MEDIA RELEASE
SUNDAY, 21 JUNE 2015
A renowned family of booksellers were honoured with a lifetime achievement award tonight at the annual Book Industry awards in Auckland, while individual publishers and booksellers were recognised as being the best in the New Zealand trade.
This year the lifetime achievement award was presented to the Parsons Family of Auckland and Wellington for the inter-generational contribution the family have made to the industry.
All of the winners of the Book Trade Industry Awards this year have been applauded by the judges for their dedication to quality – whether in publication, selling, or running events – and passion for the trade. There were six awards given, and for the first time this year, applicants were invited to self-nominate. This allowed some smaller bookstores who didn’t frequently see publishing reps to highlight their own efforts to improve sales for their stores. There were a large number of nominees in this category, making the prize even more desirable.
The judges of the awards were Karen Ferns, Jill Rawnsley, Carolyn Morgan, Graham Beattie and Karren Beanland.
The winners of each category are announced below:
2015 Young Book Retailer of the Year:
Jenna Todd, Time Out Books, Mt Eden
‘Jenna manages the shop, which had its best ever sales in 2014, in an exemplary manner. Not only does she run their media & social media effectively, the customer testimonials for her work were outstanding,’ said judge Karen Ferns.
2015 Sales Rep of the Year:
Tammy Ruffell, HarperCollins NZ Lower North Island rep
‘Tammy is tireless in seeking ways to inspire customers, and has shown great leadership and resilience in facing head-on, with those customers, the challenges of the past year (or few),’ said judge Jill Rawnsley.
Marketing Strategy of the Year:
Penguin Random House NZ, for Chelsea Winter’s Everyday Delicious
‘The winning marketing strategy for 2015 saw an impressive result for the publisher and Chelsea Winter, the author, whose input into the campaign is every bit as contributory to the results. It is a competitive area of publishing, but the team at PRH pulled it off beautifully,’ said Rawnsley.
NZ Book Industry Special Award:
Bridget Williams Books
‘Bridget Williams Books wins this for their innovative list, and how effectively they have embraced the new digital age. They have proven their commitment to quality non-fiction publishing, publishing the important Tangata Whenua, while launching their new imprint BWB Texts over 2014,’ said Morgan.
Publisher of the Year:
Potton & Burton, newly renamed from Craig Potton Publishers
‘Potton & Burton show exceptional commitment to quality in its publishing programme, its production values, its relationships with customers and authors alike, and in the delivery of an essential distribution service. As well as this, the company’s dedication to New Zealand stories shines through in their regularly award-winning books,’ said Rawnsley.
Bookseller of the Year:
Unity Books, Wellington
‘Unity Books runs 50 events per year, and their support of NZ publishing accounts for 18% of their sales. Unity has proven over the years a great training place for aspiring booksellers. Overall, they win this award for their general excellence, and the special place they occupy in the community,’ said Morgan.
The Book industry is well-served by the passionate booksellers and publishers that are continuing to inspire in a changing environment. The Book Industry Awards are sponsored by PANZ, Nielsen Book and Booksellers NZ, and were administered via Booksellers NZ, by the Book Trade Liaison Committee.
ENDS
For media enquiries, interviews, please contact:
Lincoln Gould, CEO, Booksellers NZ
ph: (021) 426 575
For images, please contact:
Sarah Forster, Web Editor, Booksellers NZ
ph: (04) 815 8367, sarah.forster@booksellers.co.nz
Background of the New Zealand Book Industry Lifetime Achievement Award
The New Zealand Book Trade Lifetime Achievement award was created by the Book Trade Liaison Committee three years ago as a means of recognising those that have made a long and out-of -the -ordinary contribution to both publishing and bookselling . Previous winners have been individuals, with Graham Beattie winning the inaugural award in 2013, and Michael Moynahan in 2014.
