Osborn named Leader of the Year at FutureBook

Polly Osborn, publishing strategy and communications director at Simon & Schuster, has been named Leader of the Year at this year’s FutureBook Awards, which were awarded at the end of The Bookseller’s annual conference on Monday 27th November.  

The event ran as a hybrid event online and in-person at County Hall, Waterloo, London. 

Judges said Osborn’s “dynamism, candour and collaboration at Simon & Schuster UK drives organisational change, commercial success and the undying loyalty of her team”. The marketing and publicity team has grown under her leadership, hiring three new members of staff, and having five promotions including her own in the last six months alone. The publisher has also won Publisher of the Year at the Nibbies twice in a row while she has overseen the submissions. 

Meanwhile Katie Packer, editorial director at Trapeze, was named Future Leader of the Year, with judges praising her as a “skilled commissioner and a leader of ambitious company-wide initiatives”. “Katie is doing ground-breaking work to reach underserved communities” they said.  

Packer joined Orion to head Trapeze Non-Fiction in September 2022 and is also an active and engaged member of the wider Hachette staff. Along with mentoring trainees and working with the Changing the Story team, in 2023 she spearheaded a group-wide project to launch a training initiative that will improve the representation of the publisher’s freelance workforce.   

Beyond publishing, she started Clubhouse events to demystify publishing, co-hosted the "Main Characters" podcast and is a volunteer for The Literary Consultancy, BookMachine, Hatch Enterprise and the Working-Class Writers’ Festival.  

Footnote Press, launched in partnership with Bonnier Books UK, scooped Start-up of the Year with judges noting its work to combine “new technologies, urgent issues and diverse authors to create a disruptive and inspiring press”. To mark the launch of Hannah Silva’s My Child, the Algorithm, co-written with a machine-learning algorithm and a toddler, Footnote Press developed an AI text-generator trained on the book in order to demonstrate how machine learning can be used in fun, collaborative ways to bring the reader closer to the work. The publisher is exploring the use of AI in its wider marketing as well, not to replace its workforce, but to use AI for “all the work that we simply don’t have capacity for”.  

The press is also known for its eco-credentials, implementing efficient print runs and stock monitoring processes. Its production team select only the most eco-friendly materials and suppliers and uses 100% FSC-certified paper and sustainable inks, glues and varnishes are always prioritised. Footnote does not produce printed catalogues and encourages people to work with digital proofs. It is also offering authors the opportunity to plant 10 trees for every book they publish. This summer it partnered with Counterpoints Arts to launch the £15,000 Footnote x Counterpoints Writing Prize for writers from refugee and migrant backgrounds this summer.

Finally the Excellence Award went to Debut Writers’ Academy, Orion, which offers an eight-week course to demystify the publishing process and build a support network. “Orion’s speedy response to debut stress set a new standard for author care,” judges said.  

In summer 2023 the commercial fiction teams at Orion launched an online academy for their debut writers, following industry-wide feedback about the negative experiences of first-time writers and the detrimental impact on their mental health. The debut writers were invited to learn from some of the most successful and experienced authors in commercial fiction, including M J Arlidge, Cathy Bramley, David M Barnett, Jendella Benson, Sharon Bolton, Veronica Henry, Anna Mazzola and Holly Seddon. The graduates also received detailed insight into the publishing process, with a virtual classroom led by publishers Sam Eades and Sareeta Domingo, and guest speakers from across the business as well as external speakers such as journalist Nina Pottell. 

Sixteen writers regularly attended the sessions. Following their positive feedback, the Orion Publishing Group will roll-out the course across all its imprints next year, as well as provide Espresso Mentoring sessions with established writers to offer advice and expertise to debuts throughout their publication year.  

FutureBook co-programmer and The Bookseller’s comment editor Molly Flatt said: “Whether they’re individuals, teams or whole companies, this year’s winners really are driving change that matters — from representation to commercial acuity, internal innovation to author care. A major theme running through FutureBook 23 has been the importance of strong leadership in an age of AI, and these outstanding people and projects showcase the kind of courage, empathy and skill that we will all need to stay resilient and relevant in years to come.”