Winners are selected by local libraries from a shortlist of six books of which DK had two titles. We have been the finalist for this several times but this is the first time we have won this prestigious award. Congratulations are in order to all involved.

Check out the entire shortlst here:

http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/libraries/tots2teens/award

So, have fun testing your knowledge about BBC Children in Need and support the charity by playing the quiz now.

We also need your help in spreading the word and reaching our target of 100,000 plays so please tweet about it, share it, post your score on Facebook and tell all your friends. Thank you!

We also spotted our lovely range of MasterChef books on prominent display; needless to say we’ll be back next year, waistlines permitting!

A view from above

One lucky event-goer will win this book as a prize

MasterChef on display

DK is proud to announce THREE digital wins at the 2011 Lovie Awards.

The European sister awards of the well-known Webby Awards, the Lovies celebrate and honour the crème de la crème of Europe’s best websites, apps, interactive advertising, online film and video.

DK Human Body App (http://itunes.apple.com/app/dkhumanbody/id454946651)
was awarded GOLD for ‘Mobile Innovation for Tablet’ and SILVER for ‘Education & Reference for Tablet’!

www.dkquiz.com  scooped BRONZE in Games Websites – the top award in this category!

DK is right up there with other high-profile brands including Telegraph.co.uk (BRONZE – News Websites), Penguin Land of Me (BRONZE – Desktop Apps), BBC iPlayer (SILVER – Entertainment for Tablet), Skype (GOLD – Utilities & Services for Tablet) among others.

The awards recognise the unique and resonant nature of the European internet community – from the top web and creative networks and content publishers to cultural and political organisations and bedroom bloggers. They’re judged by The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences, a body of leading web experts, business figures, luminaries, creative celebrities and other internet professionals.

A full list of winners can be found here: http://lovieawards.eu/winners/

We are looking for the most creative ideas using everyday LEGO bricks, from astronauts and spaceships to pirate boats and castles fit for a princess.

Three lucky winners, (one per age category), will each receive four tickets to LEGOLAND® Windsor (valid from March 2012), as well as a fantastic LEGO set worth £50. Six runners up will also win a copy of The LEGO Ideas Book.

For details on how to enter click on the link below:

http://www.dk.com/legocompetition

Closing date: 20th November 2011

Here’s one we made earlier:

Happy building!

With Halloween just around the corner, Monsters in the Movies by legendary director John Landis is in perfect timing, and to go hand in hand, we have Monsters In The Movies quiz as well as a spooky Haunted Halloween quiz.

The MasterChef Kitchen Bible is simply the only cookbook you’ll ever need, but for anyone who’s a fan of the show, why not try our MasterChef quiz.

Animal has sold over 1 million copies worldwide and this new edition is completely revised and updated, with a faux-zebra skin cover for that lovely gift feel, as well as over 50 new species featured. Play our New Beasts On The Block quiz and see if you’ve heard of any of them…

Evolution: The Human Story by Dr Alice Roberts has it’s very own quiz, check out our Evolution Revolution quiz – but be ready, it’s a hard one.

Plus, quizzes about all your favourite shows, from Strictly Come Dancing to Downton Abbey. There’s really nothing left to do, but play.

Frankfurt Book Fair is the biggest book and media fair in the world, and we’re back again this year.  Reporting from the busy DK stand, our International Sales team give us a taste of what it’s like…

Setting the scene – Gareth Lowe

Imagine a giant, uncoordinated ballet, performed around a mass of obstacles at great speed.  This is somewhat akin to the DK stand at the height of the Frankfurt Bookfair – a heaving mass of excited buyers, eager sales people and countless other staff.  That the stand looked clean, orderly and chic throughout was a testament to the hard work that went into the planning and execution of the event.  Of course, if a foreign publisher takes 1,000 copies or 10,000 copies, the stand looks just as busy.  But whilst the real test of the fair’s success is yet to come, everyone working for DK must have left this year’s Bookfair with something of a buzz.

It’s worth trotting out the facts and figures relating to the size of the Frankfurt Bookfair – in the industry we’re all too familiar with these, but for those for whom books are a passion and not a profession, it’s well worth repeating them.  Imagine Earls Court (the missing apostrophe in the name of the exhibition centre is all the stranger when you consider that the area and tube station seem to have got it right).  It’s a fairly big hall and annually hosts a pretty big Bookfair.  Now imagine multiplying that by a factor of 8. I admit I’ve not done any research when quoting these figures, but it certainly seems that large.  The Frankfurt Bookfair is so huge it has its own transport system installed within.  The exhibition halls themselves are the largest in Europe, but few other events held there must generate the same level of enthusiasm amongst the local population.  Frankfurt, and perhaps Germany as a whole, simply loves books.

One of the most bizarre trends at recent Fairs is the tendency for “cosplay” youths to descend upon the Bookfair in their thousands.  The phenomenon started a few years back, with a handful of keen teens dressing as their favourite Manga characters.  It’s pure escapism, but in today’s climate that’s surely a good thing.  Each year, their number grows and whilst it’s easy to turn one’s jaded nose up at their enthusiasm, the idea that such a volume of German youths are keen on books and interested in publishing is fantastic.

Back on the DK stand, tired limbs and hungry bellies betray the effort that’s gone into creating and promoting one of the world’s foremost illustrated publishing lists.  But the mood is good, and the night is young, and we all head towards our respective drinks engagements content in the knowledge that all the hard work was worthwhile.

