The Bookseller begins the search for the 2023 Rising Stars
The Bookseller is announcing the call for entries for the 2023 Rising Stars, its annual celebration of the British and Irish book industry’s up-and-comers and future leaders.
The initiative will publish on 30th June and is backed by the Frankfurt Book Fair. This year will mark the 13th edition of the Rising Stars and while the list recognises emerging book trade members, it is not age-based; it can equally salute early-career individuals or longer-serving book trade professionals who have changed tack to help revitalise their businesses.
The Rising Stars Class of 2022 had 40 honorees spanning all facets of the book trade, from conglomerates to indie start-ups. It included Afrori Books founder Carolynn Bain (nominated for the 2023 Individual Bookseller of the Year Nibbie); Cipher Press publisher Jenn Thompson; Faber senior designer (now art director) Peter Adlington; Johnson & Alcock rights director Hélène Butler; and Simon & Schuster Children’s Books senior commissioning editor Amina Youssef.
One member of the 2023 list will be named the “Shooting Star”, a nominee the judges believe deserves slightly greater recognition. Last year’s Shooting Star was then-Simon & Schuster editor Kaiya Shang, who has since moved to a new commissioning editor role at Chatto.
The Frankfurt Book Fair has returned as a backer of the Rising Stars, and the Shooting Star will be given an all-expenses paid trip to FBF 2023 with the opportunity to appear on seminar panels and have one-on-one consultations with industry insiders.
Torsten Casimir, FBF’s v.p. for communications and content, said: “The team at Frankfurter Buchmesse is delighted to be supporting The Bookseller Rising Stars again this year. With so much change happening in the world currently, never has it seemed quite so important to be backing the creative, up-and-coming talents of the publishing industry. This year marks our 75th year here at the fair and so, as we look back at our extraordinary literary journey, it seems very apt that we should also be looking forward to the next generation of publishers who will be visiting Frankfurt in the future.”
Since inception, 476 individuals have been named Rising Stars, 58 who have gone on to head up houses or divisions or launch new businesses, such as Collins m.d. Alex Beecroft, C&W m.d. Sophie Lambert and Magic Cat co-founders Jenny Broom and Rachel Williams.
Meanwhile, 27 Rising Stars have won individual or team British Book Awards, while 44 “graduated” to The Bookseller 150, the annual list of the most influential people in books. The former Rising Stars on the 2022 150 included Waterstones head of fiction Bea Carvalho, United Agents head of books Jodie Hodges, Square Peg publishing director Marianne Tatepo and Fourth Estate editorial director Kishani Widyaratna.
Tom Tivnan, The Bookseller managing editor and founder of the Rising Stars initiative, said: "To see the development of the inductees over the past 12 years has been a joy to watch. Of course, all of them would have undoubtedly succeeded if the Rising Stars didn’t exist, but it is cheering to think that we have had at least a small bit of positive impact on so many people’s careers."
Submissions for the Rising Stars Class of 2023 are open from 31st March and entries must be recieved by 12th May. To nominate a colleague, or yourself, send a testimonial outlining their/your accomplishments to tom.tivnan@thebookseller.com.
