Categories & Criteria

The FutureBook Awards highlight and amplify the year’s outstanding publishing people and projects with an emphasis on leadership, achievement and innovation. Past winners have included HarperCollins, TikTok, Penguin Random House, the Booker Prize and the footballer Marcus Rashford, along with start-ups such as Wonderbly and Unbound.

For 2024, the awards categories are:

Leader of the Year, sponsored by Redwood Publishing Recruitment
Future Leader of the Year, sponsored by Shimmr
Start-up of the Year, sponsored by Beat Technology
FutureBook Excellence Award, sponsored by World of Books
Freelancer of the Year, sponsored by Whitefox

Entries are now closed.

Winners will be announced at FutureBook on Monday 25th November 2024. Those shortlisted for a FutureBook Award will be offered a discounted ticket to the entire conference day.

How to enter

All you need to do to apply is enter 500 words max on behalf of yourself, your team or your nominee. This is your chance to explain why your project or person should win, so give us as much tangible evidence as possible - details of work, results and other impact, testimonials - focused on explaining how they fill the specific criteria of their category (innovation, fresh thinking, inspiring others, inclusion and so on). We’ll let you know whether you’ve been shortlisted in early November. Good luck and thanks very much for helping us celebrate the best and brightest in UK publishing!

Awards Step

Leader of the Year

This award celebrates inspiring leaders, from heads of departments to experienced managers. We’re looking for someone able to inspire, innovate, direct and challenge: someone who brings the best out of their teams, but also themselves. Someone who makes change happen, but also knows when to defend their ground. Nominees should demonstrate an ability to deliver with an eye on innovation, growth, sustainability and inclusion. Recipients can be nominated by themselves, fellow leaders or their teams.

Future Leader of the Year

This award celebrates tomorrow's leaders today, from newbies to those a little more experienced rising up. A future leader can be any age, and come from any part of the business. Nominees should demonstrate how they are making a difference, leaning into their roles, and starting to get noticed. Nominees should demonstrate an ability to deliver and inspire others with an eye on innovation, growth, sustainability and inclusion. Recipients can be nominated by themselves, their managers or their colleagues.

Start-up of the Year

For Start-up we are looking to honour the most innovative and potentially impactful book trade business founded within the past three years. These could be independent businesses - ranging from fresh apps and platforms to new bookshops - or internal startups, such as a new imprint within an existing publisher. In particular we are looking for those companies with a focus on sustainability, inclusion and/or technology; the most important element is to have done something different with the potential to shake publishing up.

FutureBook Excellence Award

The FutureBook Excellence Award is for a product or initiative using new technology or new thinking to improve an area of the book business, with a particular emphasis on inclusion, sustainability and/or post-pandemic recovery. This could be a marketing campaign, a national movement, a website, even a new sort of book; what we’re looking for is clarity of thinking, quality of execution and attention to detail in delivering an outstanding project from beginning to end.

Freelancer of the Year

Brilliant freelancers of publishing, we see you, and all that you do. This award celebrates the many independent workers who help make publishing great, and is open to freelancers working in any area of the industry, from design to editing, translation to consultancy. Nominees should make a big difference to their clients with their fresh thinking, top level execution and impressive collaboration skills. Recipients can be nominated by themselves or their clients.