Imprint of the Year
Imprint of the Year Winner and Shortlist
Proudly sponsored by Clays
Have we reached peak imprint? That was a question recently posed in The Bookseller’s comment columns, but testimonials for these dozen imprints show how much they matter to authors, agents and retailers—and above all to the close-knit teams who run them. The shortlist ranges from decades-old names to start-ups, with no fewer than four from HarperCollins, plus three from Hachette and two from Pan Macmillan. It also includes a hat-trick of sci fi and fantasy imprints and a trio of digital-native lists.
Winner
Bookouture
Hachette
Momentum at Hachette’s Bookouture list has been building for a while now – this was a fourth shortlist place in five years – and a record-breaking 2024 earned it the title of Imprint of the Year.
The numbers were remarkable: seven authors generated more than £500,000 in revenue, more than 200 titles reached the e-book top 100, and 56 authors racked up over 10 million pages read. Its roster of 350-plus authors gives it massive strength in depth.
But while it started out in e-books and audio, it’s been a new focus on the trade print list that has upped Bookouture’s game – especially with Freida McFadden, who was the TCM’s 10th top-selling author in 2024. Elsewhere, a new science fiction and fantasy list has hit the ground running, thanks in large part to TikTok star Kaylie Smith’s Phantasma. And Bookouture has done what few publishers dare by publishing its own translations directly into foreign markets. Work on diversity and inclusion accelerated through a ‘Digital Publishing Uncovered’ workshop and ‘Middle Way Mentoring’ programme for writers of colour.
Authors like Bookouture’s unashamedly commercial approach, high royalties and big marketing and publicity campaigns – especially through social media and smartly strategised paid advertising – and it has revived the fortunes of writers who were neglected elsewhere. One said: “In all the years I’ve been publishing I’ve never had a publisher who is so invested in the success of its authors.”
The judges agreed. “It’s an incredible list with a lot of personality, and Jenny [Geras, managing director] is a brilliant leader. It doesn’t rest on its laurels but keeps doing new things. Its approach has changed the market and a lot of publishers are following its lead.”
The Shortlist
4th Estate
HarperCollins
Forty years on from its beginnings as an independent, HarperCollins’ imprint remains as distinctive as ever. It had best ever sales from an eclectic range—from Japanese novel Asako Yuzuki’s Butter, Waterstones Book of the Year, to cookbooks. It also worked with author Reni Eddo-Lodge to launch a new list, Monument Books.
Bookouture
Hachette
It’s a fourth shortlist place in five years for Hachette’s digital-driven imprint. A stellar 2024 was powered by Freida McFadden’s Housemaid books, which became the biggest three sellers in Bookouture’s history. But there was massive backlist strength from dozens of brand authors, more translated fiction and a new list for sci fi and fantasy, which hit the ground running with TikTok star Kaylie Smith.
Embla Books
Bonnier Books UK
Three years on from launch, Bonnier Books UK’s digital-first imprint Embla properly established itself as a force in commercial fiction in 2024. Dandy Smith, Patricia Wolf and Laura Starkey were among those benefiting from its skills in building author brands and digital marketing. Smith’s The Wrong Daughter was so successful that it became Embla’s first mass market paperback.
Harpervoyager
HarperCollins
HarperCollins’ sci fi and fantasy won the Imprint of the Year Nibbie in 2023, and it had even more bestsellers in 2024. Several were the result of steady brand-building, including Saara El-Arifi’s Faebound, or the deft positioning of debuts like Hannah Kaner’s Godkiller. Voyager also made Sarah Parker’s When the Moon Hatched the big romantasy launch of the year and bedded in YA imprint Magpie.
Head of Zeus
Bloomsbury
Three years after its acquisition by Bloomsbury in 2021, Head of Zeus has maintained its identity while harnessing its parent’s powerful resources. Double-digit TCM growth was driven by Dan Jones, Richard Dawkins, Cixin Liu and many more, plus smart reissues and special editions. On the digital side it worked the backlist hard and audio output doubled. Some of the sharpest growth of all came in exports.
Jonathan Cape
Vintage
The Jonathan Cape imprint is now into its second century but feels as fresh as ever. The book of its year was Samantha Harvey’s Orbital, which became the fastest selling Booker Prize winner ever. Three more Cape novels made the Booker longlist and there were a dozen more literary prizes, plus five Sunday Times number ones. Cape made Salman Rushdie’s Knife one of the biggest publishing events of the year.
Mantle
Pan Macmillan
Under Editor of the Year contender Maria Rejt, Pan Macmillan’s small but perfectly formed imprint grew TCM volumes by 40% in 2024. It had a very high hit rate from its select list, including Percival Everett’s critically acclaimed James and Kate Mosse’s The Ghost Ship. Mantle mourned CJ Sansom, who died just before a reissue of his backlist to mark a TV adaptation.
One More Chapter
HarperCollins
One More Chapter has beaten all of HarperCollins’ expectations since launching five years ago. It was set up as a digital-first division and has surfed the TikTok wave brilliantly, but its biggest successes have been in print, where sales quadrupled in 2024. Laurie Gilmore delivered two number one paperbacks, and The Pumpkin Spice Café was voted TikTok Shop Book of the Year.
Orbit
Hachette
Orbit celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2024, and interest in its sci fi and fantasy publishing can rarely have been higher. Frontlist sales surged by a half as it lifted 11 books into the Sunday Times bestseller lists, and there were six awards. Author care is outstanding and there was good work to diversify its list. One author called the team “Professional, supportive and so fired up—the best of the best.”
Orion Fiction
Orion
Orion’s fiction powerhouse thrived on its combination of old and new names in 2024. Ian Rankin’s 25th Rebus novel Midnight and Blue was a number one, while there was a first new title from Orion’s BookTok star Jessa Hastings and the debut of Lorraine Kelly. Elsewhere it rejuvenated Harlan Coben’s backlist. In-house it ran the Orion Debut Writers Academy and launched the Criminal Lines Prize.
The Borough Press
HarperCollins
“An exceptional team doing outstanding work,” said one agent of The Borough Press. HarperCollins’ literary imprint marked its tenth birthday in 2024 and had fresh energy under publisher Beth Coates and some new hires. Bella Mackie and Tracy Chevalier delivered big hardbacks, and on the paperback side Rebecca Kuang’s Yellowface, the 2024 Book of the Year, sold nearly 300,000 copies through the TCM.
Tor
Pan Macmillan
Pan Macmillan’s imprint is shortlisted for the third time in five years, on the back of a best-ever 12 months. Olivie Blake and KA Linde delivered hardback fiction number ones as TCM sales rose by a fifth, while ebooks and audio grew even faster. Tor launched new imprint Bramble to capitalise on the romantasy phenomenon, and laid the ground for another one, horror list Nightfire.
