British Book Awards shortlists showcase trade's vibrancy

Penguin Random House and Hachette have both earned more than 20 shortlistings in The Bookseller's new-look 2017 British Book Awards, while Pan Macmillan has notched a company-record 13 nominations across trade and book categories. Additionally, children’s independents Nosy Crow and Chicken House punch far above their weight, with four and three nods respectively.

Pan Macmillan has 10 shortlistings in the trade categories and it will compete against itself three times: Bluebird and Picador are both shortlisted for Imprint of the Year, editors Carole Tonkinson and Wayne Brookes are up for awards, while the campaign for Joe Wicks’ Lean in 15: The Sustain Plan (Bluebird) and its 2016 Christmas Campaign will vie for Marketing Strategy of the Year. Corporate behemoth HarperCollins has four shortlistings, two ahead of Simon & Schuster.

Indie publishers with strong showings include Nosy Crow and Faber, which both have four nods, and Oneworld, with a trio.

It is a women’s world in publishing categories recognising individuals: seven of the eight shortlistees for Editor and Rights Professional of the Year are women, as are five of the six nominated for Agent of the Year.

A record four Editor shortlistees come from the children’s sector, including Usborne's esteemed publishing director Jenny Tyler, who is up for her first gong in her near-40 year career at the publisher, Chicken House's Rachel Leyshon, S&S Children's Jane Griffiths and Camilla Reid of Nosy Crow. Also shortlisted for Editor of the Year are Tonkinson and Brookes of Pan Macmillan, Oneworld's Juliet Mabey, Little, Brown's Lucy Malagoni, and Rowland White of Michael Joseph.

For booksellers, W H Smith Travel will look to retain its Retailer of the Year crown, while Waterstones features in three categories. For indie shops, London’s Tales on Moon Lane and Scotland’s The Edinburgh Bookshop lead the way, with two shortlistings apiece.

Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller and chair of the judges, said: "After a fantastic year across trade and academic publishing and bookselling, the shortlists showcase the vibrancy and excellence of the companies and individuals that are the heartbeat of this business. Congratulations to all of them."

The British Book Awards takes place on 8th May at the Grosvenor House Hotel, to reserve your place visit www.thebookseller.com/british-book-awards.

The full shortlists are below:

Academic, educational and professional publisher of the year
Collins learning (HarperCollins)
Edward Elgar Publishing
Hodder Education Group
Jessica Kingsley
SAGE Publishing
Scholastic

Book Retailer of the Year sponsored by Bonnier Publishing
Blackwell’s
Waterstone’s
WH Smith Travel

Children’s Bookshop of the Year sponsored by Macmillan Children's Books
The Edinburgh Bookshop
Scholastic Book Fairs & Travelling Books
Tales on Moon Lane
Tesco Stores
The Alligator’s Mouth
Waterstones

Children’s Publisher of the Year sponsored by Tesco
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
DK
Faber Children’s
Macmillan Children’s Books
Nosy Crow
Penguin Random House Children’s
Scholastic Children’s Books
Usborne Publishing
Walker Books

Editor of the Year
Camila Reid, Nosy Crow
Carole Tonkinson, Pan Macmillan
Jane Griffiths, S&S Children’s
Jenny Tyler, Usborne
Juliet Mabey, Oneworld
Lucy Malagoni, Little, Brown
Rachel Leyshon, Chicken House
Rowland White, Michael Joseph
Wayne Brookes, Pan Macmillan

Marketing Strategy of the Year sponsored by Nielsen
Beatrix Potter’s 150th Anniversary (PRH Children’s)
Born to Run (S&S)
#ByBook (Penguin)
DanTDM: Trayaurus and the Enchanted Crystal (Orion)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Pottermore)
Lean in 15: The Sustain Plan (Pan Macmillan)
Maestra (Bonnier Zaffre)
Pan Macmillan’s 2016 Christmas Campaign

Non-traditional Retailer of the Year sponsored by the Quarto Group
National Trust
Royal Horticultural Society
Royal Museums Greenwich
Snapplify

Publicity Campaign sponsored by the Publishers' Publicity Circle
Essex Serpent, Anna-Marie Fitzgerald (Serpent’s Tail)
Simple, Caroline Brown, Ellen Bashford (Octopus)
Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups, Elizabeth Masters (Quercus)
Beetle Boy, Adele Michin, Liz Hyder (Riot/Chicken House)
Watching the Wheels, Kate Green (Pan Macmillan)
Animal, Sophie Portas (Faber)

Publisher of the Year sponsored by Bertram
HarperCollins
Little, Brown Book Group
Michael Joseph
Pan Macmillan
Penguin General
Quercus
The Quarto Group
Transworld

Rights Professional of the Year sponsored by Frankfurt Book Fair
Andrew Sharp, Hachette Children’s
Amy Hunter, Summersale
Karine Marko, Quarto Group
Kate Hibbert, Little, Brown
Michele Young, Pan Macmillan
Monique Corless, Vintage
Ola Gotkowska, Nosy Crow
Sarah Scarlett, Penguin

Imprint of the Year sponsored by Clays
Avon, HarperCollins
Bluebird, Pan Macmillan
John Murray, Hodder & Stoughton
Penguin Ireland, Penguin Random House
Picador, Pan Macmillan
The Borough Press, HarperCollins

Independent Bookshop of the Year sponsored by Gardners
Chorleywood Bookshop, South-East England
Far From the Madding Crowd, Scotland
Forum Books, North England
Kenilworth Books, Midlands & Wales
Lindum Books, East England
Sarum Coll. Bookshop, South-West England
Tales on Moon Lane, London
The Gutter Bookshop, Ireland

Independent Publisher of the Year sponsored by Firsty Group
Bradt Travel Guides
Faber & Faber
Head of Zeus
Kogan Page
Nosy Crow
Oneworld
Summersdale
Unbound

Individual Bookseller of the Year sponsored by HarperCollins
Billy F K Howorth, Carnforth Bookshop
Cat Anderson, the Edinburgh Bookshop
Jo Heygate, Pages of Hackney
Rachel Murphy, Waterstones
Rebecca MacAlister, Blackwell’s
Rupert Jacques, WH Smith Travel
Steven Walsh, Gosh! Comics

Library of the Year sponsored by The Reading Agency
Barking Learning Centre
Camberwell Library
Plymouth Central Library
RNIB Library
Walsall Library Service
The Word Library, South Shields

Literary Agent of the Year sponsored by Orion
Camilla Shestopal, Peters Fraser + Dunlop
Catherine Clarke, Felicity Bryan Associates
Eve White, Eve White Literary Agency
Juliet Mushens, Caskie Mushens
Rory Scarfe, Furniss Lawton
Sarah Such, Sarah Such Literary Agency

Click here to see the titles shortlisted for the Books of the Year categories.