WINNERS OF THE 2024 INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING AWARDS
The IPG is pleased and proud to reveal the winners of the 2024 Independent Publishing Awards. They are:
CPI Independent Publisher of the Year
Magic Cat Publishing
PBShop Trade Publisher of the Year
Swift Press
Clays Children’s Publisher of the Year
Magic Cat Publishing
ProQuest Academic and Professional Publisher of the Year
Bristol University Press
PLS Education Publisher of the Year
Jolly Learning
Ribbonfish Specialist Consumer Publisher of the Year
Heartwood Publishing
The Bookseller Newcomer Award
Roll & Play Press
Publiship International Award
Bloomsbury Publishing
World of Books Impact Award
Cambridge University Press and Roll & Play Press (joint)
The Alison Morrison Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award
Renard Press
HP Sustainability Award
Renard Press
Zebralution Audio Award
Bloomsbury Publishing
Virtusales Metadata Award
b small publishing
The Ola Gotkowska Young Independent Publisher Award
Daniel Miele, Edinburgh University Press
IPG Services to Independent Publishers Award
Inspired
The Awards winners received their trophies at a special Gala Lunch at the OXO Tower in London on Wednesday 24 April. They were selected by expert judges from shortlisted comprised of 38 organisations and four individuals. Congratulations to all of them!
You can read our judges’ comments about each of the winners and all the other names on the shortlists for each category below.
Thank you to all the valued sponsors of the 2024 Independent Publishing Awards, without whom they would not be possible: CPI, Bookshop.org, Clays, Gardners, HP, PBShop, Publishers’ Licensing Services, ProQuest, part of Clarivate, Publiship, Ribbonfish, The Bookseller, Virtusales Publishing Solutions, World of Books and Zebralution. We also pays tribute to the two much-missed individuals for whom Awards are named: Ola Gotkowska and Alison Morrison.
We are grateful to the 24 judges of the 2024 Independent Publishing Awards: Graham Bell, EDItEUR; Steve Daniels, CPI; Elise Dillsworth, Elise Dillsworth Agency; James Dunphy, Durnell Marketing; Natasha Edmonds, ProQuest, part of Clarivate; Vicky Ellis-Duveen, Clays; Oliver Gadsby, IPG President; Jonny Gallant, Bookspeed; Marzia Ghiselli, consultant; Ashley Gordon, HP; Jane Harris, consultant; Ruth Jones, digital consultant; Alison Kaye, CPI; James Kellow, consultant; Mia Lioni, Zebralution; Kevin Paul, Ribbonfish; Steve Potter, Far Corner; Gareth Rapley, Reed Exhibitions; Rose Sandy, consultant and author; Caroline Summers, PBShop; Phil Turner, Virtusales; Rik Ubhi, consultant; Sarah Walden, World of Books; George Walkley, Outside Context; and Tom West, Publishers’ Licensing Services.
Here are the judges’ comments about the winners of the 2024 IPG Independent Publishing Awards.
CPI Independent Publisher of the Year and Clays Children’s Publisher of the Year
Magic Cat Publishing, a former Nick Robinson Newcomer Award winner, had a remarkable year in 2023. International growth, including through a US partnership, was particularly strong, and it has tried very hard to make its publishing as green as possible.
Judges said: “Magic Cat has had amazing growth and it feels like it’ll be a major force in children’s books for years to come. It’s showing other publishers the paths to follow on sustainability.”
Also shortlisted for CPI Independent Publisher of the Year were the winners of four other Publisher of the Year categories: Bristol University Press, Heartwood Publishing, Jolly Learning and Swift Press.
Also shortlisted for Clays Publisher of the Year were Sweet Cherry Publishing and Usborne Publishing.
PBShop Trade Publisher of the Year
Swift Press wins this Award just two years after receiving the Nick Robinson Newcomer Award. It’s a very proudly independent that published some controversial books and others that many bigger publishers turned down—examples of how it wants to break the mould.
Judges said: “Swift has grown very fast in a very short time. It’s ripped up the playbook and done different and brave things… it’s a truly reactive and disruptive publisher.”
Also shortlisted for PBShop Trade Publisher of the Year were Boldwood Books, Faber, Granta Books and Profile Books.
ProQuest Academic and Professional Publisher of the Year
Bristol University Press achieved another sharp rise in its sales and output in 2023. It innovated extensively, overcame the collapse of its distributor and wove DEI and sustainability into all its operations.
Judges said: Bristol has a very clear, mission-led and impact-based publishing strategy with social issues at the core. It’s made some great strides forward lately… and beyond the numbers, its books make a difference.”
Also shortlisted for ProQuest Academic and Professional Publisher of the Year were Bloomsbury Publishing, Class Publishing, Edward Elgar Publishing and Sage Publishing.
PLS Education Publisher of the Year
Jolly Learning is now a four-time winner of this Award. Last year saw it continue a swing towards international markets, which now account for the majority of sales; and towards digital content, with take-up of its Jolly Classroom platform accelerating.
Judges said: “Jolly Learning has been active in its part of education for a long time but it’s impressive to see it still broadening its horizons—globally and digitally. It’s an ambitious publisher on a mission.”
Also shortlisted for PLS Education Publisher of the Year was Brilliant Publications.
