Top tips from the judges

We know you’re all working furiously to make your entries the best they can be, and appreciate how much craft and energy goes into the process. And we’re here to help - here are a few tips from the team and the judges, that will help to make your entries really shine.

Book Trade entries

Tell Us A Story. Our judges are primed to read your detailed entries, including all of the facts and figures behind your successful years. But they, like you, love a narrative - try to go beyond chronology and the day-to-day to show us something extraordinary.

Present It Properly. Your document doesn’t need to be professionally designed, but do be conscious of your presentation. You’re delivering a lot of information, and basics like mismatched fonts, long chunks of text without pause or disorganised data can interfere with how our judges process what you’re trying to share. 

Don’t Hide the Wrinkles. Not everyone has a good year every year. Tell us the positives, but don’t shy away from what went wrong. Sometimes success is about dealing with adversity first.

Get Granular. Nibbies judges are incredibly knowledgeable, but it’s best not to assume they know all the internal workings of your team. If you secured great PR, tell us what your pitch was. If you had a stellar year, break down the figures and tell us what they mean. We judge hundreds of entries each year, and it is often that extra level of detail that’ll bag you the win.

Pivot… PIVOT! Part of the challenge of going above and beyond in publishing is how to adapt to challenges and how to replot our strategy or path. Did this lead to innovation? Finding new revenue streams? Did you do things that surprised you and how did this bring unimagined success?

Polish and re-polish. Clarity and brevity win over filler, every time. Cut the fluff, think about what’s really special about your entry and make it pleasurable to read and where appropriate, quick to scan - think bullet points, charts, screengrabs, where it makes sense to include these.

Change the World. Did your work have a wider impact for the greater good - on the author’s fortunes, the publisher’s confidence, the reading public? What beyond the bottom line did you achieve? Maybe you inspired the next generation of readers through some of your clever marketing activity, or the publicity reached into parts unknown, or you partnered with an organisation whose aims aligned with yours? If you’re a bookseller, how did your work impact your customer base in a positive way? This storytelling paints a picture - we want to know!

Why you? Why now? If you’re entering your incredible self for one of the trade awards, don’t be shy. Tell us why this was your year - ask others for supporting quotes and illustrate your impact with lists, visuals, charts or whatever really makes your entry sing.

Book of the Year entries

Take Up Space (but not too much space). Have you given yourself enough space to paint a complete picture, and to demonstrate that you’re serious about a win? Consider whether what you’re entering tells the full story of what you’ve accomplished (but edit enough to keep things moving!).

Define the Difference. We know you had your choice of which titles to enter. What did you do differently for this one? Where did you take a risk, innovate or depart from the norm? Show us why the whole publishing process behind this title sets it apart, not just from the rest of the industry but from the other titles you work on.

Curate Your Quotes. And everything else, really. Judges are reading a lot of entries and after a point, too many quotes, photos or references start to feel like filler. It’s hard to define how many is too many, but if you’re not actively selecting the best of the bunch, do.

Practical stuff

Don’t Sweat the Category. If you aren’t sure which is most relevant for your entry, enter where it feels best and drop us a note to let us know you’re unsure. If we think it needs to move, we’ll move it, with an eye to ensuring it’s placed where it has the highest likelihood of being shortlisted.

5pm on 1st February is not a good time to upload. Our website is amazing, but if/when everyone uploads at that exact time, it will fall over. Then we will be sad, and you will be anxious, and nobody wins. 

Put Your Photos Forward. From the print magazine to social media shoutouts, we want to do everything we can to make your work shine. Help us do this as well as possible by sending us a selection of sharp, hi-res images that we can use to represent you.

Got more questions? Please drop us a line via email to awards@thebookseller.com