Brazil, India and USA lead the way @ LBF International Excellence Awards 2019 shortlist

The shortlists for The London Book Fair International Excellence Awards 2019 has been announced, with USA leading the way with five nominations, closely followed by Brazil and India with three each – and 26 countries represented.

The awards, held in partnership with the UK Publishers Association (PA), celebrate publishing success in seventeen categories, representing the best publishing ambassadors, innovative publishing, and ground-breaking initiatives in the industry. In each award category, the judging panel was comprised of experts in that sector.

The new International Book Trade Journalist Award will see a tight contest between shortlisted Anja Sieg – Buchreport (Germany), Leonardo Neto – PublishNews (Brazil) and Porter Anderson – Publishing Perspectives (USA). BOA Bookstore (Vietnam), Fang Suo Commune (China) and Unity Books (Wellington) Ltd (New Zealand) will all hope to take home the Bookstore of the Year, sponsored by Gardners. Festivals across the world are nominated for Literary Festival of the Year, with Book Arsenal Literature Festival (Ukraine), International Literature Festival Utrecht (Netherlands) and Makassar International Writers Festival (Indonesia) all in the running. Virtual Reading Gym (South Africa) is nominated twice in the Educational Initiatives and Educational Learning Resources, supported by The China Publishing & Media Journal, categories.

Jacks Thomas, Director, The London Book Fair, said, “The breadth of the sixth International Excellence Awards’ shortlist, with its impressive count of 26 countries, highlights how the global book industry is going from strength to strength. The nominees all showcase the diverse talent working in the publishing industry today, and I am thrilled to give them the international platform at the Book Fair to showcase their success.” From India, Karadi Tales has been shortlisted for the Audiobook Publisher of the Year; Tata Trusts for the Educational Initiatives Award and Tulika Publishers for the Literary Translation Initiative Award.