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Jojo Moyes, Adam Kay, Margaret Atwood and Heather Morris were among the eight authors whose books won Platinum awards last night (Thursday 23rd January), at Nielsen’s annual Bestseller Awards ceremony. The Awards recognise titles with lifetime sales reaching significant milestones, as measured by Neilsen BookScan and PubTrack Digital, with Silver (250,000 copies sold), Gold (500,000) and Platinum (1,000,000) categories.
Many of the authors were present on the night to collect their trophies, including former children's laureate Michael Morpurgo, who received an "honorary" Platinum award on the night, and used the occasion to blast poor literacy levels for children in the UK.
Eight titles received Platinum awards: from fiction, they were Jojo Moyes’ After You (Penguin), Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (Vintage) and Heather Morris’ The Tattooist of Auschwitz (Zaffre); in non-fiction, Pinch of Nom by Kay Featherstone & Kate Allison (Bluebird), Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari (Vintage), and This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay (Picador); and in Children’s, Bad Dad by David Walliams and Tony Ross (HarperCollins Childrens) and A Squash and a Squeeze by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler (Macmillan Children's).
Two "honorary" Platinum awards were also given to writers Ian Rankin (pictured above) and Michael Morpurgo who were both inducted into the “21st Century Hall of Fame”, having achieved significant lifetime sales across all their titles. Rankin‚Äôs lifetime sales are put at 9.7 million in print and 1.6 million in e-books, with Doors Open (Orion) his top seller at over 325,000 print copies. Morpurgo has sold over 8.5 million print books, and 257,000 e-books; War Horse (Egmont) is his most popular in print, with sales of 567,000 paperbacks since publication in June 2017; Private Peaceful (HarperCollins Childrens) is his most popular e-book, at 34,000 copies.
Noting that he had "never sold the sort of numbers we are talking about today" for an individual title, Morpurgo declared himself "jealous" of the other Platinum winners, before adding on a serious note: "I'm not sure a million copies sold is worth celebrating when we have millions of children who don't read and millions of children who leave primary school functionally illiterate... What do we get from reading? It's great books which enrich our lives, books from which we glean knowledge, understanding and empathy. I don't see a country with self-respect or that can call itself a democracy if it does not help every single child–when there are schools without libraries, bookshops closing, libraries closing, it's not good enough. People at the top have to be told it's not good enough."
Rankin recalled how his first novel had been remaindered, and that it had been a long process to get first into the top 10 chart, and then to attain the number one spot itself, advising new or midlist writers to "stick in there".
Others also sounded the literacy theme, with Jojo Moyes thanking both her publisher Penguin Michael Joseph, which she said "took a chance on me when I hadn't troubled the bestseller lists in 10 years, and that gives hope to midlist authors", as well as agent Sheila Crowley who "took my calls when she didn't need to, based on my Nielsen figures", and talking of the importance of adult literacy as well as children's, with the latest Quick Reads list soon to be unveiled.
Meanwhile accepting Heather Morris' award on her behalf, Bonnier Books UK's adult trade m.d. Kate Parkin spoke of her "extraordinary" achievement in selling over a million copies in the UK as a début novelist, noting how The Tattooist of Auschwitz had been able to reach out to a readership of people who weren't usually interested in books, as letters and e-mails from fans have shown.
Committed anti-Brexiter Scheffler, collecting his award in the month that the UK leaves the European Union, commented on the event in his speech, saying with irony that the development would "be in competent hands and no doubt be rosy, full of milk and honey", and adding: "All of us, authors and illustrators, are working for the aim that readers don't become xenophobic nationalists but learn about generosity, tolerance and kindness".
Meanwhile winning Gold awards were, in fiction, Cara Hunter’s Close to Home (Penguin) and Jojo Moyes again with Still Me (Penguin); in non-fiction Adam Kay’s Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas (Picador) and Ant Middleton’s First Man In (HarperCollins); and in children’s The Scarecrow’s Wedding by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler (Scholastic) and two books by David Walliams and Tony Ross: The World’s Worst Teachers and The Beast of Buckingham Palace (both HarperCollins Childrens).
Winning Silver were two novels by Erica James, Love and Devotion and Tell it To The Skies (both Orion), and Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments (Vintage); in non-fiction, BOSH! by Henry Firth and Ian Theasby (HQ), Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton (Penguin), Happy by Fearne Cotton (Orion Spring), Pinch of Nom: Everyday Light by Kay Featherstone and Kate Allison (Bluebird), The Salt Path by Raynor Winn (Penguin) and When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi (Vintage). Silver winners in Children’s were Fing by David Walliams and Tony Ross (HarperCollins Childrens), and Liz Pichon’s Tom Gates: Family, Friends and Furry Creatures (Scholastic). Pichon is already the recipient of six Silver awards.
Vintage m.d. Richard Cable, accepting Margaret Atwood's awards on her behalf, descibed 2019 as "a truly extraordinary year" with being part of the publication of The Testaments "a career highlight" for him.
Andre Breedt, managing director of Nielsen Book Research International, said: “2019 was another strong year for the industry, with sales keeping pace with the highs of recent years. My warmest congratulations to all the winners, it is always a pleasure to celebrate with so many of you at our annual ceremony.” An Ireland version of the Awards will run in April, Breedt revealed, saying Nielsen was also in talks for further celebratory events in South Africa, Australia and India.
The Bestseller Awards ceremony was hosted by presenter Mariella Frostrup and held at Coutts, The Strand WC2.