Tulika, Tata Trusts win LBF International Excellence Awards
India made an impressive showing during the London Book Fair International Excellence Awards 2019, which was announced on 13 March, with two Indian publishing initiatives taking home the awards.
13 Mar 2019 | 4056 Views | By Dibyajyoti Sarma
Tulika Publishers won the Literary Translation Initiative Award while Tata Trusts won the Educational Initiatives Award.
Jacks Thomas, director, LBF, said, “The International Excellence Awards always remind us of the innovative, important and inspiring work being done by all those in the global publishing community. From translators in India and librarians in Finland to literary festivals in Ukraine and literary agents in France, these awards show the breadth of talent working in the publishing industry around the world today.”
Among other major winners, the bookstore of the year award went to Fang Suo Commune in Guangzhou, China, chosen from a shortlist that included Unity Books in Wellington, New Zealand, and BOA Bookstore in Vietnam.
“Fang Suo is … breathtaking in scale and conception,” said the judges. “A vast range and constant activities and events … that gives you a glimpse of what bookstores of the future will be.”
A special mention was given to Yemen Bookshop, which was praised for “importing and promoting books and multicultural understanding in extraordinarily difficult circumstances, where the mere fact it is there and functioning is remarkable”.
Other award-winners include:
Library of the year
Espoo City Library (Finland)
Literary festival
Book Arsenal Literary Festival (Ukraine)
International book trade journalist
Porter Anderson, editor-in-chief, Publishing Perspectives
Literary agent
Pierre Astier, founder and director, Astier-Pecher Literary & Film Agency
Rights professional
Rose Janssens, foreign rights key account manager, Clavis Publishing
Academic and professional publisher
De Gruyter (Germany)
Audiobook publisher of the year
Booklava (UAE)
Educational learning resources
Virtual Reading Gym (South Africa)
Simon Master Chairman’s award
Jessica Kingsley, Publishers-founder, Jessica Kingsley