Celebrating 35 years of the British Book Awards
If there’s one thing to note about the #Nibbies, it’s that the awards act as a celebration of the industry, not just the words that make up the books we read or the authors that put pen to paper, but everyone else who allows the industry to run to its full potential.
Awards were up for grabs for authors, designers, agents, marketers, publicists, editors, right professionals, booksellers, librarians and publishing teams of varying sizes.
In its 35th year, the Nibbies were an astounding success, bringing professionals and world-renowned authors and publishers to the forefront of literary attention.
Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller and chair of The British Book Awards, said, “The trade awards reflect the breadth of the book business with stars from throughout the industry all recognised across the shortlists: we are delighted to be able to celebrate and amplify their work.”
Hosted by the incredibly successful Jacqueline Wilson, who has single-handedly published over 100 books, with many turned into TV adaptations, the night was already off to a roaring start, celebrating the most loved and inspirational names in the industry.
Author of the year, Percival Everett, certainly deserved this highly honourable award… Furthermore, Everett celebrated an Oscar win for a film adaptation of his novel Erasure. 2024 was certainly Percival Everett’s year.
The winner of the book of the year went to Patriot by Alexei Navalny – translated by Arch Tait and Stephen Dalziel. A book agreed by the panel as “important… embodying the values it is trying to promote: freedom of speech, defiance and humour… everything that literature and political memoirs should be.” Written shortly after his near-fatal poisoning, it recounts the full story of his life, including his position as an ‘opponent’ of Russian leadership and his deep desire to see change.
Author of the year, Percival Everett, certainly deserved this highly honourable award, with his book James also receiving the fiction book of the year. James, heralded as a modern classic, champions the power of language, love and freedom and was published alongside 6 of his previous books in a scheme to republish works that should be read worldwide. Furthermore, Everett celebrated an Oscar win for a film adaptation of his novel Erasure. 2024 was certainly Percival Everett’s year.
Just as important as adult literary works is the attention given by the awards to children’s and young adult literature; after all, the love for reading often starts within childhood and teenage years. This year, the Children’s fiction book of the year went to Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hot Mess, a beloved series for many years, the 19th book in Jeff Kinney’s series delivered a “hilarious and fresh story that acted as a standout in this category”, the panel went onto say that Kinney doesn’t just create novels but “he creates readers.”
Library of the Year award went to Manchester libraries [who had] 4,600 new children signed up to be members [through their campaign], and the library doubled its average Sunday visitor numbers.
Onto the trade awards, a moment to appreciate all the talented people and teams behind the biggest books and authors of the year. Small press of the year went to the Midlands’ Sweet Cherry Publishing, which grew their sales by nearly half in 2024 and made a huge effort to increase access to books through school visits and supplied underfunded schools with books via the National Literacy Trust. Furthermore, they launched an imprint for children with special educational needs and disabilities called ‘Every Cherry’, which has helped to close the gap in provisions for 1.6 million children with learning difficulties.
Brought back after 8 years, the Library of the Year award went to Manchester libraries, which championed ‘Blue Peter Book Club Live’ and another project called ‘Reading Book Birds’ for a library installation. Throughout the campaign, 4,600 new children signed up to be members, and the library doubled its average Sunday visitor numbers.
Publisher of the year went to Bloomsbury Adult, whose sales rose by 8% and e-book sales by 18% with international growth at a similar rate. With Sarah J Maas bringing in 13 million alongside other incredible authors like Susanna Clarke, Ann Patchett, Josephine Quinn and Gillian Anderson, the publisher experienced a year of roaring success. The judges said the publisher “was firing on all cylinders last year, you can feel the energy and passion in everything it does.”
Waterstones stepped up to the mark with a Book Retailer of the Year award, showing “amazing growth on a very tough high street, and that’s so important for the whole books ecosystem.” The judges also admired its outreach work in schools and its work in offering paid internships.
The awards have many categories for different genres, age categories, trade and publishers, so be sure to check out all the winners and shortlists on the British Book Awards webpage for a fuller insight into the industry.
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