Books of the Year FICTION: DÉBUT
WINNER ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE GAIL HONEYMAN HARPERFICTION
The judges for this year’s Fiction: Début Book of the Year praised both the writing and the publishing of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, and said the combination made it a clear winner. The novel was “absolutely hilarious”, “literary and commercial” and struck an “amazing balance between light and dark”, while the campaign to promote it was “beautifully done”, they said. Harper Fiction acquired Eleanor Oliphant… on the eve of the 2015
Frankfurt Book Fair in an eight-way auction and straight away decided that they would make 2017 “the year of the Oliphant”. Its retail strategy was focused on Waterstones, independents and Scotland, where the author is based. Reviewers and reading communities were sent proofs and the author featured on the radio, appeared at festivals and took part in a bookshop tour in Glasgow and London. To maintain sales and excitement, the publisher re-promoted and
re-packaged the hardback towards the end of the year and set up an online campaign to promote “kindness” six weeks after publication. The hard work paid off and Eleanor Oliphant… went into the Sunday Times top 10 before Christmas, with nearly 290,000 copies sold across all formats before paperback publication. To date, print book sales through Nielsen’s Total Consumer Market have reached 387,949 copies, and it has already won the Costa First Novel Award 2017.
SHORTLIST
HOMEGOING YAA GYASI VIKING A powerful début about the lasting legacy of slavery. The US-based author visited the UK twice to promote, speaking to sell-out audiences in three cities.
CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS SALLY ROONEY FABER & FABER Conversations with Friends was one of the most recommended titles in newspapers’ Books of the Year round-ups.
MY ABSOLUTE DARLING GABRIEL TALLENT FOURTH ESTATE Tallent’s novel was the only début to go straight into the top 10 in both the UK and the US charts last year.
SIRENS
JOSEPH KNOX DOUBLEDAY Knox visited more than 50 bookshops for events and signings while promoting his début crime novel.
WHY MUMMY DRINKS GILL SIMS
HARPERNONFICTION HarperNonFiction identified Sims as a voice to watch from her Facebook page Peter and Jane.
THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS WINNERS 2018
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