Bloomsbury wins inclusivity prize at LBF International Excellence Awards 2022

The eight winners of the 2022 London Book Fair International Excellence Awards have been announced, with Bloomsbury winning the Inclusivity in Publishing Award. 

Judges praised the breadth and scope of Bloomsbury’s diversity and inclusion efforts, noting its approach to equal opportunities staff data collection as a positive area of focus, as well as its action plan for how the organisation will work to embed inclusion even further. The UK-only prize also saw Knights Of and Saqi Books nominated.

Rahva Raamat Viru Store in Estonia won the Bookstore of the Year Award for demonstrating the importance of sustainability throughout its refurbishment and for providing modern technical services "to create a wonderful cultural oasis" for its community and customers, regardless of their language, interests or age. 

Croatia’s Fran Galovic Koprivnica Public Library took the Library of the Year Award, with judges praising the work it has done to support its community during the pandemic. Spain’s Institut Ramon Llull, which is involved in this year’s Spotlight on Catalan at the fair, was awarded the Literary Translation Initiative Award for helping ensure that Catalan literature thrives beyond its own borders.

Denmark’s Saga Egmont was named Audiobook Publisher of the Year, beating previous winner Penguin Random House. The judges noted its commitment to translating into multiple languages and reaching new territories.

Tulika Publishers, of India, is the inaugural winner of the Children’s & Young Adult Publisher Award. Judges recognised the organisation’s “clear publishing philosophy" and its commitment to create books for a wide group of young readers in different languages.

Frances’ Editions Animées was awarded the Educational Innovation Award, another new category for 2022, with the judging panel calling the publisher’s BlinkBook initiative “an engaging way to use technology and innovative in drawing young children into the world of reading".

Spain scored a second victory with Anna Soler-Pont from the Pontas Agency named as recipient of the Rights Professional Award, sponsored by the Sharjah Book Authority. The judges praised Soler-Pont’s agency as outstanding among Spanish agencies and exceptional in its history of reaching out to writers beyond Europe, notably in the Middle East and Asia, and to finding them publishers all over the world. 

The shortlist for each award category was selected by a judging panel composed of experts within that sector. The winners attending this year’s London Book Fair will receive their awards there. 

Video interviews of all  winners will also appear on both the London Book Fair website and social media. 

Andy Ventris, director of the London Book Fair, said: “As publishers from around the world prepare to reconnect in person at this year’s London Book Fair in April, we are delighted to announce the winners of the International Excellence Awards 2022.

“Over the past few challenging years, publishing has shown time and again a dedication to readers and a passion for the written word, which cannot fail to impress and inspire.”