The world’s first climate-positive publisher and a bilingual children’s books press are among those honoured in this year’s British Book Awards Small Press of the Year category. 

Sponsored by CPI Group, the award celebrates the diversity, innovation and creativity of small presses, selected from a list of 50 finalists. “The Small Press award has become one of the most important at the British Book Awards, with more than 60 submissions showcasing the sheer versatility and breadth of publishing across the United Kingdom and Ireland,” said Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller, and chair of the judges.

“Here are publishers at the coalface, making every sale count, building customer relationships, and nurturing writers and writing through what are often the early stages of their careers. Scotland, London and the North of England were particularly strong this year, but overall these winners show that Small Press publishing is flourishing across these islands.” 

Elliott & Thompson won the London region, after trebling its TCM sales in 2021 with star book of the year Tim Marshall’s The Power of Geography, which led the Sunday Times’ paperback non-fiction list for 13 weeks, while Nancy Campbell’s Fifty Words for Snow was an example of its proactive approach to publishing. 

Scotland winner Cranachan is as far from the London-centric publishing scene as you can get, at the northern tip of the Hebrides. The part-time husband-and-wife team impressed judges after growing sales by 50% despite reducing their programme of Scotland-connected children’s books in 2021. The publisher was praised for its impressive publicity and securing its first international rights deals. 

Family-run, Bath-based From You to Me is the winner in the South-West England region, with personalised gift books and journals a hit during the lockdowns. Foreign-language licensing partnerships also increased, along with trade sales. 

The East and South-East England category winner is SRL Publishing, which claims to be the world’s first climate-positive book publisher. It saw sales treble last year, while offsetting emissions by more than 100% and planting a dozen trees for every one used.  

Midlands winner Eye Books celebrated 25 years in publishing with its biggest year of output and sales yet, despite having no full-time staff or office. It has made a speciality of picking up books that bigger publishers may overlook, such as Simon Edge’s satire The End of the World is Flat. 

Vertebrate won the North England category, with its outdoor adventure guides a hit during lockdowns. It shrugged off publishing’s supply issues to surge past £1m in turnover for the first time. 

Meanwhile, Belfast-based The Irish Pages Press becomes the first winner from Northern Ireland in the Island of Ireland category. Direct website sales increased during bookshop closures, and marketing and publicity give it a literary profile that belies its small size. 

Finally, the Wales winner Rily Publications marked 20 years in bilingual children’s publishing with an increase in output and a new English-language imprint. 

Five Small Presses were given High Commendations: The Wee Book Company (Scotland); Saqi Books (London); Owlet Press (Midlands); Critical Publishing (East and South East); Bluemoose Books (North England).

The eight regional and country winners are now in contention for the overall Small Press of the Year Award, announced at the British Book Awards ceremony, at Grosvenor House in London on Monday 23rd May. The overall Small Press winner will also compete to be crowned Independent Publisher of the Year.  

The Country and Regional winners in full 

East and South-East England  

SRL Publishing 

Island of Ireland

The Irish Pages Press/Cló An Mhíl Bhuī 

London  

Elliott & Thompson 

Midlands  

Eye Books 

North England  

Vertebrate Publishing 

Scotland  

Cranachan 

South-West England  

From You to Me 

Wales  

Rily Publications 

Highly commended 

The Wee Book Company (Scotland)  

Saqi Books (London)  

Owlet Press (Midlands)  

Critical Publishing (East and South East)  

Bluemoose Books (North England)