Penguin Random House UK has been nominated for six awards at the FutureBook Awards 2017, across four of the seven categories. The awards, which celebrate companies and individuals who are playing a key role in driving innovation within publishing, are held as part of The Bookseller's annual FutureBook Conference in December, Europe's largest digital publishing conference.
Penguin Random House nominated for six FutureBook Awards
Among those nominated is Siena Parker, our Head of Creative Responsibility, in the 'Disruptor of the Year' category. Since joining Penguin Random House in 2015, Siena has developed our flagship Creative Responsibility programme, which aims to close the creativity gap in the UK. As a part of this work, Siena and her team have created WriteNow, which has seen 300 writers from backgrounds underrepresented on the nation's bookshelves take part in publishing insight days across 5 cities, with 12 writers subsequently joining a year-long mentorship scheme with a Penguin Random House editor.
The 'Campaign of the Year' category sees our innovative campaigns for Penguin Pride and Start a Story recognised. Penguin Pride is a yearly celebration of the relationship between books and the LGBTQ community, with this year's campaign centering on the creation of the Penguin Pride Book Club, curated reading lists, live events in London and Cornwall and fifty Penguin Random House employees joining London's Pride march in July.
Start a Story invited readers to start a story with Puffin over the summer, highlighting how stories spark children's imaginations. From finding the dreamiest reading nooks to discovering awesome summer day trips inspired by books, the campaign looked to inspire young readers, suggesting books 'from curious little hands to fantastical tales for tweens'.
Nominated for 'Platform of the Year - Consumer', this year the Penguin Podcast has gone from strength to strength, with fantastic hosts David Baddiel, Konnie Huq and Paul Smith meeting a stellar lineup of guests - including Johnny Marr, Zadie Smith and Tom Fletcher. Last month the team reached their 50th episode and in May they celebrated winning a Silver Prize for 'Best Review' at the British Podcast Awards.
Also nominated in the same category, Ebury's Ottolenghi Cookbooks platform sees readers who have purchased Yotam Ottolenghi's books being given exclusive access to a new digital platform, providing interactive versions of iconic recipes from the author of Sweet, NOPI and Jerusalem.
Finally, the enhanced ebook edition of Dan & Phil Go Outside, also published by Ebury, has been nominated in the 'Book of the Year - Children's' category. An exclusive version for Apple devices, the ebook features commentary from Dan & Phil themselves and extra animated images to enhance the reader's experience.
The winners of the awards will be announced on the 1 December. Best of luck to all of our nominees.
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