PARTNER
DESCRIPTION
on a regular basis.
PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR ANNA RIDLEY
THE SHORTLIST HIGHLY COMMENDED
Alice Herbert JOHN MURRAY PRESS
Bethany Carter FABER & FABER
Alice Dewing PICADOR
Emma Draude, Annabelle Wright, Sarah Wright & Thi Dinh EDPR/PENGUIN PRESS
Olivia Mead & Chloe Davies PENGUIN GENERAL
Georgina Moore MIDAS PR
Ella Patel QUERCUS
Maura Wilding & Alexandra Layt ORION
P
lenty of Booker winners have faded from view after their time in the spotlight, but Penguin General head of comms Anna Ridley’s publicity
made Bernardine Evaristo unmissable in 2020. The year-long campaign achieved vast media
coverage—not just in obvious channels such as the Guardian, but in glossies such as Elle and Vogue. Across the year Evaristo gave more than 120 interviews, and made 60 appearances on TV, radio, podcasts, social media and live events. Episodes of “Desert Island Discs” and the “Southbank Show”, an event at the National Theatre and a guest edit of the Sunday Times’ Style magazine were among the highlights. The volume of cover- age could have dulled Evaristo’s appeal, but she and Ridley ensured each piece was distinctive. Plus, lockdown gave the indefatigable Evaristo more time to devote to the campaign. She was a powerful voice in conversations about racial
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injustice, and an influential advocate for other writers of colour and better diversity in publishing. Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other was the second-
bestselling paperback of 2020. “Bernardine was front and centre all year,” said the judges. “The choices of publicity and the complex scheduling were superb. The campaign broke her out of the literary world to make her a rock star of books.” Judges also congratulated Ridley’s colleagues
in the Penguin team—and, of course, Evaristo herself: “She’s a force of nature.”
HIGHLY COMMENDED in this category is Alice Herbert, whose work on Susie Dent’s Word Perfect (John Murray Press) was a masterclass in crisis management. After a print run had to be pulped because of errors, Herbert turned a publisher’s worst nightmare into widespread coverage. “By leaning into the problem, the publicity saved this book,” judges said.
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