Record number of 29 countries represented

Croatia, Mozambique, and Yemen shortlisted for the first time

Indian Karadi Path Education nominated for two awards

The shortlists for The London Book Fair International Excellence Awards 2020 have been announced, this year with a record number of 29 countries represented.

The awards, held in partnership with the UK Publishers Association, celebrate publishing success in sixteen categories, representing the best publishing ambassadors, innovative publishing, and ground-breaking initiatives in the industry. In each award category, the judging panel was comprised of experts in that sector.

This year, a number of countries have been shortlisted for the first time, including Colombia, Croatia, Mozambique, Uganda and Yemen. USA (5), India (3), Egypt (3), Canada (2), Germany (2), and New Zealand (2) all received multiple entries.

Yemen Bookstore (Yemen), Rahava Raamat AS (Estonia) and an entry from 2019, Unity Books (New Zealand), will all hope to take home the Bookstore of the Year, sponsored by Gardners. Finland (Tuomas Sorjamaa from Ferly), Israel (Stephanie Barrouillet from SB Rights Agency) and Mexico (Gabriel Nieto from Planeta) will fight it out for Rights Professional of the Year, sponsored by Sharjah Book Authority. Festivals across the world are nominated for Literary Festival of the Year, with Frankfurt liest ein Buch (Germany), Festival of World Literature (Croatia) and another shortlistee from last year, Macassar International Writers’ Festival (Indonesia), all in the running. Karadi Path Education Company (India) has received entries in two categories – The Education Initiatives Award and The Education Learning Resources Award – while Karadi Tales (also shortlisted in 2019) is in the run for The Audiobook Publisher of the Year Award.

The Market Focus Awards celebrate Adult Trade and Children’s, Young Adult and Education publishers from the Arab World, with shortlisted countries including Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and the UAE.

Jacks Thomas, Director, The London Book Fair, said: “This record number of countries shortlisted for the seventh LBF International Excellence Awards – with entries from 29 countries – really does shout that the global book industry continues to thrive through innovation, inspiration and sheer hard work across the globe. The awards capture the passion that underpins the commitment of those working in this global village to share the power of books.

The geographic range entering cements these awards as the pivotal event celebrating global excellence in the publishing industry. It’s wonderful to give all shortlistees the international platform at the Book Fair to showcase their success. We look forward to welcoming them in March – best of luck to everyone.”

Stephen Lotinga, Chief Executive, the Publishers Association, said: “It’s a real pleasure to see the variety and quality of the shortlists this year. Publishing is an inherently international industry and these awards celebrate those around the world who champion reading and learning. Congratulations to all those shortlisted and we very much look forward to celebrating these awards at The London Book Fair in March.” 

The full shortlist of The London Book Fair International Excellence Awards is:

• The Academic and Professional Publisher Award
  • Brookings Institution Press (USA)
  • Princeton University Press (USA)

• The Audiobook Publisher of the Year
  • Karadi Tales (India)
  • Penguin Random House (USA)

• The Bookstore of the Year Award, sponsored by Gardners
  • Rahva Raamat AS (Estonia)
  • Unity Books (New Zealand)
  • Yemen Bookstore (Yemen)

• The Educational Initiatives Award
  • Book Aid International (UK / Kenya)
  • Karadi Path Education Company (India)
  • World Literacy Foundation (UK / Uganda and Columbia)

• The Educational Learning Resources Award, supported by The China Publishing & Media Journal
  • Apicula Verlag, GMbH (Germany)
  • Caramel Tree (Canada)
  • Karadi Path Education Company (India)

• The Library of the Year Award
  • City of Johannesburg Libraries (South Africa)
  • Maadi Public Library (Egypt)
  • Shanghai Library (China)

• The Literary Translation Initiative Award
  • Gecko Press (New Zealand)
  • SM Traducoes (Mozambique)
  • Yiddish Book Centre (USA)

• The Literary Agent Award
  • Elina Ahlback – Elina Ahlback Literary Agency LTd (Finland)
  • Maria Lynch – Casanovas & Lynch Literary Agency (Spain)
  • Yasmina Jraissatie – RAYA The Agency for Arabic Literature (France)

• The Literary Festival Award
  • Festival of World Literature (Croatia)
  • Frankfurt liest ein Buch (Germany)
  • Macassar international Writers’ Festival (Indonesia)

• The Rights Professional Award, sponsored by Sharjah Book Authority
  • Gabriel Nieto, Planeta (Mexico)
  • Stephanie Barrouillet, SB Rights Agency (Israel)
  • Tuomas Sorjamaa, Ferly (Finland)

• The Market Focus Sharjah Adult Trade Award
  • Arab Scientific Publishers (Egypt)
  • Dar Al Adab (Lebanon)
  • Kalimat (UAE)

• The Market Focus Sharjah Children’s, Young Adult and Education Award
  • ABC Publishers (Jordan)
  • Dar Rabie Publishing (UAE)
  • Kalimat (A Kalimat Group Company) (UAE)

Eligible for entries from all countries, including the UK:

• Accessible Books Consortium International Excellence Award: Publisher
  • Ediciones Godot (Argentina)
  • House of Anansi Press (Canada)
  • Macmillan Learning (USA)

• Accessible Books Consortium International Excellence Award: Initiative
  • EIFL – Electronic Information for Libraries (Lithuania)
  • Fondazione LIA (Italy)
  • Kalimat Foundation for Children Empowerment (UAE)

Eligible for entries from the UK only:

• Inclusivity in Publishing Award, supported by the Publishers Association
  • Bonnier
  • Hachette
  • Springer Nature

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

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

The LBF International Excellence Awards ceremony is an invitation-only event, and takes place on Tuesday 10 March 2020 6.00pm – 10.00pm at the new venue Pergola Olympia, London.