The Kim Scott Walwyn Prize entry deadline is this Friday!

Posted on March 13, 2012 in Uncategorized

Founded in 2003, the Prize honours the life and career of Kim Scott Walwyn (Oxford University Press Publishing Director) who died in 2002, and celebrates exceptional female publishers. In 2011, the Prize committee and Booktrust -which has managed the Prize since its inception- partnered with the Society of Young Publishers and the Publishing Training Centre in order to recognise not only achievement but also promise amongst women in the industry. The winner of the Prize will be awarded £1,000, sponsored by the SYP, and a two-day training course of their choice at the PTC. For the first time this year, the shortlisted candidates will also receive a one-day training course courtesy of the PTC.

This year’s judging panel sees a few new additions, including Prize Advisory Committee member Francine Stock, former winner Kay Peddle, as well as SYP representative Ella Kahn. Last year’s judge and former SYP Vice-Chair Nicola Crossley has been invited to sit on the Prize Advisory Committee.

The 2012 shortlist will be announced at the London Book Fair (16-18 April) and the winner will be revealed at a ceremony held at the Free Word Centre in London on Wednesday 9 May.

The 2011 prize was re-launched in partnership with the Society of Young Publishers and Booktrust, the independent national reading charity, to reward exceptional achievement and promise among women in the first seven years of their publishing careers. The prize included £1,000 donated by the Society of Young Publishers and a free training course, courtesy of The Publishing Training Centre.

The winner was announced at an award ceremony at the Free Word Centre in Farringdon on the 5th May 2011. Nominated by a panel of expert publishing professionals, this year’s shortlist consisted of four editors: Lucy Cuthew, Commissioning Editor at Meadowside Children’s Books; Kay Peddle, Editor at The Bodley Head; Jessica Leeke, Fiction Editor at Simon & Schuster UK; and Sarah Norman, Senior Editor at Atlantic Books – all of whom were present that evening.

Kay Peddle was announced as the 2011 Kim Scott Walwyn prize winner in recognition of her pioneering ‘Brain Shots’ publications and progressive attitude to reaching out to different audiences in a changing market place.

Kay began her career in the marketing department of Random House’s literary imprint,Vintage. She moved across to the editorial department of the company before rising to become editor at The Bodley Head – an illustrious publishing house recently revived as part of the Random House Group. Here, Kay launched ‘Brain Shots’: a list of eBooks and audiobooks that condense weighty subjects as broad as Medieval English history, international crime and the physiological effects of classical musical into a concise, entertaining form for the knowledge-hungry yet time-poor consumer of today.

The underlying philosophy of Kay’s work at The Bodley Head was expressed in her application for the prize: “All my achievements in publishing to date are underpinned by what I believe are the roles publishers should have in society: that of curator and that of social entrepreneur – bringing people and books together and bringing about positive change in people’s lives.”

The deadline for entries has been extended to 5pm on Friday 16 March. Please see Booktrust’s website for details on how to enter.