The IPG is proud to announce the shortlists for the inaugural Independent Publishing Awards.

The prizes, organised in association with The Bookseller and the London Book Fair, celebrate the very best of independent publishing in the UK. They will be presented at a Gala Dinner at the De Vere Grand Hotel in Brighton on 3rd March. Please click here for the Awards dinner table booking form. As you know, admission to the dinner is included in the IPG Conference delegates’ fee: click here for the Conference booking form and conference flier.

The IPG thanks all those publishers who took the time to submit entries to the Awards. The 19 industry experts involved in choosing the shortlists were impressed by the rich variety of creative and independent entrants.

The seven shortlists showcase 22 different independent publishers. Faber & Faber is nominated in three categories, while Barrington Stoke and Class Legal are each competing for two awards. The shortlists are:

Trade Publisher of the Year
Faber & Faber, Milo Books, Profile Books and Snowbooks

Children’s Publisher of the Year
Barrington Stoke, Catnip and Piccadilly Press

Academic & Professional Publisher of the Year
Class Legal, Earthscan, Hart Publishing and Jessica Kingsley

Education Publisher of the Year
Barrington Stoke, Featherstone Education and Galore Park

Innovation of the Year
The 100-Minute Press for The 100-Minute Bible; The Bodleian Library for its Instructions for Servicemen books; Class Legal for its family law software; Faber & Faber for its Independent Alliance of publishers; and Salt Publishing for its efforts to reinvigorate poetry sales

International Achievement of the Year
Faber & Faber, Jolly Learning and Willan Publishing

Diversity Award
Arcadia Books, Flipped Eye Publishing, Frances Lincoln and Tamarind Books

An eighth award, for The van Tulleken Independent Publisher of the Year, will be announced at the Gala Dinner. The shortlist for this award will be made up of the winners in the Trade, Children’s, Academic & Professional and Education categories.


TRADE PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR
Judges in this closely-contested category were impressed by the number of independent publishers competing successfully with much larger rivals.

Faber & Faber was nominated for continuing its revival with creative publishing and a string of bestsellers, and for championing independent publishing through the Independent Alliance. “Faber had a fantastic year with great agility in its marketing.”

Profile Books capped a strong year with more bestsellers over Christmas, and was nominated for its balance of scholarly and business publishing and creative, popular titles. “Profile continues to offer good solid publishing and excellent marketing.”

Milo Books impressed the judges by establishing itself as a strong and popular non-fiction specialist despite limited resources. “Milo ticks all the right boxes and has quickly become very successful in its niche of publishing.”

Snowbooks earned a place on the shortlist for quickly building itself into a substantial force in the trade. “Snowbooks has been focused and energetic in its publishing, and its marketing and publicity has been outstanding.”


CHILDREN’S PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR
Judges praised the imaginative, committed publishing of the shortlisted publishers, and called for more entries in future years to reflect the variety of this sector.

Judges praised Barrington Stoke for its ability to attract top-name authors and efforts to increase sales through a rejacketing programme. “Barrington Stoke has stuck closely to its niche and its readers while constantly seeking ways to innovate.”

Catnip Publishing’s impact in children’s books since its launch impressed the judges. “This is an extremely professional start-up that has tackled rivals head-on with a strong editorial policy and a clear focus in its marketing and publicity.”

Piccadilly Press was commended for its imaginative publishing and long-running independence. “This publisher has created a niche in the market and helped to keep girls reading—it’s a perfect example of what independent publishers can achieve.”


ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR
Judges were impressed by the high standard of nominations in this category. “These companies show the rich variety of publishing in the independent sector. They are all passionate about what they do and dedicated to serving their markets.”

Judges praised Class Legal’s use of publishing innovative software to create a niche in the legal sector. “What they are doing is completely beyond the norm—and it shows how independent publishers can find new ways to develop.

Earthscan was nominated for its focused publishing, high production values and imaginative publicity campaigns. “Earthscan is ahead of the game and has quickly become an important part of the academic world,” said the judges.

Hart Publishing earned a place on the shortlist for targeted publishing, a drive to increase direct sales and experimentation with e-books and print on demand. “Hart has reached out to new markets and offered its customers the complete package.”

Jessica Kingsley was praised for its authoritative publishing, careful brand building and bold moves into the US. “This is a publisher that knows its market and targets it with great books and excellent marketing and promotion,” said the judges.


EDUCATION PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR
This category proved a closely contended one for the judges, who were delighted with the standard of submissions. “What these companies all show is that if you put your all into something you believe in, you can make a great success of it.”

Barrington Stoke was shortlisted for its clear focus, roster of top authors and commitment to helping struggling readers. “Barrington Stoke performs consistently well in a sector that is poorly served and difficult to get right,” said the judges.

