Nosy Crow crowned IPG Publisher of the Year

Children’s publisher Nosy Crow has been awarded the top honour of Fox Williams Independent Publisher of the Year at this year's IPG Independent Publishers Awards.

Nosy Crow's victory caps a “remarkable rise” for the company, which published its first books just over five years ago. Nosy Crow also won the IPG Children’s Publisher of the Year Award and the judges praised the company for its "terrific brand" and "impressive knowledge of its market".

“It is a superb all-rounder and a resolutely independent publisher,” the judges said.

Nosy Crow's Kate Wilson (centre) at the IPG Awards.

Like Nosy Crow, career specialist publisher How2Become was a two-time winner at the awards, receiving the IPG Specialist Consumer Publisher of the Year title and the Nielsen Digital Marketing Award. The judges said the company was "great at social media, great at getting publicity and great at selling direct to its users".

Other publishers honoured included Meze Publishing, winner of the Nick Robinson Newcomer Award; Pavilion Books, recipient of The Bookseller International Achievement Award; Faber & Faber, winner of the Ingram Content Group Digital Publishing Award; and Barrington Stoke, winner of the Alison Morrison Diversity Award.

Barrington Stoke m.d. Mairi Kidd (centre) accepts the Alison Morrison Diversity Award.

Oneworld was awarded the Ruth Killick Publicity Trade Publisher of the year while Policy Press won the Frankfurt Book Fair Academic & Professional Publisher of the Year. PG Online, meanwhile, was awarded the Publishers Licensing Society Education Publisher of the year title.

The titles mean Oneworld, How2Become, Meze Publishing, PG Online and Policy Press were honoured at the IPG awards for the first time.

Individual winners of the night were Sam Richardson, c.e.o. of SPCK, who won the award for IPG Young Independent Publisher of the Year, and Graham Bell of EDItEUR, who won the GBS Services to Independent Publishers Award.

Sam Richardson (centre) with his award for young publisher of the year.

IPG chief executive Bridget Shine said the entries for the 10th anniversary of the IPG awards was “exceptionally strong”.

Shine said: “We congratulate all those who have emerged as winners from such competitive shortlists. Publishing continues to face many challenges, but this year’s awards show that the independent sector is vibrant, diverse, innovative and flourishing.”

All 13 winners were honoured at a Gala Dinner last night (3rd March), staged at the Crowne Plaza Heythrop Park in Oxfordshire as part of the IPG’s Annual Spring Conference.