Winners of the 2023 Independent Publishing Awards

 

It is with great pleasure and pride that we announce the winners of the 2023 Independent Publishing Awards. They are:

CPI Independent Publisher of the Year
Edward Elgar Publishing

PBShop Trade Publisher of the Year
Joffe Books

Clays Children’s Publisher of the Year
Nosy Crow

ProQuest Academic and Professional Publisher of the Year
Edward Elgar Publishing

PLS Education Publisher of the Year
Jolly Learning

READ Media Specialist Consumer Publisher of the Year
David & Charles

Nick Robinson Newcomer Award
Moonflower Books and Phoenix Publishing House (joint)

Deanta International Award
Atlantic Books

The Bookseller Marketing Award
Canongate Books

The Alison Morrison Diversity and Inclusivity Award
Bonnier Books

HP Sustainability Award
Bloomsbury Publishing

Zebralution Audio Award
Belle Media and Bonnier Books (joint)

Virtusales Metadata Award
Bloomsbury Publishing

The Ola Gotkowska Young Independent Publisher Award
Will Dady, Renard Press

Services to Independent Publishers Award
David Segrue

We celebrated the winning and shortlisted companies and people at a very special lunch in London on Wednesday 22 March 2023. You can read our judges’ comments about each of the winners, details of some highly commended mentions and the full shortlists below.

The 2023 Awards were the biggest in their 17-year history, with 65 nominations including 40 different companies and six individuals. Well done to each and every one, and please don’t be disheartened if you didn’t win; the standard was phenomenally high.

We owe huge thanks to the 30 expert judges of the Awards, who had to work long and hard to decide the winners.

We also thank all our Awards sponsors and supporters: CPI, PBShop, Clays, ProQuest, part of Clarivate, Publishers’ Licensing Services, READ Media, Deanta, HP, The Bookseller, Virtusales Publishing Solutions, Zebralution, Bookshop.org and Gardners.

The IPG is grateful to the 30 hard-working and diligent judges of the 2023 Independent Publishing Awards: Graham Bell, EDItEUR; Martin Casimir, consultant; Nick Clee, BookBrunch; Andie Constantinides, Amazon; Neill Denny, BookBrunch; Eela Devani, Copyright Licensing Agency; Elise Dillsworth, Elise Dillsworth Agency; James Dunphy, Durnell Marketing; Vicky Ellis, Clays; Richard Fisher, IPG; Oliver Gadsby, IPG patron; Jonny Gallant, Bookspeed; Ashley Gordon, HP; Simon Graham, Zero Carbon Academy; Gareth Hardy, PBShop; Jonathan Harris, IPG; Laurence Howell, consultant; Alison Kaye, CPI; Sam Missingham, The Empowered Author; Tony Mulliken, consultant; Natasha Onwuemezi, freelance writer; Steve Potter, Far Corner; Miles Poynton, MWP Publishing; Gareth Rapley, The London Book Fair; Katie Read, READ Media; Darren Ryan, Deanta; Rebecca Souster, Zebralution; Caroline Summers, PBShop; Phil Turner, Virtusales; and Tom West, PLS.

 

Here are the judges’ comments about the 15 winners of the 2023 IPG Independent Publishing Awards.

CPI Independent Publisher of the Year and ProQuest Academic and Professional Publisher of the Year

Edward Elgar Publishing achieved another record year of growth in 2022. It refreshed its Elgaronline platform and cemented its reputation for excellent care of staff, authors and customers alike. Judges said: “Edward Elgar combines longevity with constant innovation: they never rest on what they have achieved and always strive to stay the best in their field. The growth is exceptional for a mature business, and there’s a holistic strategy that works… it’s a special business.”

Also shortlisted for CPI Independent Publisher of the Year were the winners of four other Publisher of the Year categories: David & Charles, Joffe Books, Jolly Learning and Nosy Crow.

Also shortlisted for ProQuest Academic and Professional Publisher of the Year were: Bloomsbury Publishing, Bristol University Press, Class Publishing and Edinburgh University Press.

PBShop Trade Publisher of the Year

Joffe Books had a best-ever year with growth in sales, staff and output. The judges admired its collaboration with authors and its direct to consumer approach, powered by extensive digital marketing, including via TikTok. It acquired more crime titles from Ostara and partnered with other publishers on digital rights. Judges said: “The standards of acquisitions and production at Joffe Books are very high, and the online marketing is exceptionally good.”

Also shortlisted for PBShop Trade Publisher of the Year were: Boldwood Books, Canongate Books, Duckworth Books and Oneworld.

Clays Children’s Publisher of the Year

Nosy Crow has now won this category seven times in 11 years. It had another superb year of international sales, overcoming a dip in business in China by finding more new markets. It established new authors in the UK while making the most of its backlist. Judges said: “Nosy Crow are so strong in every area … you can sense the heart and emotion there. What stands out all the time is the way that they don’t just buy big brands but create them.”

Also shortlisted for Clays Children’s Publisher of the Year were: David Fickling Books, Faber, Magic Cat Publishing and Oneworld

PLS Education Publisher of the Year

Jolly Learning wins this Award following the success of its new digital platform, Jolly Classroom. Judges liked the functionality of the service and the way it has engaged users. They also admired the company’s global reach, which has taken Jolly Classroom to more than 50 countries. Judges said: “It’s good to see a long-established education publisher continue to look for new ways to serve schools worldwide. The numbers are very impressive.”

Also shortlisted for PLS Education Publisher of the Year was Brilliant Publications.

READ Media Specialist Consumer Publisher of the Year

David & Charles is the Specialist Consumer Publisher of the Year for the second time in a row. It has successfully expanded beyond its core arts and crafts categories, with new focus on wellbeing, books-plus ranges and craft kits. Judges liked its high production standards, superb digital marketing and global reach. Judges said: “To achieve all they’ve done just a few years after a management buyout is very impressive. It’s a classic specialist independent that owns its niche.”

