Book trade wins new media awards
29.06.09 Victoria Gallagher reporting for The Bookseller

Harlequin Mills and Boon and Penguin's digital marketing director Anna Rafferty both won awards at the New Media Age Effectiveness Awards, held last week.
Mills and Boon picked up a gong for its newly redesigned website, while Rafferty won an award for the "Greatest Individual Contribution to New Media".Rafferty was applauded for her pioneering and innovative approach to social media and digital marketing at the NMA Awards. Since joining Penguin Books in 2003, she has spearheaded a variety of social media-driven initiatives, including Spinebreakers, an interactive site aimed at promoting the world of books and reading to teenagers, BlogaPenguinClassic, BlogaHolidayRead and the online dating site, PenguinDating.

Tim Cooper, director of direct and digital marketing, for M&B describe the firm's award in the Retail category as "fantastic news". "The new Mills & Boon website is a showcase for our new eBooks, and also offers an online community for romance fans." He added: "We are in an increasingly instant and on-demand world.
The new Mills & Boon website and eBook offering is our way of responding to the changing face of publishing and taking the lead - and we are receiving a fantastic repsonse from readers as a result."The new website launched in April this year with its own social networking site. The site now includes a variety of features, including blogs, forums and reviews. The site branches directly off Mills and Boon's main website and works in the same vein as Facebook, allowing users to create a profile.