Home 5 News 5 Orion name Publisher of the Year at British Book Awards

Orion name Publisher of the Year at British Book Awards

by | May 16, 2021 | News

Orion publishing, part of the Hachette group, was named Publisher of the Year at the British Book Awards, organised by the Bookseller and streamed online on 13 May.  It was a double success because its science fiction and fantasy imprint Gollancz was also named Imprint of the Year.

The judges praised Orion for achieving rises in sales and profits in each of its lists and for having eight books record £1m in sales.  MD Katie Espiner said:  “My team really is the best in the business and I’m so enormously proud of them. I should also thank booksellers who have done the most phenomenal job in the weirdest of circumstances.”

Nelle Andrew of RML became the first person of colour to be named Literary Agent of the Year and said: “I cannot tell you how much it means to me to be someone who grew up in a pretty challenging environment and entered an industry which was predominantly for people who did not look like me… but to have this recognition is phenomenal. I think I might be the first person of colour who’s got this award but I hope very much I’m not the last.”

In a new award, Jane Buckley, Simon & Schuster’s children’s division art director, was named Designer of the Year.

Canongate was named Independent Publisher of the Year, Viking’s Katy Loftus was named Editor of the Year and Bloomsbury received two awards: its academic division took home the Academic, Educational and Professional Publisher of the Year, and as a whole the company won the Export award.

The night continued a very successful year for Douglas Stuart’s novel Shuggie Bain (Picador UK, St Martin’s US), which was named Book of the Year.  Speaking from his home in New York, the author said: “Shuggie Bain wouldn’t be in the world without the support of my family, and obviously my mother, who is at the very heart of the novel, but I would like to thank all the British booksellers and readers who have really taken Shuggie and Agnes to heart. My thanks to the amazing team at Picador, who took a chance on my wee sad Scottish book. And to everybody who embraced the story and—especially in such a tough and weird year—has kept literature at the heart of our communities, I’m so grateful to you.”

 

Recent News

25Jun
Did Orwell’s fear of the sea shape his novel?

Did Orwell’s fear of the sea shape his novel?

George Orwell had a traumatic relationship with the sea. In August 1947, while he was writing Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) on the island of Jura in the Scottish Hebrides, he went on a fishing trip with his young son, nephew and niece. Having misread the tidal schedules, on the way back Orwell mistakenly piloted the boat […]

25Jun
Penguin at 90: Profit with Purpose

Penguin at 90: Profit with Purpose

Penguin UK CEO Tom Weldon is the latest inheritor of the Penguin brand which is celebrating its 90th birthday this year.  In a thoughtful article in the Bookseller he noted that founder Allen Lane’s vision for his revolutionary line of cheap paperbacks was both “missionary and mercenary”.  He wanted to grow the market, but to […]

25Jun
Audiobooks Hit Record High in the UK

Audiobooks Hit Record High in the UK

Audiobooks and fiction drove publishing growth in 2024, according to new figures released by the UK Publishers Association.  Audiobook revenue was £268 million which is the highest ever and up 31% on 2023. Fiction is up 18%, bringing in revenue of over £1 billion for the first time.  Digital formats were a key driver of […]

Related Posts

Penguin at 90: Profit with Purpose

Penguin at 90: Profit with Purpose

Penguin UK CEO Tom Weldon is the latest inheritor of the Penguin brand which is celebrating its 90th birthday this year.  In a thoughtful article in the Bookseller he noted that founder Allen Lane’s vision for his revolutionary line of cheap paperbacks was both...

Audiobooks Hit Record High in the UK

Audiobooks Hit Record High in the UK

Audiobooks and fiction drove publishing growth in 2024, according to new figures released by the UK Publishers Association.  Audiobook revenue was £268 million which is the highest ever and up 31% on 2023. Fiction is up 18%, bringing in revenue of over £1 billion for...

Chinese Web Literature: 575 Million Readers

Chinese Web Literature: 575 Million Readers

China counted over a half billion consumers of online literature last year - a record - according to an official report, while the number of overseas users also jumped as authorities promoted the industry as a cultural export and soft power tool. China's online...

Previous Next
Close
Test Caption
Test Description goes like this