British Book Awards: Agenda-setting independents Jacaranda Books win second annual Small Press of the Year Award
The team of Jacaranda Books with authors at the launch of Twentyin2020 at the London Library
London-based literary publisher Jacaranda Books was announced winner of the second annual Small Press of the Year Award during the The British Book Awards digital ceremony broadcast live tonight. The award is sponsored by CPI Books.
The award continues a truly remarkable few months for the publisher, which began with the January launch of their Twentyin2020 campaign to publish books by 20 black British authors in 2020. This was then followed by the #InclusiveIndies campaign, a crisis funding campaign for diversity-led independent publishers launched by Jacaranda in collaboration with children’s publisher Knights Of and literary organisation Spread The Word following the highly disruptive events of the COVID-19 crisis. This widely-supported campaign managed to far exceed its original target of raising £100,000, eventually raising over £174,000 to secure the survival of key voices and platforms in the UK publishing landscape.
Since being founded by Valerie Brandes in 2012, Jacaranda Books have become trailblazers in the UK literary world, introducing international voices from Africa, Asia and the Americas to the UK market, as well as numerous voices from the UK, as evident in the Twentyin2020 publishing programme. The company has published multiple award winners such as Irenosen Okojie (Butterfly Fish, Speak Gigantular) and Fiston Mwanza Mujila (Tram 83).
Philip Jones, chair of the judges and editor of The Bookseller, said: “This has been a pivotal time for small presses, and this was reflected in the regional winners tha made up this shortlist. But one press rose above the others in 2019, with an agenda setting approach to its publishing that was loud and proud, and I was delighted that Jacaranda and Valerie emerged as the winner at this important moment for diverse voices. This is a small press with big ideas and one that is going places.”
Valerie Brandes, Founder and Publisher of Jacaranda Books, said: “This is such a wonderful acknowledgment by the industry of the hard work we have been doing at Jacaranda and feels especially significant this year. We are proud to be one of the vibrant small presses that form such a crucial role in UK publishing and we are ecstatic for this recognition. Thank you to Phillip Jones and The Bookseller for seeing Jacaranda and supporting us in this way. It means the world.”
In winning the 2020 Small Press of the Year Award, Jacaranda triumphed within the highly impressive 9 regional and country winners who were announced in March. Among these were Comma Press (North of England winners), Sandstone Press (Scotland), The Lilliput Press (Ireland), Really Decent Books (South West), Tiny Owl Publishing (joint London winners), September Publishing (South East), Otter-Barry Books (Midlands), and Firefly Press (Wales). These winners were drawn from 40-strong regional and country shortlists representing the very best small presses across the UK & Ireland, which were announced earlier in the year.
Produced by the UK’s book industry magazine The Bookseller, the Nibbies are the definitive celebration of the country’s leading creative industry. Showcasing the enormous range and depth of modern publishing, they bring together the consumer-facing Books of the Year awards and trade accolades that honour the outstanding successes of publishers and retailers.
Originally scheduled to take place at The JW Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel on June 29th, the awards went fully digital in 2020, with a video ceremony streamed online for the very first time.
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