Hachette wins three at Nibbies

18.05.10 | Graeme Neill in The Bookseller

Hachette was the big winner at the inaugural Bookseller Industry Awards clinching three prizes, while Foyles was awarded chain bookseller of the year.

Little, Brown took the prestigious Publisher of the Year award.

Around 600 people attended the awards ceremony in London this evening (17th May), which was held at the Royal Courts of Justice. It is the first time The Bookseller has run the awards, uniting its former retail awards with the long-standing Trade Nibbies.

Bookseller editor-in-chief and chairman of judges Neill Denny said: "This may be a tough period for the trade but all the winners of these awards represent terrific success stories that we can all learn from—the book trade is full of inspiring and creative businesses.

"We have extended the principle of open and transparent judging that we pioneered in our retail awards across the full width of the trade, and I can be very confident that these winners, from the biggest to the smallest, are 'best of breed'."

Little, Brown was the Publishing Technology Publisher of the Year, in part for its runaway success with Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series, the publishing phenomenon of 2009. Its young adult imprint Atom sold 16 million copies of the vampire series worldwide last year.

However, judges noted even after stripping out the success of Meyer, sales and profits at Little, Brown grew last year. One judge said: “There was strong publishing across the board. Against a backdrop of slipping sales [across the trade in general], Little Brown’s was an astonishing achievement.”

It capped a successful night for the Hachette publisher. Lennie Goodings, editor at Little, Brown imprint Virago, won the Bookseller’s Imprint and Editor of the Year. Buoyed by its literary awards, including Marilynne Robinson’s Orange Prize-winning Home, and list of titles selected for television book clubs, judges also singled out Virago’s balance of the commercial and critical success. One said: “Lennie sticks by her authors and comes up with winner after winner after winner—all the while remaining exceptionally modest.”

Hachette UK’s Printer Direct Delivery Solution was the recipient of Hachette’s third prize of the evening, winning the IBS Bookmaster Innovation in the Publishing Supply Chain award.

London independent Foyles won the most high profile retail award, walking away with the Martina Cole General or Chain Bookselling Company of the Year prize. Judges hailed its “big values, bold ideas and bookselling prowess”.

A hotly contested Lightning Source Independent Publisher of the Year was ultimately won by John Blake. Fellow indie Quercus clinched the Nielsen Marketing Campaign of the Year award for its work on Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy.

Hampshire independent One Tree Books was the Gardners Books Independent Bookseller of the Year with judges lauding its ability to demonstrate “how sustainable independent bookselling should be done today”.

For the full list of winners link to The Bookseller.