LBF International Excellence Awards 2017: SHORTLIST REVEALED

The shortlist for The London Book Fair International Excellence Awards 2017 has been announced, with France leading the way with four nominations and China, USA, South Africa and Canada not far behind with three each.

The awards, which are held in partnership with the UK Publishers Association (PA) and sponsored by Hytex, celebrate excellence in sixteen categories, including international publishing, academic and scholarly publishing, children’s publishing, literary translation and digital innovation. In each award category, the judging panel was comprised of experts in that sector.

The Literary Agent Award promises to be a close battle between Nermin Mollaoglu (Kalem Agency – Turkey), Pierre Astier (Astier-Pecher Literary Agency – France), and Anna Soler-Pont (Pontas Literary and Film Agency – Spain). The Bookstore of the Year Award, sponsored by Gardners Books Ltd, sees nominees from three continents – Shakespeare and Company (France), Time Out Bookstore (New Zealand) and Exclusive Books (South Africa) – looking to take the crown from last year’s winner Readings (Australia).

Book Aid International (Africa), Open Book Festival (South Africa) and Wydawnictwo Dwie Siostry (Poland) have been shortlisted for a second consecutive year in their respective categories.

France (4), China (3), USA (3), South Africa (3), Canada (3) and India (2) all received multiple entries. Lithuania is represented for the first time in the award’s four-year history, in the Educational Learning Resources category.

Jacks Thomas, Director, The London Book Fair, said: “I am delighted that the 2017 International Excellence Awards shortlist is truly global, with all five continents represented. The strength and breadth of the entrants on this list is impressive, and is a testament to the passion, commitment and creativity of all those involved in publishing, selling and bringing books to a wider audience. What better place than the globally focussed, multicultural and creative hub of London to bring all these talented individuals and inspiring organisations together? I’m very much looking forward to welcoming the shortlisted nominees to London in March, to celebrate their success.”

Stephen Lotinga, Chief Executive, the Publishers Association, said:“These awards uniquely celebrate the global publishing industry here in London. We are especially delighted to see the introduction of the Inclusivity in Publishing award for publishers who are excelling in their efforts to improve inclusivity in the publishing supply chain. This award, together with the other UK awards which recognise young and upcoming talent in our industry and efforts from the industry to improve the supply chain for accessible publishing, showcases a real cross-section of excellence in publishing.”

The Academic and Professional Publisher Award, supported by Research Information

• CSIRO Publishing (Australia)
• Journal of Zhejiang University-Science (JZUS) (China)
• OECD Publishing (France)

The Educational Initiatives Award

• Book Aid International (Africa)
• Caramel Tree (Canada)
• Foreign Language Teaching and Research Publishing Co., Ltd (China)

The Educational Learning Resources Award, supported by China Publishing & Media Journal

• Eduexpert (Poland)
• EssayJack Inc. (Canada)
• Lithuanian Free Market Institute (Lithuania)

The Literary Translation Initiative Award

• Arabic Literature (in English) (USA)
• The Short Story Project (Israel)
• The Select Centre (Singapore)
• World Literature Today (USA)

The Literary Agent Award

• Anna Soler-Pont, Pontas Literary & Film Agency (Spain)
• Nermin Mollaoglu, Kalem Agency (Turkey)
• Pierre Astier, Astier-Pecher Literary Agency (France)

The Literary Festival Award, supported by The International Literary Showcase

• Bookaroo Trust – Festival of Children’s Literature (India)
• George Town Literary Festival (Malaysia)
• Open Book Festival (South Africa)

The Bookstore of the Year Award sponsored by Gardners Books Ltd

• Exclusive Books (South Africa)
• Shakespeare and Company (France)
• Time Out Bookstore (New Zealand)

The Rights Professional Award

• Hui Hou, Foreign Language Teaching and Research Publishing Co., Ltd (China)
• Heidi Warneke, Editions Grasset (France)
• Rose Janssens, Clavis Publishing (Belgium)

Eligible for entries from Market Focus Poland only:

The Market Focus Poland Adult Trade Publisher Award

• SIW ZNAK sp. z.o.o (Poland)
• Wydawnictwo Literackie (Poland)
• Wydawnictwo Czarne (Poland)

The Market Focus Poland Trade Children’s and Young Adult Publisher Award

• Wydawnictwo Dwie Siostry (Poland)
• Wydawnictwo Widnokrag (Poland)
• Wydawnictwo Otwarte Sp. z o.o. (Poland)

Eligible for entries from all countries, including the UK:

The Brand Licensing Award

• oKaiken Publishing (Angry Birds) (Finland)
• The Roald Dahl Literary Estate (UK)
• Walker Books (UK)

The Quantum Publishing Innovation Award, supported by Copyright Clearance Center and Ixxus

• Cambridge Core (UK)
• Cartoon Abstracts (UK)
• Lost my name (UK)
• NearSt (UK)
• Wattpad (Canada)

Accessible Books Consortium International Excellence Award: Publisher

• Picsterbooks (South Africa)
• SAGE Publishing (UK)
• VitalSource Technologies (USA)

Accessible Books Consortium International Excellence Award: Initiative

• JISC (UK)
• Tata Consultancy Services (India)
• Tiflonexos (Argentina)

Eligible for entries from the UK only:

Inclusivity in Publishing Award, supported by Equip

• Cassava Republic Press (UK)
• HarperCollins Publishers (UK)
• Team Angelica Publishing (UK)

The winners of several other Awards will also be presented on the night including: The Simon Master’s Chairman Award, The Association for Publishing Education (APE) Student Awards and The LBF Trailblazer Awards.

The London Book Fair Lifetime Achievement Award will also be presented at the ceremony.

The LBF International Excellence Awards is an invitation-only event, and takes place on Tuesday 14 March 2017 in The Conference Centre, Olympia, London.