Imprint of the Year
WINNER PICADOR
Pan Macmillan’s Picador imprint scoops this award for the second time in four years, having straddled the literary and the commercial aspects of publishing to great effect in 2018. Against a backdrop of modest growth for the TCM, Picador’s sales
rocketed 43% to reach £12.5m in 2018—the highest point since the days of Bridget Jones more than a decade ago. A large slice of that came from Adam Kay’s This is Going to Hurt, which sold more than half a million copies—and Picador added around half as many units again through e-book and audiobook formats. But as ever at the imprint, there was strength right across the board.
Many books were successful in quieter—but, in the context of their markets, no less impressive—ways. In the always-challenging poetry sector, for instance, it hit £1m in TCM sales for the first time, thanks to authors ranging from Pam Ayers to John Cooper Clarke. Prizes as diverse as the Goldsmiths, Orwell and FT & McKinsey Business Book of the Year all went to Picador authors—Robin Robertson, John Carreyrou and Darren McGarvey respectively. Throughout, the publishing was backed by inventive marketing, seen
most vividly on the anonymously written The Secret Barrister. Author care is another strong point: “Even if I had nothing left to say, I’d probably still try to write a book just to have the pleasure of working with them,” said one happy writer. Picador has become that rarest of beasts in the trade: a publishing brand that resonates with readers as well as authors, agents and retailers. “Picador had a stunning year in every market it published into,” said
the judges. “It’s such a rounded list with so much to admire, and seems a very happy place for authors to be.”
SHORTLIST
HQ Just two years old, but already a major force in HarperCollins’ commercial fiction, non-fiction and digital output, nearly doubling its sales in 2018
JONATHAN CAPE Revered literary list that had one of its most critically acclaimed years yet, including the Folio, Costa Poetry and T S Eliot prizes
LITTLE, BROWN/ABACUS A standout list for parent Hachette, it doubled sales targets and had an agenda-setting book in Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury
TRAPEZE Another young imprint that has made a quick impact, hitting £5m
in TCM sales and getting a surprise Christmas smash with The Ordnance Survey Puzzle Book
TWO ROADS Small but powerful imprint at John Murray Press that counted Sir David Attenborough and Ruth Hogan among its stars in 2018
VIKING Last year’s Imprint of the Year had a fine 2018, selling half a million copies of Michelle Obama’s Becoming in the final two months of the year
ZAFFRE A star performer in a challenging year for Bonnier, it delivered one of its biggest hits yet with Heather Morris’ The Tattooist of Auschwitz
1.5 million books sold in the TCM, with value topping £10m for the first time since 2004
Massive success with Adam Kay’s This is Going to Hurt, 2018's top non-fiction book
Wide range of literary awards and shortlistings
Creative marketing, events and brand management
WITH THANKS TO: CLAYS
Clays specialises in the manufacture of monochrome books, reacting quickly to its customers’ fast moving needs, offering
digital services, book manufacture, pre-retail and streamlining the supply chain via inventory management and distribution.
THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS WINNERS 2019
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