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Trade celebrates return of 'joyful' in-person Nibbies on night of emotional speeches
Attendees of the first in-person British Book Awards since 2019 have hailed the event as “joyful” and “inspiring”, with many sensing an “extra buzz” in the air on an emotional night.
The awards took place at a packed Grosvenor House in London on 23rd May, with Marcus Rashford and Simon & Schuster UK among the evening’s big winners.
Hachette UK c.e.o. David Shelley told The Bookseller it felt “really special” to be back with everyone in person after three years, and that “there seemed to be an extra buzz about the ceremony”.
“It felt like a warm and inclusive evening,” he said, “and properly celebratory of all the things and people that make our industry so special.”
Stacey Hamilton, head of international sales at Bonnier Books UK, agreed, saying that it was “such a joy to be back in person, celebrating books and publishing”, and that “the energy in the room was palpable”.
What really stood out for her were the “heartfelt acceptance speeches, reminding me why what we do is so important”.
Among the most emotional speeches of the night came from the author of Empireland (Viking), Sathnam Sanghera, who won the Non-Fiction: Narrative award. Sanghera thanked his father, who came to the UK as an immigrant who couldn’t speak English, for taking him to the library every two weeks and inspiring a love of books. Sanghera himself also couldn’t speak English until he went to school.
“It’s what immigrants do around the world,” he said. “They enhance the economy and the culture of the countries they live in.”
Illustrator of the year Dapo Adeola thanked his grandmother, “without whose belief in me none of this would be possible", while Ian Rankin, joint winner of the Crime & Thriller Book of the Year with the late William McIlvanney for The Dark Remains (Canongate), thanked McIlvanney’s widow Siobhan.
Melanie Maynard, mother to Marcus Rashford, also tearfully accepted her son’s award alongside his co-author Carl Anka.
Belinda Ioni Rasmussen, publisher of Macmillan Children’s Books, which released Rashford’s book, said of the win: "I’m over the moon, delighted. What is so great about that book was the whole industry, everybody pulled together to get that book out there to as many children as possible."
Phoebe Morgan, editorial director at HarperCollins, said it had been an “amazing, inspiring evening”, while Lisa Milton, executive publisher at HQ and Mills & Boon, said “there were some heartfelt and amazing speeches".
Beth Gallimore, head of programmes at Bradford Lit Fest, said: “It’s been really moving, especially because of the amazing diversity of winners and nominees.”
Stephen Lotinga of the Publishers Association, attending his last Nibbies after previously announcing he is stepping down, said the "stand-out moment" was Arabella Pike’s speech, which showed the "importance of the work we all do". Pike and HarperCollins had been awarded the first British Book Award for Freedom to Publish, acknowledging the publisher’s “fortitude and bravery” in defending its authors against attacks from oligarchs. Pike said in her speech: "Freedom to publish is the bedrock of everything we all do, it’s deeply under threat."
Canongate’s Jessica Neale, who won Rights Professional of the Year, told The Bookseller: "It’s my first Nibbies and it has been joyous. I didn’t know it was going to be the biggest one ever. I just adore this celebration of everything and the range of awards. There are so many opportunities and so many great people involved in all the stages of creating a book."
With more than 1,200 guests in attendance at the physical Nibbies ceremony and many more tuning in online as a part of satellite events, Marie Moser, owner of The Edinburgh Bookshop, summed the event up: “I am very grateful to be back in person and so proud of how well the industry has coped during the pandemic. As an industry we came out of it strong."
