Snowfall in Kensington streets in London, December 11. Image – Getty iStockphoto: Sebastian Mercier
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Dates in January
The new year shows few signs of a slow start, and as many begin leaving their offices for a holiday break, we want to quickly log in a couple of pertinent notes for you for January.London Book Fair: International Excellence Awards
As you’ll recall, London Book Fair (April 18 to 20), now under the direction of Gareth Rapley, opened its nomination period for its International Excellence Awards on November 4.
During this week of December snow and sub-freezing temperatures in the English capital, the program announced a grace period for a busy season, extending the deadline to submit nominations to January 17. Submissions can be made both for the category awards and for the LBF Lifetime Achievement Award, “which recognizes the work of those who have dedicated their lives to transforming publishing.”
Gareth Rapley
Including the new Sustainability Award category, the full list is:
- Audiobook Publisher
- Bookstore Award
- Library Award
- Literary Translation Initiative Award
- Sustainability Initiative Award
- Inclusivity in Publishing Award (United Kingdom only)
Companies or individuals can nominate themselves, and publishers are encouraged to submit organizations or individuals they feel deserve to be recognized for outstanding achievements in the past year. Nominations and submissions in each category will be reviewed by panels of UK judges with relevant expertise.
To learn more and/or submit an application, you’ll find information here.
Hay Festival Cartagena de Indias: Events
At Hay Festival Cartagena. Image: Hay Festival, Joaquin Sarmiento
Moving from chilly Britain to summertime Colombia, the Hay Festival’s international season opens in January, the main event being at Cartagena de Indias, January 26 to 29, and preceded by activities in Jericó, January 21 and 22, and in Medellin (January 24 and 25).
The program, based in Wales, says it has 180 speakers lined up from 21 countries, including performers, for its Colombian festival events festival location first brought into the program by Hay in 2006.
Literary personalities are scheduled to include:
- Nobel Prize for Literature laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah
- Booker Prize-winner Bernardine Evaristo
- Rachel Cusk
- Jean Baptiste del Amo
- Deborah Levy
- Giovanna Giordano
- Leonardo Padura
- Dolores Redondo
- Parinoush Saniee
- Miguel Brieva
International affairs presentations are expected to feature:
- Historian Richard Firth-Godbehere
- Anthropologist Catalina Cortés Severino
- Philosopher Laura Quintana
- Nobel Prize for Peace laureate and journalist Maria Ressa
- Economist Oded Galor
- Educator Elisa Guerra
- Entrepreneur Jacqueline Novogratz
- Political scientist Iván Krastev
- Analyst Farid Kahhat
- Nobel Prize in Economics laureate Joseph Stiglitz
And journalists on tap include:
- Tech reporter Esther Paniagua and the Guardian journalist Carole Cadwalladr
- Political commentary with Moisés Naím, Óscar Martínez, Emma Graham Harrison, Jon Lee Anderson, Ronna Rísquez, Bruno Paes Manso and Patricia Nieto on the importance of free journalism to build the future and to support democracy
Cristina Fuentes La Roche
Since its inception 16 years ago, Hay Cartagena has drawn some 500,000 attendees and regularly sees some 50,000 per year. It’s supported by media partnerships with RCN TV and Radio, El País, El Tiempo, Arcadia, and BBC Mundo.
Cristina Fuentes La Roche, who directs the Hay Festival, says, “This broad program of events offers new perspectives on our presents and bold ideas for our future, reaching outward into communities with free workshops and conversations that will broaden participation and inclusion.”
Ensuing festival dates for 2023:
- Hay Festival, Wales (May 25 to June 4)
- Hay Festival Querétaro, Mexico (September)
- Hay Festival Segovia, Spain (September)
- Hay Festival Arequipa, Peru (November)
- Hay Festival Winter Weekend, Wales (November)
At Hay Festival Cartagena. Image: Hay Festival
This is Publishing Perspectives’ 212th awards-related report produced in the 227 publication days since our 2022 operations began on January 3.
More from us on publishing and book awards in international markets is here, more on London Book Fair is here, more on the Hay Festival is here, and more on the UK market is here.