FutureBook shortlists to be unveiled at Frankfurt event

The shortlists for this year’s FutureBook Awards are to be announced at the Frankfurt Book Fair, with Pan Macmillan managing director Anthony Forbes Watson to be interviewed by Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller, at the same event.

The interview and awards announcement takes place on Thursday 11th October from 1-2pm on the International Stage in Hall 5.1. The FutureBook Awards are designed to surface and celebrate the very best innovation from all corners of the publishing industry.

From record-breaking multi-media marketing campaigns to brand new startups with a brilliant idea. This year, for the first time, the awards will also recognise book podcasting. You can find the full criteria for each category and submit your entry here. Submissions close on Wednesday 3rd October. The Awards will be presented at this year's FutureBook Live conference on Friday 30th November in Bishopsgate, London.

Forbes Watson has presided over Pan Macmillan since 2008, with the publisher twice winning the coveted Publisher of the Year award at the British Book Awards, first in 2015 and again in 2017. This year Pan Macmillan is celebrating its 175th anniversary with a series of events and initiatives, including an award to recognise innovation within independent bookshops, with six indies winning £1,750 each to be used to launch a new and innovative project in their store, with projects focusing on community outreach or supporting new readers particularly encouraged.

Jones and Forbes Watson will discuss how the publishing model has remained robust in the face of huge changes across the publishing sector, and what it means to be the head of a 175 year old business in the 21st century.