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Freelancers and audio take the spotlight as the 2024 FutureBook Awards celebrate the book trade at its best
The Freelancer of the Year award will make its début at FutureBook 2024.
Thirty nine projects and individuals have been shortlisted for the FutureBook Awards, with the largest cohort being the 12 freelancers nominated in the newest category—Freelancer of the Year, sponsored by Whitefox.
From multimedia designer Samar Habib to non-fiction editor Julia Kellaway, marketer Lynsey Passmore to development consultant Sara Grant, the finalists reflect the breadth of the impact freelancers make on the industry, with numerous bestselling titles, award-winning campaigns and iconic covers featuring in their collective work.
“Honestly, even getting the list this short was painful,” said The Bookseller’s editor Philip Jones. “Nearly all of our 45 entries came from people who are at the top of their game and who have got there through years of expertise, creativity, relationship building and hard graft. There are so many freelancers out there who deserve to be celebrated, this feels like just a start.”
Two of the shortlistees will join a panel exploring the power of freelancers at the FutureBook conference at County Hall, Waterloo on 25th November, where the winners of all five categories will also be announced. Videos showcasing the finalists will be interspersed throughout the day, while the awards will be presented on stage before author and broadcaster Gemma Cairney’s closing creative keynote.
Nearly all our 45 entries are people who have got to the top of their game through years of expertise, creativity and hard graft
Leader of the Year always offers up a high-profile shortlist, and this year is no exception. Three of the Big Five publishers have nominees in contention for the award, with Fleur Clarke, associate publisher at HarperCollins, named alongside James Keyte, head of audio content at Penguin Random House, and Anna Valentine, managing director at Orion. Indie publishing gets a nod too, in the form of Liz Cross, managing and publishing director at David Fickling Books, while the Black British Book Festival founder Selina Brown completes the set.
Meanwhile, Future Leader of the Year, sponsored by Shimmr, spotlights seven rising talents. These include Sofia Akel, whose Free Books Campaign has donated more than 10,000 new books by authors of colour across the UK since 2020; Abigail McDougall, who runs ambitious training programmes on both artificial intelligence (AI) and sustainability on behalf of Publishing Scotland; Cheyney Smith, who delivers KPI-busting campaigns for Macmillan Children’s Books while co-chairing Pan Macmillan’s Race and Ethnicity Staff (RISE) Network; and Isabelle Kenyon of Fly on the Wall Press, who has transformed a charitable micro-poetry initiative into a publishing house which scooped Small Press of the Year (North) at The British Book Awards 2024.
“This year’s cohort of leaders and future leaders aren’t just delivering impressive results, they’re pushing tirelessly for change,” said FutureBook co-programmer and judge Miriam Robinson. “Each of our finalists is making a tangible impact, embracing innovation and inspiring others along the way. These are the people who really do reflect publishing at its best.”
Moving from people to projects, the finalists for the Excellence Award, sponsored by World of Books, provide a window into the book sector’s most pressing concerns. Book Squad—an online initiative from Farshore, HarperCollins Children’s Books, Barrington Stoke and Collins—provides teachers and pupils with free and inclusive books and resources to help combat the growing literacy crisis. The FLIP uses interviews, events and surveys to facilitate vital conversations in the industry around topics including equity, progression and mental health. Both the IPG’s AI training and the CPI’s sustainability initiatives empower book businesses to take control of crucial issues, while the Black British Book Festival and Orion’s Changing the Story Design Festival show how thoughtfully designed events can boost inclusion for authors, readers and publishing professionals alike.
Finally, the Start-up of the Year Award, sponsored by Beat Technology, reflects the industry’s current focus on audio and AI, with a shortlist including Barcelona-based platform EARS, which simplifies and streamlines audio management and production processes; homegrown newcomer Spiracle Audiobooks, which aims to rejuvenate audiobook discovery with a platform championing indie presses and literary imprints; and Shimmr AI, an AI advertising system which has onboarded more than 150 publishing customers in just one year.
The finalists reflect the breadth of the impact freelancers make on the industry, with numerous bestselling titles and iconic covers featuring in their collective work
But there is plenty of innovation to celebrate beyond ‘the two As’. Since launching in 2021, WillCarne Studios has rapidly become the go-to filming partner for a host of publishers, earning it a finalist spot alongside Ian Fleming Publications, which is bringing the past into the future with its creative backlist press, Convert Culture, an audience research consultancy, and Calon, a new but flourishing Welsh non-fiction imprint from the University of Wales Press.
“The start-up category has never been so rewarding to judge,” said Molly Flatt, The Bookseller’s comment editor and FutureBook co-programmer. “Nine years ago, when I hosted the first start-up pitch-off at FutureBook, the definition of publishing innovation was much narrower, confined to tools and apps. Now, we still have exhilarating examples of digital creativity—but there’s also a wealth of fresh thinking across other areas of the industry too. I can’t wait to meet the finalists and explore other emerging trends on the day itself.”
Leader of the Year
Selina Brown BBBF
Fleur Clarke HarperCollins
James Keyte PRH
Liz Cross David Fickling
Anna Valentine Orion
Future Leader of the Year
Sponsored by Shimmr AI
Sofia Akel Free Books Campaign
Abigail McDougall Publishing Scotland
Cheyney Smith Macmillan Children’s Books
Cait Davies Orion
Ause Abdelhaq Pan Macmillan
Isabelle Kenyon Fly on the Wall Press
Elizabeth Kellingley Bloomsbury
Cassie Rocks HarperCollins
Start-up of the Year
Sponsored by Beat Technology
EARS Audiobook production automation tool
Ian Fleming Publications Creative backlist press
WillCarne Studios Filming studio for publishers
Calon Welsh Non-fiction imprint from UWP
Shimmr AI advertising
Spiracle AudioBooks Independent audiobook platform
Convert Culture Audience research and marketing consultancy
Excellence Award
Sponsored by World of Books
Bloomsbury Creator Circle
Book Squad (HarperCollins)
CPI Sustainability
The FLIP
Changing the Story—Design Festival (Orion)
IPG AI training
Black British Book Festival
Freelancer of the Year
Sponsored by WhiteFox
Lynsey Passmore Marketing
Liz Scott Publicist
Rachel Kenny Scout
Micaela Alcaino Designer
Samar Habib Multimedia designer
Julia Kellaway Non-fiction editor
Sara Grant Development consultant
Jessica Cuthbert-Smith Editor
Emily Cox Marketing
Kat McKenna Marketing
Rachel May Quin Marketer
Eve Wersocki Morris Publicist
