BOOK OF THE YEAR PAGETURNER
OVERVIEW The Pageturner award celebrates bestselling books across all genres and formats, rom-coms, from horror to fantasy. The one thing all the books have in common on this shortlist is eye-catching design, innovative marketing across multiple retail outlets.
THE SUMMER SEEKERS Four years of rebranding Sarah Morgan’s books to help them reach a multi-generational audience culminated with the success of The Summer Seekers, which secured an 18% increase in overall sales when compared to her previ- ous outing. A timely meeting of theme (sun-kissed escapism) with HQ’s campaign strategy led to the author’s most- reviewed summer title ever.
SMALL PLEASURES A stunning cover by Edward Bettison for a beautifully written novel about a woman given an unexpected chance at friendship, love and—possibly— happiness in 1950s England was a winning combination for Clare Chambers’ Small Pleasures. It was W&N’s best- selling mass-market paperback of 2021, reprinted 20 times and marked the return of a gifted author after a 10-year gap.
PUBLISHERS 1 HQ 2 VIPER BOOKS
3 WEIDENFELD & NICOLSON
4 APOLLO 5 BANTAM PRESS 6 MICHAEL JOSEPH
THE PARTY CRASHER In a year characterised by new lockdowns and shifting Covid restrictions, Bantam brought a chance to escape with the publication of Sarah Kinsella’s The Party Crasher. “Don’t miss the party of the year” was the central message, with a sparkling social media campaign reaching more than three million people and strong sales from supermarkets to independent bookshops.
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WORST IDEA EVER Jane Fallon’s first novel in hardback, after 15 years with Michael Joseph, was marked with a bold new cover look. This milestone publication also involved the launch of the author’s quarterly newsletter— something her fans had been requesting—which included a note from the author, her reading recommendations, and a backlist carousel and promotional offer.
THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET Viper Books ensured a no-spoiler strategy in its campaign to preserve the novel’s extraordinary twists. The publishing team worked hard to reposition Catriona Ward and her writing beyond the horror genre as a literary writer of psychological thrill- ers, and the novel was picked by “Between the Covers” and the Richard & Judy Book Club.
THE WOLF DEN Tapping into the continued appetite for retellings of classical world tales, Elodie Harper’s The Wolf Den stands apart in its focus on the lives of ordinary women living in Pompeii. Apollo created stun- ning window display packs to help retailers entice readers into their shops and produced exclusive editions of the title for Goldsboro Books and Waterstones.
© Anna McCarthy
© John Swannell © Sophia Spring
© Robert Hollingworth
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