Campaigns for Alice Oseman, Britney Spears and Elliot Page shortlisted for PPC awards

Campaigns for titles by Alice Oseman, Britney Spears and Elliot Page are among those shortlisted for this year’s Publisher’s Publicity Circle (PPC) Awards, which celebrate the best campaigns carried out by publicists in 2023. 

The shortlists are divided into 15 categories, covering everything from hardback fiction to celebrity campaigns and children’s. 

Joe Thomas, deputy publicity director and commissioning editor at Headline, and chair of the PPC, said: “Having the opportunity to celebrate the incredible work of talented publicists across publishing is the highlight of the PPC calendar, and this year – as ever – we’ve been blown away by their creativity, tenacity and sensitivity.  

“The calibre of submissions was phenomenal and narrowing them down to shortlists was a difficult task. In a time of ever-shrinking review space, ongoing cost-of-living concerns and a shifting media landscape, it’s safe to say that 2023 saw publicists once more rise to – and far exceed – the challenge to champion their books far and wide.” 

The awards will be judged by a panel of book industry and media professionals consisting of Caroline Sanderson, writer and associate editor at The Bookseller (chair); Nihal Arthanayake, broadcaster and author; Sam Baker, writer, broadcaster and creator of the hit podcast, "The Shift with Sam Baker"; Selina Brown, founder and c.e.o. of the Black British Book Festival; Bea Carvalho, head of books at Waterstones and Farrah Serroukh, research and development director at CLPE.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony for PPC members on Monday 4th March. 

The winners of the PPC Annual Awards go forward to be considered for Publicity Campaign of the Year at The British Book Awards. The Nibbies judges will select a shortlist from the category-winning campaigns at the PPC Annual Awards. 

The full shortlists are as follows: 

The Waterstones Award for Hardback Fiction  

• A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon – Philippa Cotton and Ben McCluskey, Bloomsbury  
• Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld – Milly Reid, Transworld  
• The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan – Francesca Pearce, Frankie Banks and Elaine Egan, Orion  
• The List by Yomi Adegoke – Naomi Mantin, Fourth Estate  
• The Maniac by Benjamín Labatut – Steven Cooper, Pushkin Press 
• Yellowface by Rebecca F Kuang – Susanna Peden, HarperCollins  

The Bookseller Award for Hardback Non-Fiction  

• Diary of a CEO by Steven Bartlett –- Laura Nicol, Ebury 
• How to Read a Tree by Tristan Gooley – Rebecca Mundy, Hodder & Stoughton 
• Politics on the Edge by Rory Stewart – Alison Davies and Ryn Gardner, Jonathan Cape  
• The Art of Explanation by Ros Atkins – Joe Thomas, Headline 
• The Earth Transformed: An Untold History by Peter Frankopan – Hayley Camis and Jonny Coward, Bloomsbury 
• The Plot: The Political Assassination of Boris Johnson by Nadine Dories – Isabel Prodger, Harper NonFiction 
• Ultra-Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn’t Food ... and Why Can’t We Stop? by Chris van Tulleken - Etty Eastwood, Cornerstone 

The Connell MPA Award for Best Celebrity Campaign   

• Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones by Dolly Parton – Ellie Auton, Ebury  
• My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand – Charlotte Bush, Cornerstone 
• Pageboy by Elliot Page – Becky Short, Transworld 
• Process: Finding My Way Through by Lucy Spraggan – Eleanor Stammeijer, Bonnier Books 
• Strong Female Character by Fern Brady – Hazel O’Brien, Matthew Grindon and Megan Brown, Octopus Books 
• The Woman in Me by Britney Spears – Polly Osborn, Sabah Khan and Jessica Barratt, Simon & Schuster   

