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Philip Jones Overall Chair of Judges


Judging the British Book Awards is no easy ask. In fact, it gets tougher every year, as the trade continues to emerge from its post-recession slump into this new print/digital/ social era. The winners and shortlists on the following pages show that it was worth it: there are some stand-out books, publishers, booksellers and even agents that turned a good year for many into a steller year for some. Congratu- lations to all of them. My thanks to all of the judges, who devoted a considerable about of their time to sifting through the submissions and attending the judging meetings. As in previous years, the winners of the trade awards


are selected by a blind vote after each discussion, chaired by my colleagues Benedicte Page (publisher categories) and Tom Tivnan (retail). This year there was much debate around the importance of having the “big books”, strength in depth, and of how the commitment to diversity show- cased in many entries was being rolled out in practice. The book awards (chaired by my colleague Alice


O’Keeffe, below) are selected by consensus, and if that doesn’t work, by a show of hands. The mix of sales and quality, publishing success and ambition, is visible through- out the shortlists and winners. We hope you enjoy them.


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Alice O’Keefe Chair of Books of the Year


My second year as overall Chair of Books of the Year has been just as enjoyable—and demanding—as it was last year. With more than 190 submissions across eight different gen- res, including the brand new Children’s Illustrated and Non- Fiction, myself and my fellow colleagues at The Bookseller, Caroline Sanderson, Alison Flood, Fiona Noble and Charlotte Eyre, had our work cut out to reach a shortlist of six for each award, such was the standard of entries. Then followed an intensive two days of debate and


discussion with our external judges on eight different panels, who gave their time so generously. We do not underestimate the work that goes into judging, and it is greatly appreciated. The net result of all this effort leaves us with, as I hope


you will agree, eight brilliant books. Skillfully written, published with care and attention, each found its reader- ship to the credit of everyone who worked on it. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as we did.


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