Bloomsbury Teams with Qatar for Financial Reference Text
by Louisa Ermelino -- Publishers Weekly, 11/10/2009 9:51:00 AM
At a luncheon at the 21 Club last week, Boomsbury publisher Kathy Rooney introduced QFINANCE: The Ultimate Resource, a desk reference volume produced in partnership with the Qatar Financial Centre Authority that was officially released November 3. The 2,000+ page book, a two year project, with essays by over 300 financial experts (investors, economists, professors) includes a glossary, financial sources and even finance-orientated quotations, aiming to position itself as the premier financial resource. The plan is to update the book yearly, while the Web site, www.qfinance.com, on which the entire content is offered free, will be kept current. Price for the print edition, which Bloomsbury is distributing in the U.S. and U.K., is $250.
Rooney revealed that when the idea for such an ambitious reference work was floated and partners considered, the suggestion, “You need a country!” led them to Qatar. The gulf state has one of the world’s fastest growing economies with a vision as “a key financial and commercial hub in the Middle East,” according to Stuart Pierce, the Qatar Financial Centre Authority CEO.
Q:FINANCE is impressive in scope and also in presentation: the book as object is beautiful with high quality paper and interior design. As a charming aside: the original book had a blue cover. The Qataris asked, “Why blue?” Bloomsbury hadn’t any reason. The volume now is a handsome maroon, the color of the Qatar flag.
