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DESCRIPTION Westchester Education Services provides a comprehensive range of services for educational publishers and EdTech companies, including art, design, production, ELT programme development, bilingual education, and translation.
ACADEMIC, EDUCATIONAL & PROFESSIONAL PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR
OVERVIEW The sudden shift to remote teaching and working meant the academic, educational and professional publishing sectors were disrupted more than most in 2020. all turned a crisis into an opportunity for evolution and innovation, using digital content and delivery not only to preserve their sales, but to make home- based learning easier for grateful students, academics and parents.
BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC Bloomsbury’s academic and professional divisions have been shortlisted for this award in nine of the past 10 years, and won it twice. It moved nimbly to support the remote requirements of lecturers, teachers, libraries and students in 2020, opening up much of its online content. Strong growth in digital sales more than made up for compromised print distribu- tion, and it continued its steady expansion through acquisitions, with the addition of left-wing political and social sciences publisher Zed Books.
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Te UK’s oldest publisher responded in very modern ways to the pandemic, providing free access to textbooks, work- sheets and digital platforms. A new Higher Education platform, a “Supporting Every Teacher” campaign and practical advice for remote teaching and learning were all valued by academics and students. Beyond Covid, it launched the Cambridge Shakespeare platform, accelerated transi- tions to Open Access models and won the first Sustainability Award at the IPG’s Independent Publishing Awards.
LAST YEAR’S WINNER
JESSICA KINGSLEY Three years on from its acquisition by Hachette, Jessica Kingsley found a good balance of the distinctive personality of an independent and the powerful resources of a corporate. Its digital and audiobook sales grew substantially, and it extended its international reach by ramping up rights sales and entering the Indian market. Its titles on mental wellbeing were ideal in an unsettling year for many, and it added to the impressive diversity of its list by launching the JKP Writing Prize for transgender and non-binary writers.
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS This is the first Nibbies nomination for Princeton University Press, two decades after its European arm’s launch. Activity in 2020 included a major digitisation programme, the development of in-house and licensed audio publishing, and notable successes in both trade and academic channels. It took action on diversity, using scholarships, paid internships and fellow- ships to attract people who might not have considered publishing as a career, and offering Global Equity Grants for writers from under-represented backgrounds.
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KOGAN PAGE Kogan Page is shortlisted for this award for the fourth year in a row, and flies the flag for the professional sector. With so much disruption to working habits, 2020 could have been a very difficult year for a business-focused publisher, but Kogan Page’s agile and multi-format approach meant sales held up very well, especially on the digital side. Like most publishers, its own workforce adapted successfully to the pressures of remote working, pivoting quickly to online marketing and rights selling.
COLLINS LEARNING Another established name and familiar presence on this shortlist, HarperCollins’ Collins division supported the younger end of the home-learning market in 2020. Sales of its Easy Learning series soared in the first lockdown, at one point taking 36 of the top 100 spots on Amazon’s sales rankings. Despite school closures, the Big Cat reading series increased both domestic primary and international licensing sales, and reached the milestone of 1,000 titles. Collins gave away resources for children worth several million pounds, too.
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY
PRESS PETER PHILLIPS OVERSAW YET ANOTHER SOLID YEAR FOR THE LIST
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