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Event Assets - Nibbies

Small Press of the Year

Regional and Country Winners

The Winner

Magic Cat founders Rachel Williams and Jenny Bloom

Magic Cat Publishing

From a dynamic shortlist of 10 winners from the regional and country rounds of this award, it is children's specialist Magic Cat Publishing that emerges as the champion of champions. On its current trajectory, it won't be eligible for this category for much longer.

Founders Rachel Williams and Jenny Broom (pictured) built children's lists for Templar and Quarto before starting their own, and in just four years they have established a press that is full of personality and purpose. It has grown turnover by £1m a year in that time, trebled its front list output and swelled into a team of 23 people-and its first ever title, Slow Down, has now sold more than a million copies.

Magic Cat had a fine year in domestic trade channels, and Waterstones in particular. thanks to books including Natalie Crowley, Elaine Batiste and Chris Duriez's Handbook of Forgotten Skills and Amy Adele's The Christmas Songbook. But this is already a properly global business, and sales in the US-where it publishes as an imprint of Abrams-already rival those in the UK.

As with many new small presses, the two urgent issues of diversity and sustainability have been at Magic Cat's core since the start. A third of last year's front list had an author or illustrator from an ethnic minority background and there have been concerted efforts to make print and production greener. Support for staff wellbeing, apprentices and charities show this is a business that is interested in much more than the bottom line.

"Magic Cat already looks like a fully-fledged independent publishing group," said the judges. "It's a really lively business that is looking after its people and working hard across the board ... there is so much to admire."

Winners

Scorpius Books

East England

The East England winner, launched in the pandemic, is creating an excellent reputation in dyslexia-friendly publishing. Beyond picking up rights for special editions and making them available to dyslexic readers, it’s doing a lot to raise awareness of this learning difficulty through social media and collaborations.

Banshee Press

Island of Ireland

The Island of Ireland winner is one of the smallest of small presses, with a literary journal and a few new books a year. But its founding team of authors have built a reputation for talent spotting and critically acclaimed output, bringing new voices into Irish culture.

Elliott & Thompson

London

Joint London winner Elliott & Thompson publish original and bestselling non-fiction and carefully selected fiction, producing beautiful books that inform, inspire and bring enjoyment to a wide range of readers. Its books include the No. 1 Sunday Times bestsellers Prisoners of Geography, The Power of Geography and The Future of Geography by Tim Marshall, Julia Boyd’s top three Sunday Times bestseller Travellers in the Third Reich and A Village in the Third Reich.

Magic Cat Publishing

London

Joint London winner Magic Cat is an award-winning independent children’s books and stories company based in Bethnal Green. Established in July 2019, they believe that that magic happens when families spend time around a book. This magic attitude is paying off, with the press on target to exceed £5million in 2024.

3dtotal Publishing

Midlands

Worcester-based 3dtotal is the Midlands winner. Its books for artists, illustrators and animators are exceptionally well made and marketed, and it’s a truly philanthropic publisher, donating half of all profits—more than £1m in the last two years—to environmental and humanitarian causes.

Fly on the Wall Press

North England

Manchester-based Fly on the Wall, the North England winner grew sales of its fiction, poetry and anthologies by a third in 2023. Its endlessly energetic founder Isabelle Kenyon achieved excellent media coverage for its bold publishing and put on around 30 events, including the popular Northern Publishers’ Fair.

404 Ink

Scotland

404 Ink, the Scotland winner, has an impressive quality of output for a two-person operation. Its Inklings series of short books, supported by Kickstarter campaigns and public funding, is at the heart, and commissioning is bold and diverse.

David Fickling Books

South-East England

David Fickling’s eponymous children’s publisher is the South East England winner for a second successive year. Its TCM sales rocketed 73% last year—powered largely by Jamie Smart’s Bunny vs Monkey comic book series, but also by SF Said and Gill Lewis.

Peirene Press

South-West England

South West England winner Peirene Press is one of several indies raising the profile of literary translations in the UK. After relaunching under Stella Sabin and James Tookey, Peirene has doubled its frontlist and trebled its bookshop sales. Its subscription service is thriving and it won the prestigious Dublin Literary Award with Katja Oskamp.

Firefly Press

Wales

Firefly Press is the Wales winner for the fourth time in five years. The Carnegie Medal for Manon Steffan Ros’ translated Blue Book of Nebo was the highlight of its tenth anniversary year, and reward for Firefly’s investment in Welsh-language publishing.