The Nielsen BookData Award for Best Debut Campaign  

• Bellies by Nicola Dinan – Milly Reid, Transworld 
• Maame by Jessica George – Rebecca Mundy, Ollie Martin, Hodder & Stoughter, and Rishma Dhaliwal, MediaHive 
• Open Throat by Henry Hoke – Kieran Sangha, Picador  
• Rosewater by Liv Little – Millie Seaward, Dialogue 
• The Garnett Girls by Georgina Moore – Lucy Richardson and Sian Baldwin, HQ  
• The Rooster House by Victoria Belim – Katya Ellis, Little, Brown 
• Whips by Cleo Watson – Niamh Anderson, Corsair  

The PPC Award for Best Children’s and YA Celebrity Campaign  

• The Boy Who Slept Through Christmas by Matt Lucas, illustrated by Forrest Burdett – Hannah Penny, Madeline Adeane and Rory Codd, Farshore 
• The Great Reindeer Rescue by Stephen Mangan, illustrated by Anita Mangan – Penelope Daukes, Scholastic 
• This is Me! by George Webster and Claire Taylor, illustrated by Tim Budgen – Rachel Phillipps, Scholastic 
• Welcome to Hinch Farm by Sophie Hinchcliffe – Sophia Smith, Ellen Grady and Aoifke McGuire-France, Puffin 
• With You Every Step: A Celebration of Friendship by Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield – Jo Hardacre and Bethan Thomas, Macmillan Children’s Books 
• You Grow Girl!: The Complete No Worries Guide to Growing Up by Dr Zoe Williams – Namishka Karia and Sarah Farmer, Hachette Children’s Group 

The Children’s Book Award sponsored by Daily Mail  

• Brilliant Black British History by Atinuke – Grace Ball, Bloomsbury, and Sophie Stott, freelance   
• Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell – Beatrice Cross, Bloomsbury  
• Jayben and the Golden Torch by Thomas Leeds – Emily Thomas and Anna Cole, Hachette Children’s Group 
• Stolen History by Sathnam Sanghera – Lizz Skelly, Puffin, and Rishma Dhaliwal, MediaHive  
• The Boy Who Didn’t Want to Die by Peter Lantos – Hannah Love, Scholastic  
• The Rescue of Ravenwood by Natasha Farrant – Bethany Carter, Faber 

The PPC Award for Best YA Campaign  

• A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid – Rachel Kennedy, Cornerstone 
• Five Survive by Holly Jackson – Pippa Poole, Farshore, and Dusty Miller, freelance  
• Girl, Goddess, Queen by Bea Fitzgerald – Harriet Venn and Sarah Doyle, Penguin Random House Children’s 
• HappyHead by Josh Silver – Liz Scott, Freelance for Rock the Boat 
• Heartstopper Volume 5 by Alice Oseman – Emily Thomas, Hachette Children’s Group  

The Read Media Award for Best Crime and Thriller Campaign  

• In The Blink of an Eye by Jo Callaghan – Jess Barratt, Simon & Schuster 
• Kill For Me Kill For You by Steve Cavanagh – Joe Thomas and Elaine Egan, Headline 
• Resurrection Walk by Michael Connelly – Ellen Turner and Sandra Taylor, Orion  
• The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett – Drew Jerrison, Profile Books  
• The Secret Hours by Mick Herron – Charlotte Hutchinson, John Murray Press 
• The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson – Rosie Friis, Pan Macmillan   

The PPC Award for Best Academic Campaign  

• Fool: In Search of Henry VIII’s Closest Man by Peter Andersson – Charlotte Coyne, Princeton University Press 
• Life Unseen: A Story of Blindness by Selina Mills – Mollie Broad, Bloomsbury  
• My Shakespeare: A Director’s Journey through the First Folio by Greg Doran – Mollie Broad, Bloomsbury 
• Penning Poison by Emily Cockayne – Amy Stewart and Catrin Lawrence, Oxford University Press 
• The Wife of Bath: A Biography by Marion Turner – Carmen Jimenez, Princeton University Press 
• Virtuous Bankers: A Day in the Life of the Eighteenth-Century Bank of England by Anne Murphy – Charlotte Coyne, Princeton University Press 

The Award for Best Lifestyle, Gift and Humour Campaign sponsored by Books Are My Bag 