Day 1 – by Angelika Dunsmore

Being back at the Frankfurt Book Fair for the 14th year does have a bit of groundhog day about it.  Every year you can’t believe it comes round so quickly.  Day One did not disappoint…

Having bonded with colleagues at a lovely German restaurant the evening beforehand, we arrived in good spirits at the fair on the first morning. The joint DK and Penguin stand looks great – the welcoming reception area in the middle giving way to two fortress like wings at either side. This is where we whisk our customers to and wow them with our books and our charm!

The relative calm of the first hour of the fair dissolved quickly into animated activity, with meetings taking place at every table and a throng of publishers waiting in front of the stand for their turn.

Apart from the high-powered business meetings that took place, here are some other highlights of the day:

- Publishers fondling ANIMAL – everyone can’t help but stroke the new furry zebra-style cover of ANIMAL, our newly launched Natural History title.
-  There was a moment of high drama when a publisher found her iPad, iPhone and Passport missing – fortunately the confused person who had walked off with the handbag returned it quickly.  Don’t you just love the world of publishing.
- DK LEGO, pre-school and children’s books are loved and adored by all.
- Everyone loves ice cream.  Don’t ask.

My day was brought to a glorious finale in a German restaurant where we were served huge cold beers and the World’s best Schnitzels!  (The location of this restaurant shall remain a secret of the Schnitzel Sisterhood FOREVER!  However it was such a great experience that we are now working on “Schnitzel – the Musical”!)

Day 2 – by Lucie Uwarow

You know it’s the second day at Frankfurt when:

- you skip breakfast to sleep five minutes more
- having a tidy stand is the best thing that’s happened to you in a long time (well two days, really)
- you find business cards in your pocket and think “oh it was nice to meet them a couple of years ago” when it actually was 5 minutes before
- sweets on the stand make you very happy
- you’ve switched heels and skirts for flats and trousers
- your customer tells you “it’s such a nice day” and you have no idea what they’re talking about because you haven’t seen the sky in a while
- your colleagues understand which book you are looking for without saying a word, because you’ve developed a weird sign/noise based language
- you ask the creative team for blog ideas and they remain speechless
- you can list the extents and word counts of books by heart
- you say “I’m going home” referring to the hotel

Day 3 – by Caroline Goldsmith

So, after 3 days, 43 meetings and a lot of schnitzel it’s time to say auf wiedersehen to Frankfurt. It’s been emotional. When you have a schedule as busy as mine, it’s easy to feel that you have an impossible mountain to climb. The great thing about DK International Sales is that the climb is made easier by some great colleagues and friends.

DK books are published in 59 languages worldwide so our stand is a little like a meeting of the United Nations at bookfairs. It’s busy, hectic and full to bursting for the duration of the fair. Whether it’s supporting meetings, helping with sales material or just supplying a sympathetic ear when things go wrong – your team will get you through!

Days at the fair are long. Meetings start from 9am so we have to be at the stand early to prepare material (and ourselves) to greet our International partners. Long schedules are punctuated with strategic dashes to the bathroom, hastily eaten sandwiches and a lot of business cards. Bookfairs are when International Sales really shines and where we really come together. We work hard, but fortunately we find time for play too – as we did last night when we descended on a local restaurant for apfelwein (Frankfurt’s famous – or should I say infamous, cider) and platters full of more meat than I have seen in a butcher’s shop.

So as I wheel my suitcase out of Hall 8 for another year, I’m thinking about all the people that make this possible – from the creative teams, who have yet again supplied us with a cracking list of great titles; the teams who tirelessly work to produce the sales materials we use and stay with us to tidy up and keep it all in order; the team who build our amazing stand (especially the kitchen, which is crucial) to our beloved Nina (our Frankfurt mum) who organises us all and keeps us in chocolate and other necessities. And a special thanks to my colleagues in International Sales for keeping me sane through another Frankfurt. Same time next year guys?

To celebrate the launch of the Quick Cook app which went on sale on the Apple app store earlier this year, DK are running a fantastic competition with iVillage.co.uk to win an iPad 2.

Click on the link below to read the great review for the Quick Cook app and for more details on how to enter the competition.

http://www.ivillage.co.uk/review-dk-quick-cook-app-ipad/136806

Closing date: 4^th November 2011

To have a look at the piece online, see link below:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/3860584/Lego-wonderland-experts-share-their-top-tips.html

Stay tuned for more information on a fantastic LEGO® competition which DK will be running later this month….

The LEGO® Ideas Book, DK, is out now priced £16.99, available from dk.com

Yep, when asked “If you had to eat only one country’s traditional cuisine for the rest of your life, what would it be?’, one third chose Italian, with a quarter sticking with familiar British. Take-away favourites Indian and Chinese were the joint 3^rd top choice.

This is just one of the stats we discovered when we quizzed people about their thoughts on world food in preparation for the launch of our lovely new book Ultimate Food Journeys.

The next one raised a few eyebrows:  over 66% of Brits eat at chain restaurants such as McDonalds, KFC or Burger King while on holiday overseas. This, despite roughly the same percentage (64%), declaring that local cuisine is important to their choice of holiday.

Italy was  chosen as the country where most had ‘eaten like a king’. The USA with its huge portions came second, with France third.

Of the world’s ‘national dishes’ the British choose their own ‘fish & chips’ as their favourite. Nearly 20% chose the traditional British dish, beating Pizza (15%), Paella (11%) and Green Curry (9%). The least favourite dishes were Injera from Ethiopia and Portugese Bacalhau (salt codfish).

And finally, what would you choose as your last supper? Most Brits plumped for a good old sunday roast or christmas dinner to eat as their final meal. Steak was second most popular, with a curry third. It would appear a familiar hearty meal is what’s required to see us on our way.