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Sage founder McCune to receive LBF Lifetime Achievement Award
Sara Miller McCune, founder and executive chairman of Sage Publishing, is to be awarded the London Book Fair Lifetime Achievement Award 2018.
Miller McCune is a "visionary publisher, philanthropist, and entrepreneur, who oversaw the growth of Sage from a start-up to one of the largest independent publishing companies in the world", said the fair's organisers. For over 50 years, she has led the publishing industry in business, through her "tireless support" for social science research and through her passion for philanthropy, they added.
Miller McCune founded Sage in 1965, aged 24, and oversaw its "phenomenal growth", founding major publishing offices in UK (1971), India (1981) and Singapore (2006). She has been at the forefront of numerous publishing innovations from championing of urban studies, media studies, black studies, and family violence, among others. She also supported new research methods such as evaluation research and new statistical techniques. Today, McCune remains actively involved in the company’s expansion and development, and still serves as the executive chairman.
The LBF Lifetime Achievement Award in International Publishing will be presented at the International Excellence Awards, on Tuesday 10th April 2018, in The Conference Centre, Olympia, London.
Miller McCune will also speak at The London Book Fair’s Research and Scholarly Publishing Forum on Wednesday 11th April 2018.
Miller McCune said she was "extraordinarily honoured" to be receiving the award, and grateful to The London Book Fair for recognising the "critical work that an independent academic publisher can achieve when its commitment to a noble mission is unwavering".
She said: "I am a passionate supporter of what I call the four justices – economic, educational, environmental, and social – on an international scale, and I view the work of SAGE Publishing as pivotal to their advancement as we build bridges from ideas to usable knowledge. I receive this award as acknowledgment of my pledge to this work and an endorsement to continue to improve the world of scholarship and education for the long-term future.”
Stephen Barr, president of Sage International, praised Miller McCune for being a "visionary and passionate publisher", and added that he was delighted that LBF has recognised her with the award.
"Publishing for Sara has never just been a question of making money; she has always believed in the power of publishing to disseminate knowledge, to shape minds and to contribute to building a better world through improved public policy based on research and evidence", said Barr.
He continued: "She set up Sage to express and fulfil that vision, built it through its early years with her late husband George McCune, and has overseen its development into one of the world’s major academic and educational publishers. Beyond publishing, Sara’s commitment to the cause of social justice has been expressed through a wide range of philanthropic projects around the world. She fully deserves the recognition of the international publishing community for her achievements.”
Jacks Thomas, director of The London Book Fair, added that Miller McCune is a "pioneer and an inspiration to those of us – perhaps especially women - in publishing".
She said: "Her leadership and vision has helped Sage grow, evolve and prosper over five decades, which is a monumental achievement. She has been at the forefront of so many changes in the sector; she is surely one of the greatest and most enduring publishing visionaries and we are delighted to recognise her at The London Book Fair.”
The Lifetime Achievement Award recognises an individual who has made a "truly significant" mark in the sphere of global publishing. It is open to publishers, agents, editors, scouts and anyone else involved in international publishing from any country in the world. Last year the award was presented to Luiz Schwartz, Companhia das Letras. Previous recipients include Deborah Rogers of Rogers, Coleridge & White, Sonny Mehta of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., Lord Weidenfeld, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, Christopher MacLehose, now of MacLehose Press and Baroness Gail Rebuck, Penguin Random House.
