WINNERS 2008
THE 2008 SHORTLISTS for the British Book Industry Awards were peppered with high achievers from every area of the trade, leaving the judges with the unenviable task of selecting those who would go home from the awards ceremony at the Hilton Brighton Metropole, with a prestigious Nibbie. Among many notable winners from this climax of the BA Conference were CCV, the Random House group of imprints, which took the KPMG Publisher of the Year award, and Faber's Will Atkinson, who won the Vista Award for Industry Achievement. Despite a period of change, Foyles emerged as Bowker Bookseller of the Year...
KPMG Publisher of the Year
CCV, a Random House Group company
However you look at it, the CCV (Cape Chatto Vintage) division of Random House had an incredible year, achieving the 'publishing double' of both acclaim and sales. It has now resulted in it winning the KPMG Publisher of the Year Award. Highlights included the high profile relaunch of the Vintage Classics list, and scooping three of the most significant literary awards. Richard Cable, MD of CCV, said: "It's been a truly extraordinary year at CCV, our biggest year in terms of turnover. It's down to the quality of books we had, including Anne Enright who won the Booker, A L Kennedy who won the Costa and Per Petterson who won the IMPAC. It's also down to a winning team in all our departments. I also want to thank booksellers, who keep on finding an audience for our books."
Vista Award for Industry Achievement
Will Atkinson (Faber)
Will Atkinson received a voluminous round of applause when it was announced he had won the Vista Award for Industry Achievement, a mark of the esteem in which he is held by the whole trade, not just his immediate work colleagues.
Atkinson thanked Julian Toland, his first manager upon joining Waterstone's in the 1980s, the beginning of a book trade career which led him to Faber in 1993 as Paperback Product Manager and, since 2003, Sales Director. One of the key achievements has been his role in driving forward the Independent Alliance to boost the presence of its members' titles in bookshops. "It is now the sixth largest trade group in Britain," said Atkinson, who added, "I also want to thank Stephen Page [Faber CEO] for giving me the time and space to grow up. I sure as hell needed to."
Lightning Source Independent Publisher of the Year
Quercus
Quercus won the Lightning Source Independent Publisher of the Year for the second time in a row after a year in which it built on its strengths and more than doubled its turnover. Quercus increased sales from £3.6m in 2006 to £8.6m in 2007 with a 194% increase in its trade division and an 82% increase in its contracts division. Stef Penney's The Tenderness of Wolves, and Jefferson Bass' Carved in Bone have led the way in driving sales.
"It was almost exactly four years ago today that we sat there with a blank sheet of paper, opened for business and heard nothing from people at first," said Quercus CEO, Mark Smith. "But things have changed. Faber in particular have been very helpful, as well as booksellers and literary editors."
BA / Nielsen Author of the Year Award
Clarissa Dickson Wright
One didn't expect Clarissa Dickson Wright to be flattering about the catering - and she wasn't. "I promised myself I would never endure bad food and warm white wine again," she began. But then she added: "However, when I heard that this award had been chosen by booksellers I immediately diverted from Scotland to Devon, by way of Brighton." She then paid tribute to those independents who had stuck by her when the chains had pulled out of events, fearing action by hunt protesters. "My true heart lies with the independents," she said. "And I would also like to thank Hodder and my agent, Heather Holden Brown."
Bowker UK Bookseller of the Year
Publishing News Chain Bookselling Company of the Year
Foyles
In an evening of warm, emotional speeches, emphasising the closeness of the book community, none was more heartfelt than that given by Foyles' Non-Executive Director Bill Samuel who took to the stage twice to accept the company's two bookselling awards, which included the coveted Nibbie for overall Bookselling Company of the Year sponsored by Bowker. "After my aunt, Christina, died the family gathered in her penthouse flat above the shop to decide what to do. We own the freehold and we knew that the sensible thing to do would have been to knock the building down and put up one of those steel and glass towers..." With his voice breaking slightly, he added: "But we thought, hell no, it's granddad's bookshop - we'd like to do something with it... It's five years since we won our last Nibbie. Now we can go from being a great independent bookshop to a promising young chain. I would like to thank the book trade for its incredible support: from publishers and wholesalers to other retailers, many of whom I count as friends".
