The British Book Award for Export
The British Book Award for Export Winner and Shortlist
Proudly sponsored by Woodland Group
With pressure mounting on domestic sales, exports have never been more important to publishers’ growth. But as costs rise, tariff chaos abounds and distribution issues persist, those sales are far from easy. The nine teams shortlisted here, from a mix of major groups and independents, all overcame bumps in the road to grow their numbers and confirm the global appeal of English-language content – especially in European markets.
Winner
HarperCollins
Rising costs, transportation issues, tariff uncertainties, geopolitics… challenges are never far away in exports, but HarperCollins excelled with a dazzling array of activity around the world in 2025.
Having doubled its sales in the past five years, HarperCollins’ 17-strong team was firing on all cylinders. Partnerships with retailers were both strategic and personal, including powerful promotions, exclusive export editions, lively roadshows and big proof drops. The US and the Caribbean saw some of the biggest uplifts, but English-language editions thrived in the big European markets too.
HarperCollins also benefited from an author-centric approach, investing in major tours and festival appearances across five continents. There were blockbuster events such as launch parties co-ordinated by time-zone for RF Kuang’s Katabasis, its biggest export of the year with nearly 200,000 copies sold. Beyond the bestsellers, the export team reissued a range of classics to good effect and added 500 more children’s books to their bags after the acquisition of Miles Kelly.
As well as its energetic, can-do approach, judges liked the way HarperCollins overlaid strategies with technology. That included smart use of AI tools to analyse exports and influence acquisitions, and the adoption of social media to connect with booksellers and influencers. There was also progress on reducing the considerable environmental impacts of exports.
In a year when TCM sales dropped in the UK, exports were the fuel that kept the publisher growing. “HarperCollins’ relentless export efforts are paying great dividends,” said the judges. “It’s an upbeat story of success and there’s a really dynamic approach in all areas, with great marketing and publicity, and a personal touch.”
The Shortlist
Atlantic
Atlantic’s export numbers beat all budgets in 2025, the result of bringing exports right to the heart of the independent publisher’s decision-making, with several of its books achieving bigger numbers globally than domestically last year. Its small but ambitious team, led by Anne Bowman, has been particularly good at carving out new sales for backlist titles – especially The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga.
Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is hoping to repeat its 2021 and 2024 successes in this category. It generated sales of more than 30,000 copies for 28 different titles in 2025 – from big brands like JK Rowling, Sarah J Maas and Katherine Rundell to emerging ones including Hwang Bo-Reum and Bal Khabra. Its 13-strong team relentlessly carve out new markets and seem to have a lot of fun. “They’re a marvel of competence, efficiency and market savvy,” said one partner.
Bonnier Books UK
Last year’s winner of the British Book Award for Export achieved another record high in global markets in 2025. Brand names including Wilbur Smith and Lynda La Plante led the way on the fiction side, alongside newer ones like Satoshi Yagisawa and Olivia Rose Darling, while Peter Brown’s Wild Robot series was the hero in children’s. Retailers value Bonnier’s can-do approach to exports. “They’re proactive, solutions-focused and always go the extra mile,” said one.
DK
DK’s sharp growth in 2025 was the result of a strategic overhaul of exports that has taken it well beyond its non-fiction heartlands. It was driven by a standout year for the Sourcebooks list that it now sells in Europe, and stellar numbers for Freida McFadden in particular. DK’s own list performed similarly well around the continent, and also in India thanks to new bespoke local editions. There was excellent support of retailers and other partners throughout the year.
Hachette UK
Hachette’s export team led the business to best-ever international numbers last year. It was the result not just of a massive range of new titles, but of a tailored approach to every book, market and customer, backed up with slick distribution. Rebecca Yarros’ Onyx Storm was the undisputed export champion of 2025, and there were six-figure sales for Alison Espach’s The Wedding People and Clare Leslie Hall’s Broken Country too.
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is shortlisted for the sixth year in a row, having more than doubled export sales in that time. Its powerful mix of activity from an energetic 17-strong team in 2025 included export-exclusive editions, publisher roadshows and proof drops, supported by AI-powered market analysis. Author tours, literary festivals and big publication events – especially for HC’s biggest export of the year, RF Kuang’s Katabasis – were other strengths.
Nosy Crow
Exports have been at the heart of Nosy Crow’s phenomenal success ever since it started out 15 years ago. Its small team sold into 76 countries in 2025, with Australasia, the Middle East and South America among the growth spots, while China rebounded. It was all down to careful planning, powerful international marketing and outstanding customer service. “Nosy Crow is a dream partner… collaboration is a joy,” said one bookseller.
Penguin Random House
In 2025, PRH’s global powerhouse had the best export sales in the publisher’s history. Penguin was at the heart of the activity in its 90th anniversary year, with special activations and merch with retailers, book fairs and museums. In other divisions, there was a blockbuster campaign for Dan Brown’s The Secret of Secrets and a sensitive one for Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s Nobody’s Girl. Record children’s numbers were helped by the Lottie Brooks series and the Coco Wyo collective.
Princeton University Press
Princeton is shortlisted for this award for the first time and flies the flag for scholarly book exports. Its UK office handles all of the university press’ markets beyond North America, and has nearly quadrupled sales in Australia and New Zealand in the past four years. The team have also travelled widely as they push into new territories, especially in Africa and Latin America. Harry Frankfurt’s On Bullshit was the biggest export of the year.
