The British Book Award for Export 2025
The British Book Award for Export Winner and Shortlist
Proudly sponsored by the Woodland Group
With the UK print market down slightly in 2024, many publishers were looking to exports for growth. Despite macro challenges in production and distribution, and micro pressures in many markets, these five big publishers all delivered substantial increases and superb service. They also worked hard to cut the environmental impacts of exports, bringing down their travel, packaging and waste and streamlining print and shipping.
Winner
Bonnier Books UK
After three years in a row on the shortlist for the British Book Award for Export, it is fourth time lucky for Bonnier in 2025. The publisher’s small but indefatigable international sales team delivered another best-ever year of sales, adding more countries and dozens of new accounts to the ledger. Brand authors were at the core, and it squeezed yet more sales out of Lynda La Plante and Wilbur Smith in Australia, South Africa and elsewhere.
From the frontlist, it rode the wave of interest in several genres that were new to the team, like Japanese fiction with Satoshi Yagisawa’s More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop and fantasy with Mai Corland’s Five Broken Blades. On the children’s side, Holly Black was again the biggest seller, while there was global interest in Peter Brown’s The Wild Robot after a film adaptation. Export growth was particularly good in Europe and India, and a wealth of testimonials from retailers and authors show how hard the division works. “The international sales team do an outstanding job connecting me to my readers round the world… they go the extra mile to keep book sales flying,” said one author.
Judges admired the Bonnier team’s agility and great knowledge and care of booksellers around the world. “They don’t have massive resources and they don’t just sit and wait to be brought a bag of books to sell. They do the absolute best with all the titles they get... there’s a fantastic energy about them.”
The Shortlist
Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury, the reigning holder of the British Book Award for Export, had a fifth consecutive year of growth in 2024. Its energetic export squad of 13 in London and Asia prides itself on an agile and buyer-focused approach. Europe and Asia provided many of the hotspots and Sarah J Maas’ exports doubled. “The team is dynamic, enthusiastic, passionate, and well-read,” said one Bloomsbury partner.
Bonnier Books UK
Bonnier’s UK export operation is shortlisted for the fourth time in a row after a best-ever year of international sales. Europe delivered the sharpest growth but it shipped to nearly 100 countries in all, and the fantasy, science fiction and Japanese lists blossomed alongside dependable author brands like Wilbur Smith and Lynda La Plante. On the children’s side, Holly Black and Peter Brown were the top performers.
Hachette
Hachette’s export powerhouse achieved a record year. There were six-figure sales for 25 different titles, two million for Ana Huang, and close to one million for Rebecca Yarros. The team trekked to 46 different countries to further improve its relationships with retailers and sister companies. “Their efficiency, deep market knowledge and unwavering support make all the difference,” said one bookseller.
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is shortlisted for this Nibbie for the fifth year in a row—testament to its consistency in big markets and reach into new ones. Rebecca Kuang, Holly Jackson and Sarah Parker were among the export standouts, and the team led a massive global campaign for Coco Mellors’ Blue Sisters. They ran a biggest ever programme of events and leveraged special editions to good effect.
Penguin Random House
Penguin Random House’s appearance on the shortlist for the first time follows a long-term plan to reinvigorate its export strategies, which led to double-digit revenue growth in 2024. It’s now much sharper focused on market needs and aligned between its departments and lists—as seen in phenomenal numbers for Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. India and the US were among boom markets.