Ribbonfish Specialist Consumer Publisher of the Year
Heartwood Publishing wins an Independent Publishing Award for the first time. Its guidebook brands including Time Out and Marco Polo are thriving despite major challenges and competition in the travel sector. Partnerships and branding are both excellent
Judges said: “What Heartwood has achieved lately is remarkable. It’s got a very clear-sighted view of its market and how it’s going to succeed.”
Also shortlisted for Ribbonfish Specialist Consumer Publisher of the Year were Bloomsbury Publishing and David & Charles.
The Bookseller Newcomer Award
Roll & Play Press secures its first Independent Publishing Award after making a big splash in its specialism of books for role-playing gamers. Very successful crowdfunding has paved the way for superb publishing and phenomenal sales.
Judges said: “Roll & Play Press is much more than a passion project: it’s an inspirational and disruptive publisher with staggering sales. It’s identified a gap in the market and filled it brilliantly, with a superb understanding of what its audience wants.”
Also shortlisted for The Bookseller Newcomer Award were Bedford Square Publishers and Guppy Books.
Publiship International Award
Bloomsbury Publishing wins this Award for another year of growth in rights and exports, on the back of tailored strategies and excellent customer service. Last year also saw several new initiatives to reduce the carbon footprint of the international team.
Judges said: “It’s a comprehensive and impressive set of achievements around the world. The Bloomsbury team know exactly what they’re doing in every region and go the extra mile to get the results.”
Also shortlisted for the Publiship International Award were Bonnier Books, BT Batsford, David & Charles, John Beaufoy Publishing and Jolly Learning.
World of Books Impact Award (joint winners)
Cambridge University Press shares the Award for its Cambridge Open Equity Initiative, which seeks to break down barriers to academic authors seeking to publish in Open Access models—especially in poorer countries where research funding is difficult to obtain.
Judges said: “CUP has seen the inequalities and barriers to academic publishing… it’s doing good things to make research output more diverse and equitable.”
Roll & Play Press is a joint winner after the impressive impact of One-Shot Wonders, its book for the role-playing community. A creative week-long programme of events and conventions hooked in its target market and achieved remarkable direct sales and brand awareness.
Judges said: “You can tell they know their market inside out. They’ve got a dynamic start-up mentality and shaken up some of the rules of book marketing.”
Also shortlisted for the World of Books Impact Award were Bloomsbury Publishing, David Fickling Books, Granta Books and Jacaranda Books.
The Alison Morrison Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award
Renard Press has shown a commitment from the start to diverse and gender-balanced publishing, with a special focus on LGBTQAI+ writers and queer experiences. It’s created a publishing safe space, established effective partnerships and supported both charities and other publishers.
Judges said: “Renard is building bridges to a lot of different under-represented groups. It’s truly inclusive and diverse and the output really reflects its ethos.”
Also shortlisted for The Alison Morrison Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award were Barefoot Books, Conscious Dreams Publishing, Emerald Publishing, Saqi Books and The Emma Press.
HP Sustainability Award
Renard Press wins this Award for its extensive work on carbon reduction and offsetting that makes it one of the first carbon-positive publishers. It has been particularly thoughtful about print, production and distribution.
Judges said: “It’s brave for a small publisher to see the additional costs of good sustainability practice and accommodate changes anyway. The commitment is resolute and feels integral to everything Renard does.”
Also shortlisted for the HP Sustainability Award were Bloomsbury Publishing, BT Batsford and Cambridge University Press.
Zebralution Audio Award
Bloomsbury Publishing wins the Award for its audiobook version of Ghosts, written and performed by the cast of the popular TV series. Judges admired the ambition and creativity of the project, which was rewarded by sales that beat all expectations.
Judges said: “This was a really complex audio project with lots of moving parts. It’s hard to take content that’s already so popular in another format and create something fresh in audio, but Bloomsbury did it.”
Also shortlisted for the Zebralution Audio Award were Bonnier Books (two nominations) and Saraband.
Virtusales Metadata Award
b small publishing wins the Award following a comprehensive overhaul of its metadata. It’s worked tirelessly on data management and processes, earning it increased sales and gold accreditation from BIC.
Judges said: “b small has seen that metadata affects its whole business and has made a strategic, multi-year commitment to it. For a small publisher it’s an amazing amount of time and effort, and it’s good to see it getting the benefits.”
Also shortlisted for the Virtusales Metadata Award were Bloomsbury Publishing, Boydell & Brewer and David & Charles.
The Ola Gotkowska Young Independent Publisher Award
Daniel Miele, regional sales manager at Edinburgh University Press, was at the heart of EUP’s growth across print, digital and rights sales in 2023. He’s a highly respected partner for numerous clients, with a passion for publishing and superb organisational skills.
Judges said: “It’s clear that Daniel consistently goes far above and beyond what might be expected of him. He’s had an impact on the top line… a real rising star.”
Also shortlisted for The Ola Gotkowska Young Independent Publisher Award were Laura Main Ellen of Bloomsbury Publishing and Tesni Roberts of Class Publishing.
IPG Services to Independent Publishers Award
Inspired wins this Award for its support of both publishers seeking to recruit and individuals looking for work. Beyond its very professional and personalised services it’s a longstanding supporter of the independent sector and a leader on important issues like diverse recruitment and women in leadership.
One publisher said: “I can’t recommend them highly enough for truly understanding and so skilfully serving the needs of an independent publisher.”
Also shortlisted for the IPG Services to Independent Publishers Award were Bookswarm, LoveReading and Suzanne Collier.