via The Bookseller
Merrion Press is the Regional and Country winner for the island of Ireland in The British Book Awards.
Merrion Press, the trade imprint of the Irish Academic Press, had by far the best year in its history in 2020, thanks in large part to a remarkable €1m of sales of John Breslin and Sarah Anne Buckley‘s Old Ireland in Colour. It published its first children’s and audio titles too.
In a strong showing for the United Kingdom and Ireland’s grassroots publishing scene, more than 40 publishers have been listed in the regional and country shortlists of The British Book Awards’ prize for Small Presses, sponsored by the CPI Group, which celebrates the innovative and nimble publishers making names for themselves outside the mainstream.
Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller and chair of the judges for the British Book Awards, said: “After a year like no other, the shortlist shows the strength, breadth and durability of small press publishing across the United Kingdom and Ireland. These businesses, all of them with sales under £2m and many much smaller, fended off bookshops closures, the loss of author events, and the national lockdowns to deliver an incredible set of results with book sales up, diverse publishing on the rise, and new business opportunities taken. The shortlist speaks to how driven and agile these businesses are, but also how well supported they are by readers, booksellers, and their authors and illustrators.”
The regional and country winners of the Small Press of the Year award will be announced on 17th March; the overall winner will be revealed during the online British Book Awards ceremony which this year will take place on 13th May.
Full details of the regional and country finalists can be found here.
