Bookshop.org unveils shortlists for inaugural Indie Champion Awards 

Bookshop.org has announced the shortlists for a new award recognising the individuals, organisations and publishers that have used the platform to support independent bookshops. 

Launching just after the book-buying platform’s second anniversary, with nearly £2.5 million generated for indie retailers, the annual awards aim to spotlight those who have contributed the platform’s success so far.

Authors including Alice Oseman, Gabrielle Zevin, Jeffery Boakye, Dara McAnulty and Brian Bilston are in the running, across fiction, non-fiction, children’s and lifestyle and culture. They have been shortlisted on the basis of their efforts to support bookshops, including concrete funds generated through their book sales and their visibility in providing links and exclusive content to the platform. 

McAnulty said: “I’m so grateful and honoured to be shortlisted as an Indie Champion. Indie booksellers and bookshops are the wizards and castles of an author’s world. They magically connect our words to readers and build worlds of beauty and sanctuary within their walls. I’d like to send massive thanks to Bookshop.org for giving indie bookshops a fighting chance of reaching more readers during what has been a challenging few years, providing a dynamic and vibrant virtual space. It has been a pleasure and a delight to champion Bookshop.org and our much-needed indie bookshops.”

Battling it out for Publisher of the Year are Ebury, Hodder & Stoughton, Thames & Hudson and Vintage. They have been shortlisted for their efforts to include consistent online linking to indies, tagging or linking Bookshop.org in their digital marketing activities, and regular collaboration to develop creative campaigns, including access to authors, exclusive content and competitions.

Shortlisted for Publishing Professional of the Year is Vicky Boff, marketing director at Hodder & Stoughton, Richard Green, independent bookshop and wholesaler manager at Pan Macmillan, Glen Holmes, sales and marketing manager at Bloomsbury, and Katrina Northern, marketing manager at Vintage.

Podcasts including "Backlisted", "Literary Friction" and "Damian Barr’s Literary Salon" are in contention for Podcast of the Year, judged on the basis of their consistency in creating Bookshop.org lists, featuring the books mentioned in each of their episodes, using Bookshop.org links on their website and social media, and mentioning Bookshop.org on-air.

Hay Festival, The Booker Prizes, National Book Tokens and the Women’s Prize for Fiction have been nominated for the Innovative Use of Bookshop.org category, which recognises imaginative content creation with author lists and media partnerships including TikTok. 

The awards will also recognise the single title that generated the most money for independent bookshops in 2022 – the Indie Champion Title of the Year – as well as the list that has cumulatively generated the most money – the Indie Champion List of the Year. For these two categories, the winners will be chosen purely based on sales figures, with data collected until 31st December 2022.

Winners across all categories will be unveiled virtually on Wednesday 25th January 2023.

Gaby Wood, director of the Booker Prize Foundation, said: "We love working with Bookshop.org — both the team behind it and the community of independent bookshops it’s comprised of. From the start it was clear that the site was not just a way to sell books to consumers, or to bring booksellers together, but a platform for reading recommendations that could be as personalised or as offbeat as you chose to make them. 

"The fact that Booker authors and translators have been able to suggest classic works of fiction from their own countries, or that we can suggest miniature libraries based on themes (dystopia, or hotels, for instance), has really expanded the possibilities of sharing global literature with potential new readers.

"The fact that we can embed these on our website, and that Bookshop.org spreads the word via its own channels, makes the symbiosis even better. And we’re delighted to have donated thousands of pounds to independent booksellers in the process."

Nicole Vanderbilt, managing director of Bookshop.org UK, said: “We are thrilled to be launching the Indie Champion Awards, the brand new awards celebrating people and organisations championing independent bookshops through Bookshop.org. Since our UK launch, we’ve been so impressed by how the publishing industry has embraced our platform and used it in creative ways, as well as concretely benefitting indies by doing so.

"With these awards, we want to recognise individuals, publishers and platforms that are doing a brilliant job on Bookshop.org and making a difference for indies, and to inspire others to do the same. And don’t forget, for the Indie Champion Title of the Year and the Best List of the Year, there’s still time to help your favourite book and list to win, by sharing it far and wide and encourage people to use Bookshop.org – so spread the word!”

The shortlists in full

Fiction

Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground (Fig Tree)
Alice Oseman, creator of the Heartstopper series (Hodder Children’s Books)
Douglas Stuart, author of Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo (both Picador)
Gabrielle Zevin, author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (Chatto & Windus)

Non-fiction

Jeffery Boakye, author of I Heard What You Said (Picador)
Cal Flynn, author of Islands of Abandonment (William Collins)
Katy Hessel, author of The Story of Art Without Men (Hutchinson Heinemann)
Michelle Zauner, author of Crying in H Mart (Picador)

Children’s

Roma Agrawal, author of How Was That Built (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
Dara McAnulty, author of Diary of a Young Naturalist (Ebury Press)
Jason Reynolds, author of When I was the Greatest (Faber & Faber)
Chris Haughton, author of A Bit Lost and and Shh! We Have a Plan (both Walker)

Lifestyle and Culture

Leif Bersweden, author of Where the Wildflowers Grow (Hodder & Stoughton)
Brian Bilston, author of Days Like These (Picador)
Leena Norms, author of Bargain Bin Rom Com (Burning Eye Books)
River Cottage, home of cookery courses, events and books

Overall Publisher

Ebury
Hodder & Stoughton
Thames & Hudson
Vintage

Publisher Professional of the Year

Vicky Boff, marketing director at Hodder & Stoughton
Richard Green, independent bookshop and wholesaler manager at Pan Macmillan
Glen Holmes, sales and marketing manager at Bloomsbury
Katrina Northern, marketing manager at Vintage

Podcasts

"Backlisted"
"Literary Friction"
"Damian Barr’s Literary Salon"

Innovative Use of Bookshop.org

Hay Festival
The Booker Prizes
National Book Tokens
Women’s Prize for Fiction