Harlequin Mills & Boon Direct Bookselling Company of the Year
Amazon.co.uk
It's now a hat trick for Amazon, which has won the Harlequin Mills & Boon Direct Bookselling Company of the Year Award for the third year in a row. This year's prize, amongst other things, is a reflection of increased sales of both front and backlist titles and its imaginative marketing of key titles. Last year also proved to be its biggest-ever for books after it secured an "unprecedented level" of pre-orders on the final instalment of Harry Potter. The year has also seen the development of its Search Inside and Amazon Advantage schemes. Kes Nielsen, Amazon.co.uk's Senior Books Manager, said: "All of us at Amazon.co.uk have worked incredibly hard over the last 12 months to continue to provide great choice, value and service - not only for customers, but also for publishers and authors - so the fact that this award was voted for and judged by our peers and partners within the industry is particularly rewarding for us. It was a very competitive shortlist which we are proud to have headed."
The Guardian Marketing Campaign of the Year
Young Stalin Simon Sebag-Montefiore (Weidenfeld & Nicholson) - Jessica Mead
For Weidenfeld's Senior Marketing Manager, Jessica Mead, accepting her Nibbie was a chance to air the results of a friendly argument with Orion Group Marketing Director Mark Rusher. Convinced the Harry Potter team would win, she said: "I'd like to say thank you to Mark Rusher for debating the merits of red versus white for so long." The debate was over the background colour for the Young Stalin posters: Mead favoured white, and indeed, white was the eventual choice.
Midas Public Relations Publicity Campaign of the Year
Emma Knight and Tara Gladden (Hodder & Stoughton) - First Among Sequels
Emma Knight and Tara Gladden from Hodder & Stoughton won the Midas Public Relations Publicity Campaign of the Year for their work on First Among Sequels, the latest in Jasper Fforde's whimsical tales of book detectives, time travel and Swindon. Their campaign matched the imagination in the books, and also exploited the latest novel's potential on the web by creating an online game and then getting the gaming community involved, a move which succeeded and made the campaign stand out. The pair also thanked Rabbit at the ceremony, the creative team which helped work on the project.
Booksellers Association New Bookshop of the Year
Mostly Books, Abingdon
Mostly Books, Abingdon, was the very warmly received winner of the Booksellers Association's New Bookshop of the Year, and the emotion of the occasion almost proved too much for an understandably very pleased and mildly teary Mark and Nicki Thornton, the shop's managers. The shop opened in July 2006 and, Mark explained, "close to this time, we met Tim Waterstone which was a great opportunity to say to him 'If there's one piece of advice on opening a bookshop you have for us, what would it be?' He replied 'Don't'". Fortunately, they disregarded the advice and the shop has become a successful and valued part of the local community.
StoraEnso Design & Production Award
The End of Mr Y Scarlett Thomas (Canongate)
Jenny Henderson and Caroline Gorham from Canongate were awarded the StoraEnso Design & Production Award for Scarlett Thomas' The End of Mr Y, a book which stands out from a display table at forty paces. Close up, though, is where you see the care and attention that won them the award. An embossed cover design conveys the book's sinister dimension and the message, 'If you knew a book was cursed, would you read it?', confirms this feeling. The black edging to the pages enhances the effect further.
The book has been acclaimed by many, including Douglas Coupland and Philip Pullman, and is seen as Thomas' most accomplished work to date.
Activair Award for Exporting
Penguin UK
Award announced and presented at the London Book Fair
The Activair Award for Exporting was won this year by Penguin, and presented at the London Book Fair to Sophie Piquemal, Head of International Sales. Penguin successfully dealt with a very busy year, with the added pressure of responsibility for handling sales in the open market for the final instalment of the Harry Potter series, a huge logistical operation. Last year got off to a flying start with doubled international sales of the latest Marian Keyes title Anybody Out There, ended with its surprise biggest hardback of the year, Alan Greenspan's Age of Turbulence, and featured many strong backlist exports in between.
Frankfurt Book Fair Rights Professional of the Year
Diane Spivey (Little, Brown Book Group)
Little, Brown's Rights Director, Diane Spivey, winner of the Frankfurt Book Fair Rights Professional of the Year, has been rewarded for a long career selling rights for many successful publishers. She started in publishing after transferring from a bookshop job into export sales, but quickly moved into the rights world where she has honed her skills with Simon & Schuster UK, Cassell, Harrap, Methuen and Hodder. She gave special thanks to Little, Brown Chief Executive, Ursula Mackenzie "who really understands rights".