Also shortlisted for READ Media Specialist Consumer Publisher of the Year were Bloomsbury Publishing and Nick Hern Books.

Nick Robinson Newcomer Award

Moonflower Books has been publishing books for less than two years, but has already had several successes in competitive fields of genre fiction. Judges liked its very effective publicity work that has secured a lot of broadcast and print coverage, and its collaboration with authors. Judges said: “These are tough markets for small publishers to break into, but Moonflower is already making money and you get the feeling it will grow very quickly.”

Phoenix Publishing House was highly commended for the 2022 Virtusales Metadata Award, and its achievements in that field have created a sound infrastructure for growth. It has a good reputation for quality in its area of mental health publishing. Judges said: “There’s a lot of professionalism there and it’s nailed fundamentals like distribution, workflows and metadata. The print and digital strategies are good and it’s got a nice online presence.”

Also shortlisted for the Nick Robinson Newcomer Award were: Confer & Karnac, Guppy Books, Howgate Publishing and Renard Press.

Deanta International Award

Atlantic Books wins this Award for the first time, after a year that saw publishers forced to overcome many logistics problems. Sales were well up in key markets like Europe, India and the Middle East, thanks to partnerships with retailers, reps and distributors. Judges said: “Atlantic has become a properly global business. It doesn’t just rely on a few books, but gets behind everything. The use of TikTok to extend its reach is really impressive.”

Bloomsbury Publishing was highly commended for the Deanta International Award. Also shortlisted were: Canongate Books, David & Charles and Magic Cat Publishing.

The Bookseller Marketing Award

Canongate Books wins for its campaign for two poetry collections: The Fire People, published in 1998, and More Fiya, released in 2022. The judges admired the Canongate team’s energy and efforts to address any shortcomings in this area. Judges said: “Poetry is always a difficult market, but Canongate put a lot of hard work into this. What they’ve achieved and learned will help them well beyond the life of the campaign.”

Also shortlisted for The Bookseller Marketing Award were: Bloomsbury Publishing, David Fickling Books, Duckworth Books, The Do Book Co and Unbound.

The Alison Morrison Diversity and Inclusivity Award

Bonnier Books’ achievements in 2022 included the launch of a new inclusive business and thought leadership imprint called Heligo and a partnership with marginalised voices publisher Footnote Press. Judges also admired the diversity at Bonnier’s senior level. Judges said: “There’s a commitment to diversity across the organisation and it’s embedded in the culture. Bonnier are establishing new lines of business that are properly inclusive.”

Emerald Publishing was highly commended for The Alison Morrison Diversity and Inclusivity Award. Also shortlisted were: Bloomsbury Publishing, Book Brilliance Publishing, Critical Publishing and Neem Tree Press.

HP Sustainability Award

Bloomsbury Publishing has embedded sustainable principles into all aspects of its operations over the last few years and substantially reduced scope 1 and 2 emissions in 2022. It was also active on staff training and development. Judges said: “The impact of new initiatives in an organisation of this size is extremely impressive. It’s not lip service but proper and validated commitment.”

Magic Cat Publishing was highly commended for the HP Sustainability Award. Also shortlisted were: Renard Press and Vertebrate Publishing.

Zebralution Audio Award

Belle Media is the joint winner for its work on Stormy Weather, an audio documentary series about historic British ships that was inspired by one of its books, Hurricane Hutch’s Top 10 Ships of the Clyde. Judges said: “Belle Media took a book that had no obvious path to audio and did something very creative and impressive. It shows how any publisher can use their content as a springboard into audio.”

Bonnier Books is the joint winner for its work on Managing Expectations by Minnie Driver. It showed how audio can add new dimensions to a celebrity memoir, including through bonus features like an interview and songs. The audiobook got critical acclaim as well as commercial success. Judges said: “Audio was obviously at the heart of this publishing plan from the start, and adding in extra content elevated it from all the other formats.”

Also shortlisted for the Zebralution Audio Award were: Bloomsbury Publishing and Saraband.

Virtusales Metadata Award

Bloomsbury Publishing wins this Award following sustained work on improving metadata and investment in staff training and development. Under a Missing Metadata Project it has filled in data gaps in its large lists and acquisitions and dramatically improved its metadata compliance. Judges said: “Bloomsbury realised they needed better metadata across the business and have put in the effort to get it. They’ve faced significant challenges but made great strides.”

Also shortlisted for the Virtusales Metadata Award were: David & Charles, Hardie Grant and Phoenix Publishing House.

The Ola Gotkowska Young Independent Publisher Award

Will Dady of Renard Press has single-handedly built a new literary publisher on tiny resources and increased sales and acquired another small publisher in 2022. Judges liked his commitment to diversity and support of charities and LGBTQAI+ communities. Judges said: “Will is clearly very entrepreneurial and he publishes books with feeling and meaning.”

Also shortlisted for The Ola Gotkowska Young Independent Publisher Award were: Rebecca Armstrong, Batsford Books; Mo Forman, Class Publishing; and Flo Garnett, Unbound.

Services to Independent Publishers Award

David Segrue marks 30 years of service for independent publishers as an independent sales representative in 2023. He has been an invaluable support over tough Covid years and goes above and beyond what publishers expect. One nominee said: “His accounts rely on his expertise, knowledge and gold-star service. David’s optimistic and forward-looking attitude motivates his customers, inspires all of us and delivers real results for our books.”

Also shortlisted for the Services to Independent Publishers Award were: BooksoniX, BookSource, Bookswarm, Chris Saynor and Glassboxx.