Judges were struck by Featherstone Education’s rapid success since its launch and its commitment to the whole publishing process, from editorial to printing. “This is a truly independent publisher that clearly lives and breathes what it is doing.”

Galore Park was commended for creating a niche in the independent schools market and anticipating the demand of teachers, parents and children. “Galore Park has worked out its market and targeted it in an extremely focused way.”


INNOVATION OF THE YEAR
Judges applauded the range of nominations in this category. “Throughout we found a huge commitment among independent publishers to making their books work in a competitive market. The energy and ingenuity shown were very impressive.”

The panel of judges praised The 100-Minute Press for the creativity of its idea to make the Bible available in a more accessible format. “This is an original concept to widen the Bible’s market and create a new one.”

The Bodleian Library was shortlisted for its reissues of the World War II Instructions for Servicemen books, which have sold 100,000 copies. “The Bodleian Library recognised that the property they had could be marketed in a new way.”

Judges congratulated Class Legal for the innovation and ease of use of its publishing software for family law practitioners. “Class saw a gap in the market to make life easier for the legal sector. It is an extraordinary idea and completely new.”

Faber & Faber’s Independent Alliance had brought the book trade closer together, judges said. “This is a genuine innovation that will help independent publishers and booksellers survive. It is a formidable achievement that will have a lasting impact.”

Judges praised Salt Publishing’s efforts to raise interest in poetry through direct sales and its website. “In one of the hardest sectors of all to make money, Salt has taken poetry by the scruff of the neck and done something new and exciting with it.”


INTERNATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT OF THE YEAR
“This shortlist shows how specialist independent publishers are targeting international sales in creative ways,” said the judges in this category.

Judges commended Faber & Faber for a rise in export sales and efforts to raise its profile abroad. “A lot of effort has clearly been put into changing the international strategy and making the most of the company’s resources.”

Judges praised Jolly Learning’s efforts to increase overseas sales through careful targeting of customers and close awareness of its target markets. “Jolly Learning’s innovation and entrepreneurship really shines through.”

Willan Publishing was nominated for increasing sales in the US despite the weakness of the dollar. “This is an independent publisher competing very well with much bigger rivals, and with strategies in place to deal with fluctuating currencies.”


DIVERSITY AWARD
This shortlist demonstrates the huge contribution made by independent publishers to cultural diversity in the UK.

Arcadia Books was shortlisted for its consistently high standard of translated fiction and multicultural imprint. “With its commitment to translated fiction, Arcadia is a great champion of cultural diversity.”

Flipped Eye Publishing, a specialist in poetry and oral literature with an African emphasis, was congratulated for its distinctive publishing. “Flipped Eye is clearly committed to its niche, and it publishes very well.”

The judging panel praised Frances Lincoln’s publishing for black and minority ethnic groups and its dual language titles in particular. “Frances Lincoln has a wide range of very high quality books, and its contribution to diversity is clear.”

Tamarind Books, an independent publisher of books for black children for 20 years, was congratulated for maintaining its high standards. “Tamarind’s multicultural books and long-standing independence are both hugely impressive.”


The IPG is grateful to all the industry experts who act as judges for the Independent Publishing Awards in the above categories:

Lesley Agnew, Owner of the Children’s Bookshop in Muswell Hill
Willie Anderson, Deputy Chairman of John Smith & Son
Francis Bennett, Consultant
Carole Blake, Managing Director of Blake Friedmann
Ruth Borthwick, Head of Literature, Royal Festival Hall
Neill Denny, Editor-in-chief of The Bookseller
Julia Eccleshare, Children’s Books Editor of the Guardian
Paul Henderson, Marketing Consultant
Caroline Horn, Children’s News Editor of The Bookseller
Emma House, Exhibition Manager at the London Book Fair
Erika Mattingley, Manager of Heffers Bookshop in Cambridge
Chris McLaren, Managing Director of Saltway Publishing
Carole Mills, Founder of Yellow Door
Sharon Murray, Head of Buying at Blackwell
Kes Nielsen, Senior Books Manager at Amazon
Lynette Owen, Copyright Director at Pearson Education
Mo Siewcharran, Head of Marketing at Nielsen BookData
Ian Snowley, Director of Academic Services at the University of London Research Library Services
David Taylor, Managing Director of Lightning Source UK.

The IPG also thanks sponsors of the awards: BTBS, Lightning Source, National Book Tokens, Nielsen, RPM Print and Design, SBS Worldwide, Taylor Wessing and UK Trade & Investment.

The van Tulleken Company
BTBS
Lightning Source
National Book Tokens
Nielsen
RPM Print and Design
SBS Worldwide
Taylor Wessing
UK Trade & Investment