The British Book Awards 2025 trade winners include Bloomsbury, Waterstones and Bookouture

The winners of The British Book Awards for the trade were revealed at a glittering ceremony in London on Monday, 12th May.

Among this year’s winners are Bloomsbury (Publisher of the Year), Waterstones (Book Retailer of the Year) and Amanda Harris (Agent of the Year).

The biggest trade award of the night was given to Bloomsbury Adult Division, securing the publisher its first win in more than 20 years, having last won in the heyday of Harry Potter. The publisher, which has been shortlisted six times in seven years, saw the division’s TCM sales rise 8%, in 2024, while e-book sales as tracked by Bookstat climbed 18%, and international growth was at a similar mark.

Bloomsbury’s undisputed champion of 2024 was Sarah J Maas, who delivered £13m of TCM sales to become the year’s top-selling adult author.

Against a backdrop of tough conditions and declining TCM sales, Bloomsbury’s adult division stood out for its quality, breadth and sales. The judges said: “It was really firing on all cylinders last year. You can feel the energy and passion in everything it does.”

Bloomsbury also picked up Campaign of the Year for the team’s work on Want, edited by Gillian Anderson. Bloomsbury’s team of Fran Owen, Mari Yamazaki and Hayley Camis, with maternity cover from Annabel Robinson, positioned Want brilliantly, overcoming some media hesitation about the content to secure widespread coverage and four carefully chosen newspaper serials.

Waterstones picked up the gong for Book Retailer of the Year for the first time since 2020, rewarding it for a stand-out year of growth on the high street and online despite multiple retail challenges, with sales jumping 17% and profits nearly trebling in its latest reporting period.

Last year, the retailer put on more than 1,000 extra book and author events and the opening of eight new shops, including one within John Lewis on London’s Oxford Street.

It was not just the numbers that impressed the judges, as publishers also value its head office and shop-floor teams, at least as much for their ability to champion debuts, mid-list literary names and translated fiction.

“Working with Waterstones is an absolute joy… they’re a force for good in the book world,” said one leading publisher.

Another called it “the best bookselling operation the English-speaking world has to offer”.

One judge said: “They have shown amazing growth on a very tough high street, and that’s so important for the whole books ecosystem." They also admired a stepping-up of its outreach work in schools and paid internships: “It is very good to see them encouraging more people into bookselling.”

Elsewhere, Amanda Harris picked up Agent of the Year, after four appearances on the shortlist. Harris had a stellar year that combined commercial success with outstanding author care. She has also just launched her own Maven Literary Management agency, and her big hits came as she worked out her notice period at the YMU group. Her authors delivered no fewer than 18 Sunday Times bestsellers and the TCM value of her books topped £6m.

“She’s got the big deal numbers, but she knows agenting should be about more than that,” the judges said. “She’s a powerhouse… if she’s your agent, you must feel like you’re in great hands.”

Bookouture picked up Imprint of the Year, after being shortlisted four times in five years. The imprint had a record-breaking 2024, as 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. While it started out in e-books and audiobooks, it has 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.

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.”

There were also two special awards this year: The British Book Award for Freedom to Publish, awarded to Margaret Atwood, and The British Book Award for Social Impact, awarded to Kate Mosse.

The Freedom to Publish Award honours an individual who has gone above and beyond in terms of promoting reading and free expression. The award is to pay tribute to that individual and also to highlight this damaging trend within the book world. Atwood has won this year, thanks to her use of her voice and platform to campaign for a juster, fairer world and to promote free speech. This has never felt more necessary, more urgent and more welcome.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Women’s Prize, which Mosse founded as a response to no women being on the shortlist for a major prize back in 1991. She was one of a range of publishers, agents, journalists and booksellers who rolled up their sleeves in response. Mosse has remained central to the prize throughout three decades, which now offers both a fiction and non-fiction prize.

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