China and Chinese culture for an English-speaking audience which it plans to sell through the retail trade.

Its first products will be available by the end of the year, and the company will have a presence at the next London Book Fair, FLTRP's international director Hou Hui told The Bookseller. A three-year plan will see Innova grow its Reading team to eight-10 staff in three years, she added.

Hou Hui declined to give details of the Chinese companies' financial investment in Innova, but said it was "not a small size...The three shareholders are very committed to supporting the company to grow fast, and to build a strong product line."

She said the publisher's approach to its ELT courses would be innovative. "The approach will be different, because trends in ELT are changing. In China, students no longer take a general English course, they need to combine language learning with a discipline - ESP, English for a Specific Purpose: English for engineering, for example."

In a speech at the Innova Press launch, Peacock claimed a new ELT publisher was needed "because the mainstream ELT publishers seem to be stuck in the past. Firstly they are stuck in terms of the content of main courses, still preparing students primarily for travel and tourism. And secondly, they are stuck in terms of delivery, trying to adapt existing print courses to digital, rather than embracing the new world." Innova Press would be "disruptive", he said.

Hou Hui said FLTRP was looking for opportunities globally, and last year acquired shares in Canadian educational video company MLM, and this year is launching collaborations with local publishers in France and Poland. "This is only the beginning of our international business," she said. "It is a small step, but we are very dedicated to making our publishing brand stronger in the international market."