Toronto-based Kobo's ''best of the year 2014'' list includes Loves Me Not: How to Keep Relationships Safe by Bill O'Brien and Lesley Elliott.
Kobo proclaims the list as ''the best of the best'' and the Dunedin entry was among six notable non-fiction books.
O'Brien said he was ''blown away'' by the inclusion.
''Of all the non-fiction books worldwide, they chose six, and one of them was ours - it's astounding - it's a Dunedin story on lessons learned in Dunedin and people are reading it all over the world. It is hard to get your head around but very gratifying for an author.''
The former University of Otago writer-in-residence said he had written 30 books. This was the second he had co-authored with Elliott.
He had never had a book published by Kobo before.
''I've been writing for quite a long time and that's the highest level I've got. Lesley and I are pretty stoked.''
The New Zealand Book Awards finalist said it was his first international accolade.
''I know it is only one company but it is a big company and to me it is huge.''
The book was released in October and the royalties from it went to the Sophie Elliott Foundation, he said.
Elliott said the accolade was ''exciting'' but the book was never promoted to be a bestseller.
''We weren't even pushing it - it is a book written for schools.''
Through the sponsorship of Zonta, the book was offered to year 12 pupils attending the nationwide Loves Me Not workshops.
The book was based on the warning signs missed by herself and her daughter, Sophie Elliott (22), who was stabbed to death in her own bedroom by her former boyfriend and university tutor, Clayton Weatherston, in 2008.
Kobo
• More than 16 million users worldwide in 190 countries.
• Catalogue includes about 4 million eBooks.
• Founded in December 2009.
• Owned by Tokyo-based eCommerce company Rakuten.
Kobo 2014 Best Non-Fiction
• My Story by Julia Gillard (Australia)
Kobo 2014 Notable Non-Fiction
• Loves Me Not. How to Keep Relationships Safe by Bill O'Brien and Lesley Elliott (New Zealand)
• Milat: Inside Australia's Biggest Manhunt - A Detective's Story by Clive Small and Tom Gilling (Australia)
• This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate by Naomi Klein (Canada)
• The Marshmallow Test: Understanding Self-control and How To Master It by Walter Mischel (United States)
• Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty (France)
• Flash Boys by Michael Lewis (United States)
