PRH and Hachette lead BBIA nods

Pan Macmillan and Waterstones will hope to retain their Publisher and Book Retailer of the Year crowns respectively, having been shortlisted once again in those categories in this year’s British Book Industry Awards.

Buoyed by a new stream of Book of the Year awards, 68 different companies have been shortlisted in 2016. The winners will be announced at a gala ceremony at Grosvenor House, London, on 9th May.

Waterstones, which leads the bookselling contingent with five shortlistings, faces stiff competition in Book Retailer of the Year, squaring off against Blackwell’s, Ireland’s Dubray Books, Foyles, Sainsbury’s and W H Smith Travel. It also has two staffers shortlisted for Bookshop Manager of the Year (sponsored by HarperCollins): Anjuli Clayden, who runs the Dorking store, and Jonny Green, whose “cluster leader” role gives him responsibility for the chain’s Piccadilly flagship and the two Hatchards shops. Clayden and Green battle Marion Akehurst, manager of Blackwell’s at the Wellcome Collection—who was shortlisted for the award in 2013—and Pauline Giacomelli, co-owner of independent Warwick Books. A manager from either Blackwell’s (four wins) or Waterstones (three) has won the award for seven consecutive years.

Pan Mac, meanwhile, seeks to become the first company in BBIA history to win back to back Publisher of the Year awards. It will be challenged by three Penguin Random House divisions (Cornerstone, Penguin General and Transworld), two from Hachette (Hodder & Stoughton and Octopus), and HarperCollins and Bonnier, with the latter earning its first shortlisting in the category.

League leaders

Perhaps unsurprisingly, PRH and Hachette claimed the most spots on the award shortlists, the only companies to hit double digits. PRH has 16 nods in trade categories and 11 in Books of the Year. Penguin and DK combine to account for half of the 16 industry shortlistings, including Penguin Classics’ Little Black Classics and Puffin’s Roald Dahl marketing strategies, both of which will vie for the Marketing Strategy of the Year award, sponsored by Nielsen.

Transworld makes up a third of PRH’s overall 27 shortlistings, four in trade categories and five in books. Publishing director Sarah Adams, who acquired Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train, is up for Editor of the Year (sponsored by Inspired Selection), while director of media relations Alison Barrow’s work on Hawkins’ book is shortlised for Publicity Campaign of the Year (sponsored by the Publishers’ Publicity Circle).

Hachette, meanwhile, notches up 18 total shortlistings, 12 of which are in the industry categories. C.e.o. Jamie Hodder-Williams’ Hodder division is responsible for 11: nine from Hodder itself (six in trade categories, three in books) and two from Quercus (one trade and one in books). Lifestyle imprint Yellow Kite alone has three trade shortlistings: Imprint of the Year, publishing director Liz Gough in Editor and the campaign for breakout clean eating title Ella Woodward’s Deliciously Ella in Publicity Campaign.

HarperCollins is once again up for Children’s Publisher of the Year, attempting to win the title for an unprecedented third consecutive year. All told, HC has eight nods, which also includes William Collins in Imprint of the Year, Collins Learning in Academic, Educational & Professional Publisher, and Mary Thompson for Rights Professional of the Year (sponsored by the Frankfurt Book Fair).

Pan Mac also has eight nominations, including Bluebird imprint founder Carole Tonkinson for Editor, Macmillan Children’s international rights director Michele Young in Rights Professional and Picador in Imprint of the Year.

Adult colouring books powerhouse Pavilion leads the charge for indie publishers and is up for four awards: Independent Publisher of the Year (sponsored by Firsty Group), Batsford for Imprint, Batsford publisher Tina Persaud in Editor and the work on Batsford star Millie Marotta in Marketing Campaign. Laurence King and Michael O’Mara, who both had huge success with colouring titles, are also vying for the indie publisher gong.

For the first time, there is an all-female shortlist for Literary Agent of the Year (sponsored by Orion): Lizzy Kremer, David Higham Associates; Juliet Mushens, United Talent Agency; Cathryn Summerhayes, WME; Karolina Sutton, Curtis Brown; Vicki Willden-Lebrecht, Bright Group; and Claire Wilson, Rogers, Coleridge & White. Mushens is shortlisted for a third consecutive year.

This year will be the sixth time the BBIAs have celebrated a Library of the Year, and 2016 has by far the greatest geographic spread, with 830 miles between the most northerly and southerly shortlistees, Shetland Library (closer to the Arctic Circle than Oslo) and Plymouth’s Plympton Library.

A new award is the Non-Traditional Retailer of the Year, sponsored by Quarto Books. The four-strong shortlist has two heritage charities— the National Trust and the Royal Horticultural Society—and two high-street gift and clothing chains, Urban Outfitters and Oliver Bonas.

The Independent Bookshop regional winners were announced in The Bookseller last week.

The British Book Industry Awards take place on 9th May in London. For more information and to book, click here.