Jessica Kingsley and Espoo City Library win International Excellence Awards

UK publisher Jessica Kingsley, Espoo City Library in Finland and the Fang Suo Commune bookshop in China were amongst the winners of this year’s International Excellence Awards at London Book Fair (LBF).

Jessica Kingsley was awarded The London Book Fair’s Simon Master Chairman’s Award for her work in publishing books about autism through the company she founded in 1987, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, now owned by Hachette.

Finland’s Espoo City Library on the Library of the Year Award thanks to its community programmes, which reach out to all readers, including the elderly and refugees, while FanSuo Commune was awarded the prize for Bookstore of the Year and was described by the judges as giving “a glimpse of what bookstores of the future will be”.

Recipients of the awards, held in association with the Publishers Association, came from countries across five continents.

Other winners included US-based journalist Porter Anderson, who won the inaugural International Book Trade Journalist Award, and Ukraine’s Book Arsenal Literary Festival, which was named the world’s leading literary festival. Booklava in the UAE won Audiobook Publisher of the Year and the Literary Translation Initiative Award went to India’s Tulika Publishers.

Jacks Thomas, Director of The London Book Fair, said “The International Excellence Awards always remind us of the innovative, important and inspiring work being done by all those in the global publishing community. From translators in India and librarians in Finland to literary festivals in Ukraine and literary agents in France, these awards show the breadth of talent working in the publishing industry around the world today. It is absolutely brilliant to recognise and celebrate individuals and organisations here at The London Book Fair, in the creative capital of the world.”

L-R Alexandra Pringle, Dorothea Bromberg and David Roche

The full list of this year’s International Excellence winners is below:

The Academic and Professional Publisher Award: De Gruyter (Germany)

The Audiobook Publisher of the Year: Booklava (UAE)

The Bookstore of the Year Award, sponsored by Gardners:  Fang Suo Commune (China)

The Educational Initiatives Award: Tata Trusts (India)

The Educational Learning Resources Award, supported by The China Publishing & Media Journal: Virtual Reading Gym (South Africa)

International Book Trade Journalist: Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief, Publishing Perspectives (USA)

The Library of the Year Award: Espoo City Library (Finland)

The Literary Translation Initiative Award: Tulika Publishers (India)

The Literary Agent Award: Pierre Astier, Astier-Pecher Literary & Film Agency (France)

The Literary Festival Award: Book Arsenal Literary Festival (Ukraine)

The Rights Professional Award: Rose Janssens, Clavis Publishing (Belgium)

Eligible for entries from Market Focus Indonesia only:

The Market Focus Indonesia Adult Trade Award: Bentang Pustaka

The Market Focus Indonesia Children’s, Young Adult and Education Award: PT. Bestari Buana Murni

Eligible for entries from all countries, including the UK:

The London Book Fair Simon Master Chairman’s Award: Jessica Kingsley, Founder, Jessica Kingsley Publishers (UK)

Accessible Books Consortium International Excellence Award (Publisher): EDITORIAL 5 (Brazil)

Accessible Books Consortium International Excellence Award (Initiative): eKitabu (Kenya)

Eligible for entries from the UK only:

Inclusivity in Publishing Award, supported by the Publishers Association: Jacaranda Books