Nosy Crow in six Independent Publishers Guild award shortlists! - Nosy Crow Skip to content
Posted by Kate, February 7, 2014

Nosy Crow in six Independent Publishers Guild award shortlists!

Ahem.

No, no – I’m not slightly teary-with-pride. Must be grit in my eye.

We have just heard the news that we have been shortlisted for the four Independent Publishers Guild Awards for which we entered, and more than any other publisher. And Tom and Ola have been shortlisted for the Young Independent Publisher of the Year Award. And Bounce, who are our partners in selling books to booksellers, are shortlisted for the Services to Independent Publishing Award.

We are shortlisted for the Children’s Publisher of the Year Award, together with Usborne, Barefoot and Walker. The judges said that the quality of entries this year was exceptional, and this is reflected in the four-strong shortlist. To be on this list again, and with publishers who are so much bigger and so much more established, feels remarkable to us. This is our third shortlisting for this prize – so we’ve been shortlisted each year we’ve been eligible to enter – and we won in 2012 and 2013.

The judges said: “Nosy Crow was the winner of this award in both 2012 and 2013, and is shortlisted again after another impressive year of sales growth and digital innovation. Judges particularly admired its outstanding international business, imaginative apps and beautifully produced books, as well as its efforts to build a strong consumer brand. It has had another superb year—to have got so far so quickly is a remarkable achievement.”

We are shortlisted for the International Achievement of the Year Award, together with Advance Materials, In Easy Steps. We’ve been shortlisted for the prize in both years in which we’ve been eligible to enter, and we won it last year.

The judges said: “Nosy Crow completes what judges considered a strikingly strong shortlist after substantially growing its rights, export and international app business. It added new territories and pulled in more trade and consumer supporters in 2013, both through digital campaigns and tireless work at fairs and worldwide. Nosy Crow is fast becoming a powerhouse not just here but around the world. The international story is incredibly impressive.”

We were shortlisted for the Digital Publishing Award, together with Bloomsbury Publishing, Faber & Faber and Jordan Publishing. We won the Innovation prize in 2012 and were shortlisted for the Digital Publishing Award in 2013.

The judges said: “Nosy Crow completes what judges felt was an exceptionally strong category for its work with Apple apps and the launch of Stories Aloud, a bundling of free audio content with its picture book apps. Judges applauded the way Nosy Crow used digital technology to bring its content to life, and admired its download figures. Nosy Crow constantly tries interesting things, prepares them beautifully and executes them with consummate professionalism.”

We were shortlisted for the Digital Marketing Award, together with Constable & Robinson and Faber and Faber. We were shortlisted for the prize in both 2012 and in 2013.

The judges said: “Nosy Crow is shortlisted here for a third successive time after another strong year of online brand building and customer engagement. Across social media, mailing lists, websites, blogs, events and an ambassador programme, Nosy Crow tirelessly pursued every marketing avenue. Nosy Crow has a very impressive sense of community in all its digital worlds. It’s very cost-efficient too, which is important for all independent publishers.”

We are ridiculously proud of Tom and Ola for their Young Independent Publisher of the Year Award shortlistings. This is what the judges said about Tom: “Tom Bonnick, digital project and marketing manager at Nosy Crow, makes the shortlist for his energetic and imaginative work producing the publisher’s apps. Beyond that, judges were impressed by his energetic PR, events, social media, ambassadorial and speaking work. “He has the can-do attitude that is so important in an independent publisher. He seems happy and able to pick anything up and run with it, and has delivered some exceptional projects.”

This is what the judges said about Ola: “Ola Gotkowska, rights executive at Nosy Crow, is the second in a double act at the publisher on the shortlist. She makes the cut for her tireless work growing foreign rights business, especially in eastern Europe. “Ola has thrown herself into publishing, picked things up very quickly and achieved a great deal,” judges commented. “Like many young people at independent publishers she is doing much more than her simple job title suggests.”

The IPG says of the judging process, “The 2014 shortlists were compiled over two days of judging by panels of experts from across the publishing world. They feature 27 different companies and three individuals, between them representing all corners of independent publishing. Nosy Crow, Bloomsbury, Barefoot Books, Faber & Faber and Constable & Robinson each receive more than one nomination.”

Of the shortlists themselves, the IPG says, “Judges were very impressed with the high standard of entries across the Awards, especially in the categories for Children’s, Academic & Professional and Specialist Consumer Publisher of the Year, each of which have four shortlisted companies this year. The strength of the Digital Publishing and Digital Marketing Awards reflects the innovation and ambition of independent publishing in this sphere now, and judges also admired evidence of the sector’s rising talent within the Newcomer and Young Independent Publisher of the Year categories.”

Here are the full shortlists:

IPG Children’s Publisher of the Year
Barefoot Books, Nosy Crow, Usborne Publishing and Walker Books

The London Book Fair International Achievement Award
Advance Materials, In Easy Steps and Nosy Crow

Ingram Content Group Digital Publishing Award
Bloomsbury Publishing, Faber & Faber, Jordan Publishing and
Nosy Crow

Nielsen Digital Marketing Award
Constable & Robinson, Faber & Faber and Nosy Crow

IPG Young Independent Publisher of the Year
Tom Bonnick, Nosy Crow; Ola Gotkowska, Nosy Crow;
and David Henderson, Top That! Publishing

GBS Services to Independent Publishers Award
Attwooll Associates, Bounce Sales and Marketing,
Compass Independent Publishing Services,
Faber Factory, powered by Constellation and Faber Factory Plus

IPG Trade Publisher of the Year
John Blake, Constable & Robinson and Summersdale

Frankfurt Book Fair Academic & Professional Publisher of the Year
Bloomsbury Academic & Professional, Edward Elgar Publishing, Liverpool University Press and SAGE

Librios Education Publisher of the Year
Bright Red Publishing and Crown House Publishing

PrintOnDemand Worldwide Specialist Consumer Publisher of the Year
Absolute Press, How2Become, Quiller Publishing and Search Press

The Nick Robinson Newcomer Award
Critical Publishing, Fine Feather Press and Sedition Publishing

IPG Diversity Award
Accent Press, Barefoot Books and Phonic Books

One more Award, for the overall IPG Independent Publisher of the Year, will be chosen from a shortlist made up of the winners of the five Publisher of the Year categories.

IPG Chief Executive Bridget Shine said: “We are delighted to honour the companies and individuals on our shortlists this year, and proud of the examples they give of the strength and diversity of independent publishing in the UK. We congratulate them all, and thank the many IPG members who submitted entries. Competition for the Awards has been exceptionally strong this year, and we thank our judges for their careful deliberations and astute judgments. We look forward to celebrating our eighth annual set of winners—and the success of all independent publishers—at the end of February.”

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