London, UK – 09th May 2008 – The Webby Awards – the Internet’s most respected symbol of success – has honoured Blurb as the Best Services website of 2008. The 12th Annual Webby Awards <http://www.webbyawards.com/about/>  received nearly 10,000 entries from around the world and nominated Blurb and four other companies in the Services category, for websites that allow real-world activities.

Blurb is a creative book publishing platform that lets users make, share, market, and sell real books. Blurb produced nearly 90,000 unique titles in 2007. To put this in perspective, Simon & Schuster publishes approximately 1,800 titles annually, and Random House, with more than 100 editorially independent imprints worldwide, published 9,000 new titles in 2006. Blurb’s title output is nearly 9x the combined number of titles released by these traditional publishing houses.

“To win a Webby among such prestigious companies is just awesome,” said Eileen Gittins, Blurb’s founder and CEO. “We were flattered to be nominated, and now we’re officially blown away. We are passionate about helping people connect and share their stories via books, and it’s a cool thing to be recognized for doing something we love. A huge shout out to all the nominees in the Services category; it’s an honor to be in their company.”

Winners will be honoured at two star-studded ceremonies in New York City: The Webby Film & Video Awards on June 9th, and The 12th Annual Webby Awards Gala on June 10th. A full list of both Webby Awards and People’s Voice Awards winners can be found at http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/current.php?season=12

Hailed as the "Oscars of the Internet” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile websites. The Webby Awards is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 550-person judging academy whose members include Internet co-inventor Vinton Cerf, R/GA’s Chief Bob Greenberg, "Simpson's" creator Matt Groening, Arianna Huffington, and Harvey Weinstein.

 “The Webby Awards honours the very best of the Internet,” said David-Michel Davies, executive director of The Webby Awards. “Blurb’s win is a testament to the skill, ingenuity, and vision of its creators.”

The 12th Annual Webby Awards received a record 9,500 entries from over 60 countries and all 50 states. Founded in 1996, The Webby Awards are known worldwide for its famous five-word speech limit. Past headline-grabbing speechmakers include Al Gore (“Please don’t recount this vote”), Beastie Boys (“Can anyone fix my computer?”), and Prince (“Everything you think is true.”)

To create a Blurb book, all users start by downloading Blurb BookSmart™ software from the Blurb website. Blurb’s BookSmart software is free, runs on a Mac or PC, and offers a wide variety of book layouts created by professional book designers. Blurb enables anyone to affordably make, share, market, and sell beautiful, bookstore-quality books.