Baker Tilly Imprint & Editor of the Year
Jonathan Cape - Robin Robertson
Cape Deputy Publisher, Robin Robertson, collected his Nibbie in inimitable style, remarking drily "I suppose it's all downhill from here..." He then went on to thank Claire Reihill of Fourth Estate and Cape Publisher Dan Franklin, "without whom I wouldn't be in this room". Among Robertson's many discoveries over the years has been Irvine Welsh whose work he noticed in a small literary magazine years ago. His Nibbie now joins the awards he has won for his poetry published by Picador - two Forward Prizes in 1997 and a Sundial Scottish Arts Council Book Award in 2007.
Sue Butterworth Award for Young Bookseller of the Year - sponsored by HarperCollins
Craig Hillier (WHSmith Travel)
Craig Hillier is one of the best-known names in the business and his recognition with the above award was one of the evening's most popular wins. He thanked his "wonderful team at WHSmith Travel who provide the wind beneath my wings" and he expressed special thanks to Jason McKenzie, now Sales Manager at Harlequin Mills & Boon, "who gave me my first shot at being a buyer at WHSmith high street". As befits someone who works for the travel side of the business, as these words appear he is about to head off to Morocco to trek through the Atlas Mountains.
British Council & London Book Fair UK Young Publishing Entrepreneur (UKYPE) award 08
Emma Hayley, Self-Made Hero
(announced at London Book Fair)
Emma Hayley, of newcomers SelfMade Hero, received her award at the London Book Fair last month. The judges, chaired by Andrew Senior of the British Council, praised her decisiveness, creativity and courage as a publisher and her ability "to present classics to new audiences". SelfMade Hero publishes graphic novels, including manga versions of Shakespeare.
Orion Publishing Group Literary Agent of the Year
David Miller (Rogers, Coleridge & White)
The agent David Miller admitted to being "flummoxed" when his name was announced as Orion Literary Agent of the Year, but quickly recovered to thank "all those on the judging panel who I have bought lunch, and above all the authors who made last year fantastic". It was fantastic too, with his Richard & Judy star Victoria Hislop still continuing to fly while, more recently, another client, Kate Summerscale, is on the shortlist for the Samuel Johnson Prize. But just to show that his feet remain firmly planted on the ground, the morning after the awards he was to be found reading with the pupils at his children's school in Hammersmith.
Nielsen Book Award for Innovation in the Book Industry
Snowbooks XSL Project
Snowbooks founder Emma Barnes admits that the world of XSL is "deadly dry" but adds that by using the programme "the Onix data can be transformed into something beautiful - a web page, a catalogue spread..." Pointedly, she thanked what she referred to as "the book" - the title in question being Beginning XSLT 2.0 (Apress) "which cost £24.99 but saved us two month's work or a huge consultancy fee. It was hugely helpful".
Aurum Press Independent Bookshop of the Year
Mr B's Emporium of Reading Delights, Bath
Former lawyer Nic Bottomley, co-owner of Mr B's in Bath, was effusive, even emotional, in his thanks to the entire book trade. "It is such a welcoming industry - the legal industry is not like this. When I announced that I was leaving the legal firm where I was working, a colleague said to me that she hoped I would fail. Receiving this award goes a long way to proving her wrong." The inspiration for Mr B's came from the Eliot Bay Bookshop in Seattle, the famous fellow indie that he and his wife Juliette visited while on their honeymoon in 2004. "It's a wonderful institution." Many clearly feel the same about Mr B's.
decibel Cultural Diversity Award
Verna Wilkins, Tamarind
Verna Wilkins received the decibel Cultural Diversity Award for her work at her children's publisher, Tamarind, and her efforts to help raise the profile of black publishing in the UK. Tamarind, which was founded in 1987 and publishes a range of picture books and biographies for young people, was bought by Random House Children's Books at the end of last year, and Wilkins gave special thanks to Philippa Dickinson, the MD of RHCB, when collecting her award.
Wilkins was also active as Chair of the Independent Black Publishers Group, formed last year. Speaking about all its members, she said: "The major impact that black writing has had on the UK literary scene in the past two decades has been in no small part due to the pioneering work of publishers like ourselves."
