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SMALL PRESS OF THE YEAR
OVERVIEW This award, presented for the third time, has already celebrated 44 small presses in eight regional and country categories—the winners of which make up this shortlist. They demonstrate the huge range of small publishers up and down the UK and Ireland, and the creativity and energy that stood them in such good stead in a challenging 2020.
AND OTHER STORIES Winner of the North England category, And Other Stories used its subscription model to great effect when shops closed, while also growing its US publishing. A social enter- prise, diverse in its output and working towards carbon neutrality, it is one of the most ethical indies around.
CHARCO PRESS The Scotland category winner shows how indies so often lead the way in translations—in this case, of Latin American literature. It had a book on the International Booker Prize shortlist for the second time in the past three years, and also grew direct sales to its dedicated followers.
LITTLE TOLLER BOOKS The winner of the South- west England category had phenomenal success with Dara McAnulty’s Diary of a Young Naturalist, which added the Wainwright Prize to 40,000- plus sales. Flourishing direct sales in lockdown led it to open its own bookshop towards the end of the year.
MERRION PRESS Ireland winner Merrion Press, the trade imprint of the Irish Academic Press, had by far the best year in its history, thanks in large part to a remarkable €1m of sales of John Breslin and Sarah Anne Buckley’s Old Ireland in Colour. It published its first children’s and audio titles too.
SEPTEMBER PUBLISHING September is the winner of the East and South-east England category for the second year in a row. It flexed to reach readers digitally and directly, raced out Joanne Harris’ Ten Things About Writing for those who were writing in lockdown, and had its best year yet in the US.
ON THE NIGHT
THE WINNER OF THE SMALL PRESS OF THE YEAR WILL ALSO CONTEST THE INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR NIBBIE (SEE P43).
SWEET CHERRY Leicester-based Sweet Cherry—also shortlisted for Children’s Publisher of the Year—is the Midlands winner. Export sales doubled in 2020, and UK and e-book revenue rose nearly as much. With half of its management from BAME backgrounds, it is well ahead of the game on diversity.
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BOLDWOOD BOOKS One of two joint winners in the London category, Boldwood Books has hit the ground running, some may even say sprinting, with its commercial fiction list. In its first full year it recorded £1.6m of sales and an output of 78 titles, and it is already achieving impressive international reach.
FIREFLY PRESS The Wales winner for the second year in a row, Firefly bounced back from a tough spring to grow sales by more than 50% year on year. Crater Lake by Jennifer Killick (above) has been its most successful book to date, and its tiny team produced powerful trade and consumer marketing.
MAGIC CAT PUBLISHING Like fellow London winner and newcomer Boldwood Books, Magic Cat has made a huge impact in a relatively short space of time. The 11 titles on its launch list have been superbly developed with rights and spin-off products in mind, and it is set to be a major force in children’s publishing.
NATURE DIARY BAGGED AWARD RECOGNITION FOR LITTLE TOLLER
DARA MCANULTYS
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