Independent Publisher of the Year
WINNER FABER & FABER
Faber & Faber scoops this award for the second time in a row after a year that delivered commercial and critical success in equal measure. It claimed the best financial 12 months in its history, with a 14% jump
in sales enough to make it the UK’s 12th biggest publisher in the TCM—a remarkable turnaround for a publisher that just a few years ago was in the doldrums. It had three books in the year-end TCM top 50: two from Sally Rooney including this year’s British Book Awards Book of the Year Normal People, and Anna Burns’ Milkman, which ended Faber’s year with a bang by picking up the Man Booker Prize. There were many more prize-winning books besides, with the T S Eliot and Forward prizes making it a fine year for poetry in particular. Judges also admired the diversity of Faber’s publishing, the smart
use of its brand in public-facing ventures such as Faber Academy and Faber Members, and its backing of many other indie publishers through its Independent Alliance. “Even without the Man Booker this would have been an amazing year for Faber, but that was the icing on the cake. It’s distinctive and diverse and quick on its feet... it’s everything an independent publisher should be.”
Highly commended in this category is ELLIOTT & THOMPSON, which punched way above its weight to push TCM sales up by a third on just 14 well-chosen frontlist titles. Its full-time team of just four people built on the success of Tim Marshall’s Prisoners of Geography with more hits from authors including Julia Boyd and Tony Kent, and achieved two Waterstones Book of the Month slots. “They made an amazing splash with just a few people and a few books: this is what great independent publishing looks like,” said the judges.
Record year of sales to move into the UK’s top dozen publishers
More than a dozen prizes, including the Man Booker and Waterstones Book of the Year
Successful brand spin-offs and sales support for other independents
Elliott & Thompson highly commended for remarkable sales on modest output
SHORTLIST
ATLANTIC BOOKS Continued a striking turnaround story under m.d. Will Atkinson in 2018, increasing TCM sales by a quarter and benefiting from film adaptations of its titles
CANONGATE Matt Haig—and Francis Bickmore, Editor of the Year shortlistee— was a big part of a hike in TCM sales of nearly a fifth, though backlist, exports and audio were strong, too
CICERONE PRESS Cumbria-based independent shrugged off the woes of the travel market with best-ever sales as it enters its 50th year in outdoor exploration books
THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS WINNERS 2019
HARDIE GRANT UK Secured double- digit growth after diversifying well beyond its core food and drink book publishing into wellness and narrative non-fiction
NOSY CROW Children’s Publisher of the Year at the British Book Awards after another year of exceptional UK and international growth and tireless marketing
WILD THINGS PUBLISHING Small but ambitous outdoor adventure specialist, and winner of The Bookseller’s inaugural Small Press of the Year award earlier in the year
WITH THANKS TO: FIRSTY GROUP
Established in 2010, Firsty Group provides web development,
app and e-commerce solutions for the publishing industry, from bespoke projects to bolt-on software as a service, enabling pub- lishers—across trade, STM, academic and education—to sell print, e-books and audiobooks, directly to customers, with complete security. We specialise in digital fulfilment, leveraging a game- changing DRM solution— ideal for the publishing, library, retail and author sectors.
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