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Clays specialises in the manufacture of monochrome books, reacting quickly to
IMPRINT OF THE YEAR VIPER BOOKS
THE SHORTLIST
Bluebird PAN MACMILLAN
Gallery Books UK SIMON & SCHUSTER
Head of Zeus BLOOMSBURY
Piatkus LITTLE, BROWN
Rock the Boat ONEWORLD
Tor UK PAN MACMILLAN
Viking PENGUIN GENERAL
P
rofile’s crime and thriller imprint Viper Books wins this award after just one full year of publishing, but the list already has a string of hits
and a reputation that many longer-established publishers would envy. Along with several other shortlisted imprints,
PICTURED CATRIONA WARD, A BREAKOUT STAR FOR VIPER BOOKS
it has adopted a “less is more” approach, publish- ing just 11 titles over 2021 and consequently freeing up space to give them full-on support. Total sales touched 600,000 over the year, and three books—The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave, The Appeal by Janice Hallett and The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward—posted six-figure volumes. There were a handful of prize shortlistings, including for Waterstones’ and Books Are My Bag’s books of the year gong for The Appeal, and a host of book club and best-of-2021 critics’ picks. Viper has quickly established the distinctive
personality that all imprints need to resonate with authors, agents and retailers. Led by editorial director Miranda Jewess, it draws on a tight-knit team with a can-do attitude that is typical of independent publishers. Design and production values are exceptionally high, and smart publicity and marketing has pivoted nimbly to digital platforms during Covid. Authors value the holistic approach and energy—“each book is treated as a passion project with individual needs… Viper succeed where others fear to tread,” said one. Judges lauded Viper’s phenomenal hit rate,
and its ability to power début or neglected authors into the mainstream. “The industry needed a new imprint like this,” they said. “Publishing only what editors like is a strategy that many just pay lip service to, but it’s genuine here, and it clearly works. The commercial and critical results in such a short space of time are remarkable.”
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