Want to win a book industry award?
Winning awards won’t make you rich, and it may not help you sell books. But It will spruce up your CV, massage your ego immensely, impress your boss and on occasion you can even win a mighty fine prize.
The following are noteworthy prizes, awards and programmes available for publishing superstars to apply for. There are plenty more for teams to win, but here are individual ones you can focus on for now.
Kim Scott Walwyn Prize
Founded in 2003, the Kim Scott Walwyn Prize honours the life and career of Kim Scott Walwyn – who was Publishing Director at Oxford University Press and who died in 2002 – and celebrates exceptional women in publishing.
Pandora Prize
The Pandora Prize is run by Women in Publishing and is awarded annually to a woman who has made a significant and sustained contribution to the publishing industry.
The Bookseller’s Rising Stars
The Bookseller picks a number of Rising Stars annually for a feature on the next generation of movers and shakers in the book industry.The list is about the ‘young guns’, but it is not necessarily about age, as it can include a trade veteran who has changed roles or a seasoned professional from outside the industry who is new to the business.
The Bookseller 100
The Bookseller 100 is a British-based list compiled of those who influence the book industry significantly in any given year. Individual influence is measured by the company size, a campaigning voice, or technological innovation to name but three.
The Nibbies (British Industry Book Awards)
Organised by The Booksellter since 2016, The Nibbies brings together books of the year with trade accolades, including awards for the following ‘Great People’ of the year: Editor Literary Agent, Rights Professional and Individual Bookseller.
The FutureBook Awards
The FutureBook Awards celebrate those companies and individuals who are playing a key role in driving the publishing industry forward. Two individual awards are available for Digital Achiever and Leader of the Year.
Young Stationers’ Prize
The Young Stationers’ Prize is given annually to a person who will generally be under 40 who, in the opinion of the judges, has made the most recognisable contribution to the trades of the Company, as well as for future promise. All those working in the press, publishing, and other trades of the Stationers’ Company are eligible to apply.
The British Council Young Creative Entrepreneur (YCE)
The British Council has been pioneering to build a strong community and professional network of creative businesses, through the reward programme Young Creative Entrepreneur Awards. The awards help nurture enterprise across seven categories – including publishing.
The British Council lifetime achievement award
The ELTons are the only international awards to recognise innovative achievement in English Language Teaching (ELT) publishing globally. The awards have been organised into seven categories including the British Council Lifetime Achievement Award.
IPG Young independent publisher of the year
The IPG Independent Publishing Awards are awarded annually at a prestigious ceremony in Oxfordshire. Judges include publishers, agents, Book Fair executives and other top industry professionals.
Frankfurt Fellowship programme
Publishers, editors, rights and licensing professionals, agents and product managers (print and digital) can apply for the Frankfurt Fellowship. It takes place in the run-up to the Frankfurt Book Fair and focuses on information exchange, professional dialogue and the creation of networks between young international publishers. More than 280 participants from 55 countries have taken part in this experience.
The London Book Fair International Excellence Awards
The Awards are a celebration of publishing and related activities outside the UK. These awards take place at The London Book Fair and look outward, to showcase the wonderful activities of the rest of the world’s publishing activity. They cover all areas of international publishing including: academic and scholarly, children’s publishing and digital innovation.
The London Book Fair Trailblazer Awards
Founded in 2016,these awards were created to celebrate the next generation of the UK publishing industry; those ‘roaring through their 20s’.
The Unsung Heroes of Publishing awards
The awards celebrate talented specialists working in-house or freelancing in and around our book publishing industry. This annual shortlist ‘lifts the veil’ and champions some of the individuals working tirelessly, and sometimes less glamorously, behind the scenes.
PW Star Watch
Publishers Weekly, in association with the Frankfurt Book Fair, created PW Star Watch to identify and celebrate members of the U.S. publishing community who are on the rise and bring recognition to them on a global stage.
So how can you win a publishing award? The BookMachine team have won or been shortlisted for a few: Kim Scott Walwyn, The Bookseller Rising Stars, Tools of Change Start-up Showcase, British Council Young Creative Entrepreneur, London Book Fair Trailblazer Awards and Unsung Heroes of Publishing.
A very helpful heads up on awards in the industry. Thank you !
You’re very welcome Eleanor!