“Sheer Indefatigability" - Nine Small Presses Named Regional And Country Winners at the 2021 British Book Awards
Small Press of the Year Award
British Book Awards 2021
Publishers from Co. Kildare in Ireland, Hackney in London, Leicester, Sheffield, Cardiff, Beaminster in Dorset, and Edinburgh are among the regional and country winners of this year’s British Book Awards Small Press of the Year Award.
Presented for the third time in 2021, and sponsored by CPI Group, the award celebrates the diversity of small presses in the UK and Ireland.
North of England
And Other Stories
London
Joint winners
Boldwood Books | Magic Cat Publishing
Scotland
Charco Press
Wales
Firefly Press
South-West England
Little Toller Books
Island of Ireland
Merrion Press
East/South-East England
September Publishing
Midlands
Sweet Cherry
The nine winners include three past victors Charco Press, September Publishing, and Firefly Press, as well as newcomers such as Boldwood Books and Magic Cat Publishing; but the award also recognises longevity with Merrion Press, the 46-year-old Ireland winner.
The durability of small press publishing even during the pandemic is recognised with five highly commended awards for publishers including Vertebrate Publishing in the North of England, as well as Cranachan and the The Wee Book Company from Scotland.
Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller and chair of the judges for the British Book Awards, said: “The Small Press Award has been a highlight of this year’s British Book Awards, as it has once again revealed the sheer indefatigability of these publishers in this most difficult of years. We are seeing now a raft of small presses, well supported by their authors, readers, and bookshops, publishing at the top of their game with stand-out success stories from 2020 including Dara McAnulty’s Diary of a Young Naturalist, Old Ireland in Colour, and Slow Down: Bring Calm to a Busy World. These are publishing lists for the bigger publishers to envy, run by publishing people making an everyday difference.”
The regional and country winners, chosen from 44 shortlisted presses, will now be in contention for the overall Small Press of the Year, to be announced at the British Book Awards, also known as the Nibbies, on 13th May 2021.
For further information, and to join the conversation please visit:
www.thebookseller.com/british-book-awards www.twitter.com/thebookseller
For all media enquiries please contact Robert Greer and Daniel Kramb at Robertg@fmcm.co.uk and Danielk@fmcm.co.uk.