• Craft Your Year with Sara Davies by Sara Davies – Chloe Rose, Transworld  
• Hack Your Hormones by Davinia Taylor – Ellen Turner, Orion 
• Murdle: Solve 100 Devilishly Devious Murder Mystery Logic Puzzles by G T Karber – Lily Evans, Profile Books 
• The Creative Act by Rick Rubin – Anna Frame, Canongate  
• Walk Yourself Happy by Julia Bradbury – Matthew Crossey, Niamh Anderson and Lucy Martin, Little, Brown 
• You Are Not Alone by Cariad Lloyd – Anna Massardi and Philippa Cotton, Bloomsbury  

Edinburgh International Book Festival Award for Best Generic Campaign 

• A Year of Elly Griffiths – Ella Patel and Joe Christie, Quercus 
• Bored of Lunch brand Campaign – Alice King, Ebury 
• ESEA Lit Fest – Maria Garbutt-Lucero, Hodder & Stoughton 
• The Yoto Carnegies – Emma Draude, Annabelle Wright and Sabina Maharjan, EDPR 
• Virago 50th Anniversary Campaign - Jane Acton, Jane Acton PR for Virago 
• Waterstones Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho’s ‘Library Marathon’ – Hannah McMillan, Emily Laidlaw and Tina Mories, Midas 

The PPC Award for Best Cookery Book Campaign  

• A Slice of Fried Gold: Taste My Memories by Nick Frost – Isabel Smith and Eleanor Stammeijer, Bonnier Books 
• Bitter by Alexina Anatole – Lucie Cuthbertson-Twiggs, Vintage 
• Imad’s Syrian Kitchen by Imad Alarnab – Sarah Lundy, HQ 
• Poppy Cooks: The Actually Delicious Air Fryer Cookbook by Poppy O’Toole – Ellen Williams and Isobel Turton, Bloomsbury 
• Pub Kitchen by Tom Kerridge – Ellen Williams and Helen Upton, Bloomsbury  
• The Farm Table by Julius Roberts – Alice King, Ebury  

The PPC Award for Best Sports Book Campaign 

• Broadly Speaking by Stuart Broad – Rebecca Mundy, Hodder & Stoughton 
• Fearless: Adventures with Extraordinary Women by Louise Minchin – Katherine Macpherson, Bloomsbury  
• Kammy: My Unbelievable Life by Chris Kamara v Josie Turner, Pan Macmillan 
• The Race To Be Myself by Caster Semenya – Alice Dewing, Cornerstone 
• What It Takes: My Playbook on Life and Leadership by Sarina Weigman - Isabel Prodger, Harper NonFiction 
• Who Am I? by Danny Cipriani – Hetty Touquet, Harper NonFiction  

The PPC Award for Paperback Original Campaign 

• Sounds Like Fun by Bryan Moriarty – Ollie Martin, Hodder & Stoughton  
• The Real Happy Valley by Alice Vinten – Chloe Rose, Transworld 
• The Road to London Bridge by Steve Gallant – Ellen Turner, Orion 
• The Sky at Night: The Art of Stargazing by Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock – Morgana Chess, Ebury  
• The Sunrise Sisterhood by Cathy Bramley – Frankie Banks and Becca Bryant, Orion 

Best Newcomer Award sponsored by Jo James 

• Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones by Dolly Parton – Ellie Auton, Ebury Press 
• Cecil Beaton by Claudia Acott Williams – Imelda Loakes, Thomas & Hudson 
• For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain by Victoria MacKenzie – Grace Nzita-Kiki, Bloomsbury 
• Let the Light Pour In by Lemn Sissay – Aisling Holling, Canongate 
• Murdle: Solve 100 Devilishly Devious Murder Mystery Logic Puzzles by G T Karber – Lily Evans, Profile Books 
• Open Throat by Henry Hoke – Kieran Sangha, Pan Macmillan 
• The Maiden by Kate Foster – Chloe Davies, Pan Macmillan 
• The Stickleback Catchers by Lisette Auton – Sarah Doyle, Penguin Random House Children’s